Recently, more and more influencers have spoken out about racial injustices, and difficult situations that they were placed in. In past years, racism wasn’t widely addressed in the way that it publicly is today.
Society is evolving and changing every day, and certain situations that would have been “acceptable” in 2015, would be “cancelled” in 2020. For years, the Black community has been profiled and categorized into numerous stereotypes. Well, it’s time that we finally put a stop to all of that.
Therefore, we’ve compiled a list of ten talented Black influencers that are breaking the stereotypes.
#1. Zoe Amira
Zoe Amira is a YouTube creator with over 78,000 followers. Her content is primarily make-up based, and I’m honestly surprised that she hasn’t collaborated with James Charles yet, because her artistic talent is out of this world. Recently, Amira has been gaining a lot of social media attention, for her most recent video.
The video is 56 minutes long, and is comprised of content that features Black artists, musicians, poets, and more. The purpose of this video is for people to come together and support the Black Lives Matter movement. Due to COVID-19, many people are still unemployed, and are unable to financially contribute towards the movement.
Amira decided to create this video for people who are unable to donate, but would still like to show their support. In the description, Amira stated that 100% of the ad-revenue will be funding Black Lives Matter related organizations (such as bail funds for protestors). So, even if you don’t have the funds to donate, contributing your time towards watching this video will lead to a financial contribution as well.
#2. Sonnis Love
Sonnis Love is an influencer with over 400,000 YouTube subscribers. About two years ago, she posted her very first video, in which she discussed her journey towards transitioning from male to female. Her journey has since been completed, and last year, she posted a video that highlighted important milestones in her life. During her Freshman year of high school, she identified as being gay. It wasn’t until 2016 that she finally came out as transgender.
Love’s channel also features a variety of entertaining content. Her videos range from Q&A style videos, to makeup tutorials and storytime videos. Her storytime videos are very similar to a short film. Some have you laughing, some will leave you in suspense, and others will guide you through a rollercoaster of emotions.
Recently, Love posted a “Get Ready With Me” styled video, in which she discusses aspects of her life, quarantine, and other topics, as she applies her daily makeup.
#3. Mr. Nicenice
Mr. Nicenice is a hip-hop artist that is changing the music game. His social media is filled with messages and captions of positivity, and his motto is “Keeping It Healthy”. Back in August of 2019, Mr. Nicenice got into a tragic boat accident. The accident fractured his trachea, and caused a blood clot to form in his throat. According to the doctors, the artist almost lost his life that day.
Luckily, he was able to recover, and he didn’t let the accident stop him from continuing to pursue his musical passion. Just a few weeks later, he released a single, called, “Sorry For the Wait”. The song was released on all streaming platforms.
This past January, Mr. Nicenice featured in Cypress’s new song, alongside DC The Savage and DXPE Dylan. The song is titled, “Max Out”. A music video was also released, but the most impressive part was that the music video was a “one take” and only took two hours to film.
Mr. Nicenice’s most streamed song to date is his 2018 single, “Hold Up”. The song is great for rolling down your window, turning the music up, and vibing. The beat is heavy, and the lyrics are sure to get stuck in your head.
#4. Minikon
Minikon is a content creator with over 27,000 YouTube subscribers, and over 750,000 TikTok followers. He is known for his comedy and creative skits, as well as his music. Minikon has been a part of YouTube for five years, and he even promoted his single, “I’m Tryna” by uploading a Genius “Verified” parody.
In the video, he pretends to be interviewed by a Genius crew member, and begins by hilariously describing the meaning to his song. “This b*tch named Jane Doe - Can I call her a b*tch?... I don’t gotta call her a b*tch… But this b*tch named Jane Doe-”. This is just a preview of the comedy that lives on Minikon’s social media platforms. “I’m Tryna” was inspired by a 14 part series on his channel, called: “The Not So Gay Best Friend”.
On June 2nd, Minikon posted a video on Instagram, and stated that when he initially posted it 11 months ago, he received a lot of backlash. The video is a parody to the Moana song, “You’re Welcome”. Instead of talking about manners and demigods, however, Minikon took the opportunity to point out the fact that racism and police brutality hasn’t changed in the slightest. There’s been no improvement, and when Minikon tried to point that out, through a light hearted, short music video, his Instagram was deleted, he was shadow-banned on all social media platforms, and he received a lot of backlash.
Minikon is an influencer on the rise, and he continues to use his platform to spread awareness, while simultaneously providing comedic entertainment.
#5. Boze
Ericka Bozeman (most notably known as “Boze”) is a former member of SMOSH —
a popular sketch comedy YouTube channel, created by Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox. Boze left SMOSH in 2019, after deciding that being an entertainer wasn’t what she was meant to do. In an interview with DavidSo, she stated that creating and hosting “Smosh & Order” boosted her interest in marketing. So, like the self-starter that she is, she decided to create her own experience to put on her resume.
Boze had created a show with a similar style to “Survivor”, and had been greenlit by the production company (Defy Media) to start filming. Unfortunately, the company unexpectedly shut down, and she was told that she wasn’t going to get paid. Well, currently, Boze is a national marketing manager for a big company.
