Born Darren Jason Watkins Jr. AKA IShowSpeed, started touring Africa on December 29, and it has taken him to 20 countries, showing his tens of millions of followers a different side of Africa.
For a month, he created an event and drew crowds in about twenty African countries: the African-American influencer IShowSpeed is completing a tour of the continent where he sought to promote a young and dynamic Africa to his 50 million YouTube subscribers.
Racing against a cheetah in South Africa, visiting a diamond mine in Botswana, discovering Ethiopian culinary specialities, dancing with the Maasai in Kenya, exploring the pyramids of Egypt… One of the world’s most followed influencers spent dozens of hours live on social media, interacting extensively with the massive crowds that turned out in force. This led many American internet users to realize that Africa is more developed than Hollywood stereotypes suggest.
“They made us believe that Africa was poor and miserable; his live broadcasts changed my perception.” “We are taught that Africa is primitive and dangerous, that we shouldn’t go there,” say some African-American subscribers, clearly moved, in videos reacting to the tour.
“He shows a different Africa, an Africa that is moving, modernising, and eager to achieve great things.
He travels to places with modern infrastructure,” explains Qemal Affagnon, a social media specialist and creator of Internet Without Borders. “At a time when the American executive branch sometimes presents Africa in rather pejorative terms, he is disseminating a different narrative. This has clearly resonated with his American audience.”
In Lagos, he celebrated his 21st birthday by surpassing 50 million YouTube subscribers; in Luanda, he marveled at the “love he received” and the “incredible energy” before raving about the buildings of Nairobi and Addis Ababa. He carefully avoided discussing politics, however, even in countries considered autocratic, drawing some criticism in the process.
The man nicknamed “Speed” has applied to the African continent the recipes from his travels around the world: his teams film him live, in rambling at a frenetic pace, where he alternates cultural discoveries, interactions with vendors or street artists and various antics.
Allowed to film inside the Giza pyramids
On YouTube, the tour is a success with nearly 4 million more subscribers in one month and a live stream at the Africa Cup of Nations final in Morocco, which has already accumulated 15 million views, placing it directly in his top 10. He also has 45 million followers on Instagram and 47 million on TikTok, for a personal fortune estimated at $20 million by Forbes.
His goal is not to present himself as the “savior” of Africa, but to show its “true image,” without paternalism or victimhood, his fans assure us. “The fact that he is the first American streamer to do a complete tour of Africa is historic.
It’s a huge achievement for the streaming industry,” rejoices Nigerian YouTuber Stephen Oluwafisayomi, aka “Stevosky.”
And when a member of his team, aboard a helicopter in Benin, remarked that it looked like “Miami, without the houses,” he immediately replied, “No, it just looks like Benin.” This is enough to appeal to certain governments and to attract new visitors.
“There are countries that, today, are reaching out to certain Afro-descendant communities , and it can serve as a link between these two worlds,” explains Qemal Affagnon.
In Nairobi, he met with the Minister of Tourism, Rebecca Miano, and received a warm welcome video message from President William Ruto, while in Egypt he was allowed to film live inside the Giza pyramid.
Hostile reception in Algeria
IShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr., began his career like many streamers by filming himself playing video games. But this football fan – and in particular of Cristiano Ronaldo – doesn’t just stay in his gaming chair and has traveled to Asia, Europe, and South America, regularly nearly causing a riot.
During his African tour, wearing the national team jersey of each country, he was sometimes targeted, either by overly enthusiastic fans or by a hostile crowd. For example, in Algeria, he had to interrupt his live broadcast—a rare occurrence—when supporters threw bottles at him in a stadium during a football match.
The man who was named “Streamer of the Year” 2024 and 2025 at the Streamer Awards, an international award in the sector, and whose excesses led to his being banned from the Twitch platform between 2021 and 2023 for “sexual coercion or intimidation”, is due to conclude this African tour this week with a DNA test supposed to reveal his origins on the continent.
In Liberia, where many Black Americans emigrated in the 19th century to reconnect with their African roots, he met a namesake whose ancestors left Ohio, Speed’s home region: “He really is my ancestor,” the latter joked.
However, it’s his visit to the Ivory Coast that’s getting people talking. In particular, there are two viral clips that are floating around the internet.
The first clip shows Speed surrounded by people who are watching him getting hip and trying to learn the Zaouli tribal dance, referred to online as one of the most impossible dances in the world. While he stares for a short while at the man demonstrating it, eventually Speed latches on and his feet begin to move with impressive accuracy alongside him. While that alone would be worthy of a lot of social media chatter, unfortunately, the second clip is what’s getting folks up in arms.
In it, Speed is once again attempting to learn the dance when all of a sudden, a random man cuts into the group on a bike and begins to act hostile towards the streamer. The man jumps at Speed, hitting him on his chest several times and yelling something at him before ultimately lunging at him. Speed eventually wrestles the man to ground and is visibly upset and confused before bodyguards pull them apart.
Once the clip began to make the rounds on social media, many were taken aback at how roughed up he had gotten and spoke out about his mistreatment.
“Africa is not doing itself any favors. Speed is highly popular and seeing him hurt will only show that Africa is not a place to visit,” wrote one user on X/Twitter.
“Speed’s Africa tour is crazy,” said another on YouTube.
“First, Liberia and now Ivory Coast?” questioned another.
However, there were some people who rewatched the clip and surmised that the “attack” was planned and all part of his skit.
“You guys are stupid if you think this isn’t part of the skit,” said one user on X/Twitter.
“Part of the act people..” one user wrote on YouTube.
Added another, “You can clearly see him Pushing his bodyguard away. This was staged.”
