Over the past several years, Druski has been an internet sensation. The influencer and actor’s popularity has grown from his comedic skits including his Coulda Been Records “auditions.” Earlier this year, he even transformed his social media presence into a full-blown headlining comedy tour, “Coulda Woulda Shoulda,” in the U.S. The debut tour kicked off in March 2023 in Richmond, VA, and stopped at a total of 30 venues.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by DRUSKI (@druski)

The saying Black people have to work twice as hard as their white peers is no different when it comes to the influencer space.

Earlier this year, Snap announced the Black Creator Accelerator — a program to help remove systemic barriers for Black creators. Now, the social media giant is in celebratory mode for its inaugural class.

Over the years, TikTok has received a lot of flack from Black creators for not receiving the same opportunities as their white counterparts. In light of the situation, the social media giant’s competitors swooped in to offer them more — one of them being Triller. But according to The Washington Post, there are allegations that the app has not followed through on its promises. Triller made its name recruiting talent with lavish perks and content houses in the Hollywood Hills. Now, dozens of influencers are struggling to get paid. ‘We were made to look like fools,’ one creator said. https://t.co/we5A6zuCOp — Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) August 3, 2022

In today’s day and age of social media, simply tagging someone in a post could potentially change the course of their careers. With viral sensations and challenges ruling over our timelines, it’s also become a trend for Black creators to not receive proper recognition as the originators for the majority of what blows up online. Meta’s Alexis Michelle Adjei, Cameryn Boyd, and Alexandra Zaoui made the active choice to step in and help the underrepresented group get their due credit. “I feel like it was every day on these different platforms overall — on Instagram, of course — of seeing dances, designs, and songs, and [Black creators] would make these amazing viral trends,” Adjei shared with AfroTech. “It was beautiful to see everybody do their own takes on it, but when you went back to look at the originator they were often Black and brown folk who were really being the trendsetters. And they were getting lost in the story. When it would come to what would be displayed or what would...

Evolving with social media is no small feat, yet Rickey Thompson and Denzel Dion have made it look easy. The online world has watched the two influencers and best friends grow up from six-second Vines to becoming YouTubers — because before TikTok, YouTube was where a class of Black content creators entered the space and took the Internet by storm. And things were clearly just beginning, as Thompson and Dion seemingly went on to make even bigger moves in the entertainment industry. In my opinion, their success is marked as wins, especially when up against not being awarded the same level of opportunities as their white counterparts. However, t he two have stayed ten toes down in the game for nearly a decade — even though the way Black content creators get treated hasn’t really improved much. Take, for example, how Black TikTokers are the creative masterminds behind some of the biggest trends on the platform, but still, Forbes’ list of the highest TikTok earners featured no Black...

Solange made it clear with her widely acclaimed album “A Seat at the Table” that she’s dedicated to protecting what Black people own, and she’s just announced her inaugural free library that does just that. Under her studio and platform Saint Heron, the singer has revealed its new community library filled with rare books and art by Black creators for research, study and exploration, Variety reports . As previously reported by AfroTech, Saint Heron’s mission is to preserve, collect and uplift the stories, works, and archives of Black and brown artists within our creative communities. https://www.instagram.com/p/CU-n3_YvBEz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link “The Saint Heron Library continues the work we have been building by preserving collections of creators with the urgency they deserve,” Solange said. “Together we seek to create an archive of stories and works we deem valuable. These works expand imaginations, and it is vital to us to make them accessible to students, and our...

Back in May, Spotify announced a monumental initiative designed to invest in and amplify the work of Black creators in music and beyond. Today, the streaming giant has teamed up with Black woman-operated creative agency FourTwo Creative to rollout a new campaign continuing the momentum of the new budding creator hub. Frequency Podcast Campaign — which features a two-part video series highlighting select Black creators who have chosen podcasting as their creative avenue — was created by both parties in an effort to spotlight a space where Black voices are moving the needle and becoming a dominant force in audio. “Podcasting is yet another medium that allows Black creatives to have a space where they can say what they feel and tap into audiences who can relate,” FourTwo Creative tells AfroTech. “It’s a medium that’s also a level playing field of creating one’s own platform—there are so many resources available that allow creatives to start with what they have and produce quality...