Influencers are steadily taking over Instagram and Youtube. They have accumulated a large fanbase due to their creative and innovative videos, attracting thousands of viewers in just seconds. More importantly, there’s an influencer for everybody. From minimalists to fashion critics to even comedian influencers. As long as you have an Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube channel, you’re guaranteed to find so many influencers that sometimes the initial search could be daunting and overwhelming. Especially because each person’s content is as good as the next one. My advice would be to take your time and find someone who you’d enjoy watching on your worst day.
And as a way of continuing celebrating Black History Month, here’s a shortlist of Black influencers doing different, amazing—and entertaining—things.
Kelly Stamps (Minimalist)
With nearly 540k subscribers within a short period of time on YouTube, Kelly Stamps has shown the world that you can be quirky, funny, authentic and still be successful (even though that might seem hard to believe). In the beginning, she doubted herself and didn’t take YouTube as seriously as she should have. However, when she decided to do YouTube full-time, boom, her subscribers count had begun to skyrocket. The reason is that Stamps does not try to be something other than herself. For instance, she’s a proud minimalist, rarely carrying more than two suitcases (she moves a shit ton). Also, she’s not afraid to be candid and blunt about almost anything relating to living in a new city, dating life, saving money, and much more. Her goal is to reach 1 million subscribers in three years. With the help of YouTube (she’s part of YouTube #BlackVoices Class of 2021), I’m confident she will achieve that goal.
Denzel Dion (Fashion Critic)
From Vine to Youtube, Denzel Dion has been in the spotlight as early as 2014. Initially, he was known for his hilarious Vine videos. However, since then, his career has shifted: he’s now a fashion critic as well as a fashion designer. Every now and then, he would post a “Best & Worst Dressed” video, critiquing celebrities and their outfits at annual events, including Coachella, the Met Gala, and right up above, the VMAs. Like Kelly Stamps, Dion is not afraid to tell it how it is. If the outfit is trash (in his opinion), then the outfit is just that: trash. If the outfit is on point, then the outfit is just on point. Period. Some celebrities have clapped back and felt offended. But, Dion doesn’t necessarily care about how others feel. At the end of the day, he said what he said, and he’s not going to change it.
Rickey T. (Comedian)
Similar to his best friend, Denzel Dion, Rickey Thompson has been in the spotlight as early as 2013. When Vine had shut down, Thompson switched platforms and went to Instagram, posting stomach-hurting-after-laughing-for-hours videos. Even though his videos are short, expect to laugh for hours moments later. His laugh is contagious, his content is addicting, and his fashion is sleek and exceptional. Trust me, once you find yourself on his page, you’d understand why Kylie Jenner reposted one of his videos in 2017, along with Rihanna and various A-List celebrities.
Jovel Roystan (Fashion Blogger)
Stylish and highly knowledgeable about fashion, Jovel Roystan has gained 73K followers on Instagram and close to 4K subscribers on YouTuber because of his personal brand. Are you wondering how he did this? Through his thoughtfully constructed posts, captions as detailed as a teacher’s writing assignments, pictures as professional and classy as Bridgton’s formal dinners, and an impressive, yet hard-earned archive of collaborations with designers, including Ralph Lauren, H&M, and AsosMen just name a few. As an aspiring actor, Roystan is not going to stop being a fashion blogger. Because why should he? If you’re good at something, why stop because you’ve found other interests in life?
Regardless of what you do during your free time, never stop celebrating Black influencers. Better yet, never stop celebrating Black culture/entertainment in general. There’s room for everyone to grow and have their time to shine. Hey, you never know, you might come across a page that inspires you to become an influencer. You just never know nowadays. That said, this is only the beginning…
Featured Image Credit: black-history-month
