The popularity and widespread use of social media and online platforms has widened the stage for women of African descent on a global level. The following are a few of our favourite videos found on YouTube by some of these women. As a quick aside, we want to shout out our YouTube fave and early Of Africa supporter, Evelyn from the Internets, who recently published an important video for Diaspora millennial Africans living in the US. We love her video so much but if you are an avid reader of ours, surely you are already subscribed to her?
On with the list!
1. Anne Kasiime
Anne Kasiime, a proud Ugandan, is a comedian, entertainer and actress. She first began her career performing comedy skits with a local theatre troupe that would occasionally be televised, the popularity of some of the skits encouraged Anne to create her own YouTube channel. Her screen breakthrough came when a Kenyan tv station gave her a slot to run and create her own comedy show, ‘Don’t Mess with Kansiime’. Today Anne maintains her hilarious YouTube channel while touring the region to perform her stand up. She continues to build bridges for other East African women in comedy.
2. Patricia Bright
Patricia Bright, who is of Nigerian descent, is one of the biggest British Beauty Gurus with almost 2.5 million subscribers. Fans have watched her go from part time YouTuber to a leading lifestyle and beauty guru YouTube star. She not only posts about the best beauty brands, trends, and tips but also lets her audience into her personal life.
3. Yolanda Gampp (How to Cake It)
Yolanda Gampp is a Canadian YouTuber with a Grenadian mother and a Swiss-German father. Yolanda’s channel is a Cooking show of epic proportions where she shows her audience how to create cakes that are works of art. How to Cake It is fun, bubbly and feel good and even if viewers have no intention of attempting to bake her creations themselves, many watch simply for the relaxing ambiance Yolanda creates. Yolanda now has a cookbook and lots of merchandise in her online store.
4. Pap Culture by Nwabisa Mda, Thembe Mahlaba and Bongeka Masango
Pap Culture is hosted by a trio of young South African vloggers, Nwabisa Mda, Thembe Mahlaba and Bongeka Masango, intent on exploring the serious side of culture. Part talk show, part vlog series, Pap Culture embodies the new ‘South African’, young and unapologetically political, even in their love for all things entertainment and pop culture.
5. Danai Gurira’s Essence speech
Okay, we will admit that this one is a bit sneaky. Although Danai Gurira does not own the Essence YouTube channel, her speech at the 2018 Essence awards was decisively from her perspective as a Zimbabwean American. Highlighting the importance of sisterhood and lifting each other up, it is possibly our most replayed video of the year so far and therefore definitely belongs on the list.
Check out our other lists of our favourite women Of Africa on different platforms, starting with our favourite June follows on Twitter.
