October is LGBTQIA+ History Month, and after National Coming Out Day on October 11, there's no better time to highlight a voice that changed the early internet.

Source: Rodin Eckenroth / Getty For over a decade, Tré Melvin has been the blueprint of digital creativity: a YouTube legend, actor, writer, and now Hulu partner evolving into a new musical era rooted in healing, spirituality, and power.

When we caught up, the multi-hyphenate was back in Los Angeles after a brief stint in Atlanta, finishing his forthcoming album and filming new pilots. "The seeds I've planted in L.A. are ready to sprout here," Melvin said, smiling at the idea of soon living bi-coastal, "half in Atlanta, half in Los Angeles." From Viral Visionary To Spiritual Storyteller Long before TikTok trends and Instagram skits, Tré Melvin helped define the early roots of digital comedy age. His series This Is A Commentary and its unforgettable character Watermelondrea became a cultural timestamp, proof that parody and purpose could coexist. "I learned early that people would rather hear the truth through a joke," Melvin said. "That's why I took to comedy-to deliver many, many truths." Those sketches were created, directed, and edited entirely by him, setting the foundation for his voice as an artist unafraid to reflect the times. But the laughs came with a deeper calling. After The Crash: Choosing Faith, Not Fear In 2020, Melvin's life changed. A near-fatal car accident, the loss of his best friend, and years of silence forced him inward. "My music is completely led by my connection to spirit," Melvin said. "It's my most vulnerable side." Today, he sees that period not as disappearance but as divine redirection. "The masses know me for comedy, but there's so much depth and dark that balances the light," Melvin said. "Through music I can finally give the dramatic pieces of me. I'm so Scorpio; so tapped in, so connected and I'm just grateful to be able to heal through it." A New Frequency: The Music And The Mission Melvin's forthcoming sophomore album, Amphetamine (January 2026), is the centerpiece of his rebirth. "I've been making music since I was a baby," Melvin said. "I studied theater and music at Stivers School for the Arts in Dayton and briefly at Juilliard. It all returns me to my most authentic self." The project, recorded and re-recorded after a corrupted hard drive forced him back into creation, merges classical training, gospel roots, and layered harmonies. "There'll be a thousand tracks on one song," Melvin said with a laugh. "Stacking one syllable until it feels alive." Inspired by icons like Beyoncé, Jhene Aiko, Labrinth, Billie Eilish, and Chloe x Halle, his sound is cinematic. "It's all film. Every song, every visual, it's all film." Clairvoyance, Creativity, And Clair-Truth Melvin describes his process as guided by something higher. "I'm disgustingly clairvoyant," Melvin said. "Spirit delivers messages to me most frequently in my sleep. A lot of what I translate into my visuals, I've already seen somewhere else." Each record is written as a soundtrack rather than a single. "I'm not big on one song. When I sit down and write, I'm writing an album that tells a story from beginning to end." That cinematic energy will culminate in Amphetamine's release-what he calls both a "visual" and "audio-visual" album. "To give people something they can hear and see, that's the goal." Community, Power, And Black Liberation Through Art When I told him this felt like his time, he smiled before gently correcting me. "It's absolutely my time, baby, but it's our time. It's the Collective's time." He believes this cultural moment demands unity. "We're up against a corrupt regime. If you think you've seen anything, you've seen nothing compared to what's to come," Melvin said with warning. "If we need anything right now, it's community, a sense of self, and power." His upcoming work, across film, music, and TV, centers that mission. "The most important part of Amphetamine and everything to come is to remind us of our power, specifically Black people. We were stripped of our innate magic, our connection to source. It's time to remember." Legacy, Lessons, And Owning His Table Fourteen years after launching his channel, Melvin still honors his early sketches but guards them behind his own paywall. "I put too much into that work to give it away," Melvin said matter-of-factly. "YouTube's not doing it, so I'll monetize it myself." That independence fuels his next move: a multimedia empire called Tré House, built with friends across film, music, and finance. "I just launched a company," Melvin said with a grin. "I'm coming for Parkwood's neck. I fear. Coming for Tyler's neck. I fear. I'm not here to beg for a seat at anyone else's table. I'm here to build my own and show other Black artists we can do the same." Shadow Work & Self-Reflection Melvin closed the conversation, reflecting on growth and accountability. "When you point the finger, there are always th