Kevin Samuels (1969-2022)
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Birthplace:
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
Born:
March 13, 1969
Died:
May 5, 2022
Kevin Roshon Samuels (March 13, 1969 – May 5, 2022) was an American internet personality and image consultant. He rose to popularity in 2020 through his YouTube and Instagram live streams discussing modern society, gender issues, and relationships. Samuels worked in the marketing industry before starting his own image-consulting firm in 2013. He accumulated 1.4 million subscribers on YouTube, 1.2 million followers on Instagram and thousands on several other online platforms like Twitter and TikTok. The New York Times wrote, inaccurately, he built an image as a "hypermasculine authority" who advocated for "strict gender roles". Samuels gained traction in mainstream hip-hop culture, interviewing Nicki Minaj and T.I., while also making guest appearances on No Jumper, Joe Budden TV and VladTV. In 2022, Samuels made a cameo appearance on the television series Atlanta in the episode "Rich Wigga, Poor Wigga". In February 2022, Samuels appeared in a music video in which he acted as a therapist and dating coach for rapper Future on the single "Worst Day".He also interviewed popular Instagram models like Brittany Renner, and reality TV stars like Tommie Lee. Several prominent guests such as Minaj, Marlon Wayans, and Tamar Braxton showed support for his work. Samuels' comments on men and women were sometimes controversial. As an image consultant, he often asked women who called his show asking for dating advice to rate themselves based on what he called the perceived "sexual market place value" – a term akin to mate value for rating people based on perceived attractiveness akin to rating economic products – for dating and relationships. He then evaluated women based on age, dress size, height and weight according to their perceived "sexual market place value". He believed that some women had unrealistically high standards for the types of men they should be dating, while also criticizing men for lacking employable skills or being overweight. In addition, he strongly criticized the black community for failing to meet what he saw as "traditional values", specifically with black Americans' high out-of-wedlock birth rate and significantly lower marriage rate than other racial groups in the United States. Samuels' critics decried him as being actively misogynoir,and a part of the Black manosphere, specifically criticizing him for expressing these views when he openly engaged in casual sexual relationships, and he himself was not married. His supporters defended him as an advocate of traditional values. Some critics alleged that he had scammed fragrance houses, such as Bloomingdale's and other high-end stores in Atlanta, as well as stealing ideas and content from other YouTubers. He was also accused of hypocrisy with respect to the teachings of the Christian Bible and his own advice.