DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — American streamer and YouTuber IShowSpeed is on the final leg of a 28-day tour of Africa aimed at showcasing the continent’s cultural diversity, which is often overshadowed by images of poverty and violence.
“I’ve done a lot of incredible things in my life,” he said during a stop in Botswana. “But this trip was different. It opened my eyes. Africa is not what I imagined.”
The tour, which spans 19 countries in southern, eastern and northern Africa, started in Angola in late December. On January 18, he attended the Africa Cup of Nations final in Morocco, then visited Senegal to celebrate the national football team’s victory with fans, and visited Nigeria, where he surpassed 50 million YouTube subscribers and celebrated his 21st birthday. On Monday, he visited Ghana, where he tasted Jollof rice, met a traditional ruler and received a massage at the Shea Butter Museum.
“I’m back home and there’s no better feeling than this,” the content creator, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr., said after arriving in Ghana, revealing that he traces his ancestry to the West African country. He is expected to arrive in Namibia on Tuesday, likely to be the final leg of the trip.
Watkins broadcasts his “Speed Makes Africa” series live on YouTube. In the nine-hour video, he tastes local dishes, learns traditional dances and challenges athletes, often shouting with excitement. Many of his destinations were surrounded by large crowds of followers.
Perceptions of Africa are changing
Since the tour began, dozens of African-American internet users have expressed support through widely shared videos.
Pape Seye, 40, a resident of Dakar, Senegal, highlighted Watkins’ visit to the Gorée Island slave home, a symbol of the Atlantic slave trade that enslaved millions of Africans. “Americans, especially Black Americans, need to know that our histories are interconnected and that many of our ancestors may have been expelled from Goree,” he said.
Some critics are more skeptical. Nelly Mbaa, a Beninese internet celebrity who goes by the online name Afro Chronik, said Watkins embodies a Western expectation that the value of young black men lies in spectacle rather than intellect. People paid attention to him not for his subtle humor, she said, but because he performed “absurd, exaggerated and grotesque characters.”
“If he abandons that image – constantly making faces, shouting and making controversial remarks – his audience may disappear,” Mba said.
IShowSpeed has more than 50 million YouTube subscribers, 45 million Instagram followers, and 47 million TikTok followers. His brand was built on loud, exaggerated and sometimes offensive reactions that became his online persona but also sparked controversy. In 2022, he was banned from a professional online gaming competition following a sexist outburst toward a female player, and was briefly banned for displaying sexual content in a video game.