She worked hard, and achieved her goal on her own. Just a month ago, Boze posted a series of photos on Instagram, where she compares how far she’s come since 2017. According to Boze, three years ago, she was sleeping on the floor of her 300 sq ft apartment. Today, she has her own one bedroom apartment in Los Angeles.
#6. Mari Dior
Mari Dior is a 16 year old beauty influencer, with over 50,000 YouTube subscribers. In April of 2020, she posted a video of her transition timeline journey, from male to female. She revealed that she was widely accepted into the LGBTQ+ community by her grandmother. Mari Dior is currently living her best life, posting videos that makes her (as well as her fans) happy.
She posts a lot of beauty tutorial videos, in which she teaches her subscribers how to create different hairstyles. One of her most popular hair tutorials is the, “HOW TO: install a lace wig & style with feathered bang; very detailed” videos. The video is 44 minutes long, but her video is full of hilarious commentary, creativity, and as the title mentioned, extreme detail.
Mari Dior has also posted makeup tutorials, Q&A’s, and entertaining storytime videos. Most recently, however, she addressed the Black Lives Matter movement in a video, titled: “We’re tired!...”.
The 16 year old influencer isn’t afraid to speak the truth, and she is using her platform to spread a message that needs to be not only heard, but retained.
#7. Sidney Franklin
Sidney Franklin is a modern artist. To say that he is talented would be an understatement. Franklin is multi-talented in the artistic category. He can sculpt, paint, and he also has a portfolio full of digital creations as well. In museums, artists will have their own personal artist statement towards the side of their published creation.
Well, for every photo that is posted of Franklin’s masterpiece, there is a title and a caption of what the piece is meant to represent.
Six days ago, Franklin posted a digital creation from his “BLU” portfolio. The photo contained 6 blue animated people. Each person wore a different kind of outfit, but contained the same three words on their shirts: “I can’t breathe”. The phrase is significant of George Floyd’s final words, before being suffocated by former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin.
Most recently, Franklin posted a beautiful sculpted piece, called “SYMBOL OF HOPE”. The art piece was of an African American man carrying a perfect world on his shoulders, as he walked through a burning village. Each work of art has symbolism, purpose, and value, and it’s something that we should all be paying attention to.
#8. Benji Carlisle
Benji Carlisle is a social media influencer, with almost 100,000 Instagram followers. He proudly embraces his tomgirl lifestyle, and is constantly posting positive content. From 2014 to 2016, Carlisle was the personal assistant to model/actress, Amber Rose. Now, Carlisle is a creative director of wardrobe. Just recently, he posted a photo of 6ix9ine and Nicki Minaj wearing designs that he created. Although this is the first time we’ve seen Carlisle style 6ix9ine, Minaj is a regular client of his.
According to a 2019 article by BET, Carlisle created a Summer look for Minaj, by simply flipping through the designer’s print selection and choosing the one that best fit the aesthetic. Since then, he was the mastermind behind Minaj’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race” look back in February.
Carlisle has also shown off his talent by featuring in a promo for the Savage x Fenty show, in September of 2019. It will be very exciting to see his future designs coming to life, once this pandemic is finally over.
#9. Lord A.
Lord Adrean (also known as Lord A.) is a talented wrestler, with over 120,000 followers on Instagram. Several of his wrestling videos have gone viral, and he’s known in his town (Copperas Cove, Texas) as a local celebrity.
In late March, Lord A. and his friends went to their local Walmart, but it wasn’t to go shopping. They turned their Texas Walmart into an arena, and got pretty creative with the desks and chairs. After flipping from a high desk, and collapsing onto a foldable table, Lord A. pinned his opponent to the ground, and was crowned the winner.
https://twitter.com/l0rdadrean/status/1231755844590735361?s=20
On February 24th, the official ESPN TikTok page reposted a video of Lord A. and his friends wrestling in the same Walmart. Since then, the wrestler has gained more recognition, and just yesterday, he posted a wrestling match with his friends at a tennis court. It escalated within seconds, and of course, Lord A. ended up winning the final match.
#10. Curtis Rowe
With over 130,000 TikTok followers and 83,000 Instagram followers, Curtis Rowe is no ordinary skater. He’s posted videos doing kickflips, riding down staircases, grinding on rails, and so much more. He makes skating look as easy as walking down a standard hallway. Ramps, guard rails, and half pipes are where Rowe shines the brightest.
While a majority of his Instagram videos showcase his incredible skateboarding talent, Rowe mainly posts comedy/dance videos. Some of his TikTok videos have featured well known Hype House members, Sway House members, and social media star, Cameron Dallas. According to Rowe, he was friends with the members of the Hype House before they became as popular as they are today.
Most recently, Rowe has been using his social platform to spread awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement. On June 2nd, he posted a three minute long video to his Instagram feed, from the Los Angeles protest. “This is what the media doesn’t want to show”, he captioned the video. The clip shows Rowe marching with a bunch of peaceful protestors along Hollywood Boulevard as they chant for justice.
