‘Chat, We Live?’: IShowSpeed’s Africa Tour and the Collapse of the Western Narrative
Image Credit: pidi44 Via Wallpapers.com
Among the many subcategories that have emerged from the influencer economy, streamers have seemingly become the influencer’s influencer. Personalities like Kai Cenat, Pokimane, Lacy, and others have built massive audiences on platforms like Twitch, live-streaming themselves completing challenges, gaming sessions, or just carrying the camera around as they go about their day. One of the most prominent personalities from the streaming world is Darren Jason Watkins Jr., better known as IShowSpeed. An American YouTuber and streamer, Speed quickly rose to fame in 2021 for his gaming livestreams, which were known for his extreme reactions and facial expressions. Since 2021, Speed has had his fair share of viral clips as well as controversies, becoming a fixture of internet culture.
The influence of many of these streamers is often contested, with many of them perpetuating conservative views on “manliness” through extreme challenges, as well as being prone to sexually explicit comments despite targeting younger audiences. Speed himself has faced backlash, including a ban from an online tournament for sexist comments, igniting a conversation about the influence these streamers have on younger generations, specifically young boys. Yet his latest project challenges this narrative. The ‘Speed Does Africa’ tour is his 28-day IRL (in-real-life) YouTube project, taking fans across Africa through the form of a live stream. Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe are only a few of the countries that this project encompasses.
One clip that gained online traction shows Speed standing on a high rise in Ethiopia, telling the camera, “I’m about to show y’all a drone shot of Ethiopia, it looks crazy at night”. As the drone pans out, the skyline is lit up with high rises, and streets are alive with movement. “Ethiopian nightlife looks insane… W’s in the chat bro”, he adds as the drone continues to pan around the city. Though his rhetoric is aimed at a youthful audience, his message transcends the joking demeanour. The casual, non-scripted approach inherent to streaming takes on a different meaning as he visits these countries, conveying a profound sense of learning and further dismantling much of the existing footage that portrays Africa as a continent devoid of nourishment and structure.
“We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness”, Joseph Conrad writes in one of the works that has long shaped Western imaginations of the continent. Yet Speed's streams showcase a completely different heart – not one of darkness, but one of cultural prosperity and togetherness, challenging the fragmentation and desolation that the West believes Africa harbours. He captures both the natural wildlife as he travels Kenya, but also the reactions to his presence, as he is surrounded by thousands of young people cheering him on. “I want to show the world what Africa really is”, Speed said during his visit to South Africa, breaking his energetic and hyper character momentarily.
The tour has not been without criticism, with some saying that the clips are a troubling insight into the desperate escapism many of these economically disadvantaged areas experience. An article from the BBC quotes Reddit users who argue that this is not a meaningful cultural exchange and is “only a momentary distraction from systemic misery”. Though it is important to consider this ongoing discourse, one thing is clear: ‘Speed Does Africa’ represents a shift in how the West mediates Africa, challenging the very framework with which we consider these countries.