Indie Content Creators: Radical Media Influencers
Entertainment: For those who can’t get enough of some good-ole anime, Antoine Bandele covers some of the best television and anime series and provides commentary for all his viewers. From Avatar: The Last Airbender to Star Wars, it’s every geek’s living fantasy.
Standing at 172 thousand subscribers and his most popular video receiving 7.3 million views, Antoine is surely on the come up when it comes to his Youtube series. Some of my favorite videos include hypothetical battles between characters of the show as he commentates on what he feels the outcome would be. One would appreciate the fact that he isn’t biased when making these videos and doesn’t play favoritism. He solely looks at the skill set of each character given and compares them so purely based on fact which is hard to find in similar channels.
We also get to see some more personal videos from him like My 2019 Goals where he gives us a list of things he plans or aspires to do in the year 2019. He also discusses what books and written work he plans on pushing as he is also an author with a number of books such as The Kishi or Last of My Kind. Additionally, for any of my dreadlocks enthusiasts, he has a couple of videos on his hair journey and discusses how and why he got dreadlocks as well as how to maintain them and what products/routines he uses. If you’re in search for a well-rounded YouTuber who essentially does it all, Antoine is certainly someone you’d wanna tune into
Informative: In the 21st century, America has seen some serious changes in society and politics. With these major changes comes the responsibility of adapting with the times and a need to have conversations that aren’t being had. The web television talk show, Red Table Talk provides a safe haven to hold these necessary conversations and allow for different opinions and perspectives to be heard.
Surely we're all familiar with the star of the show, Jada Pinkett Smith who is the wife of acclaimed actor and rapper, Will Smith. Alongside her are her mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris and Jada’s daughter Willow Smith who all join in on the round-table discussion. The women usually invite guests and discuss controversial topics to reach a common ground and become more forbearing of one another. It’s important to mention that this web series is unlike anything we’ve seen before simply because the dialogue had invited the perspective of 3 different generations. Though you may see the women and/or special guests disagree from time to time it never escalates to a point where all opinions aren’t heard thoroughly and respectfully. As one of the hosts, Jada does an excellent job of mediating the conversation so that each exchange is productive and provides substance to the objective of the series.
With such a ground-breaking production it’s no surprise that this series also brings in some big numbers with over 6.9 million subscribers and 27 million views. Aside from that, Red Table Talk has also been nominated for several awards including a Streamy Award for Non-Fiction Series, a People’s Choice Award for The Daytime Talk Show of 2018 and a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show/Informative. In 2019 they were the winner of an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Host in a Talk or News/Information. These women deserve a million accolades for their work done on the series. Not only are they articulate and knowledgeable but they serve as an inspiration to start having these often-overlooked conversations with kindness and consideration instead of hate and self-assertiveness.
Lifestyle: Millennials may know her from her role in the girl group 3LW or her work on the Disney musical television film, The Cheetah Girls. Nonetheless, she has certainly blossomed into a beautiful career-driven woman and is currently doing a lot within her line of work. Adrienne Bailon (now known as Adrienne Bailon-Houghton after her marriage to Israel Houghton) has evolved from her childhood actress days and can now be found on her YouTube series, All Things Adrienne.
From the looks of it, it’s safe to say that Adrienne’s fans from her Cheetah Girl days are still riding out with her. Since starting her channel just over a year ago, she has accumulated over 864 thousand subscribers and has brought in about 51 million views. She has easily beat out some of her counterparts that also have a YouTube series through Kin Community including Hello Hunnay with Jeannie Mai and Tia Mowry’s Quick Fix. Viewers get an in-depth look at Adrienne’s life after Disney to see what she’s been up to since. Her videos consist of fashion/beauty commentary, home décor, storytimes, discussions about her Hispanic background/upbringing and funny entertainment videos. She also brings on family and friends now and then giving fans a chance to see the type of people and energy that she surrounds herself with.
In one of her videos, Adrienne invites her husband onto the episode in which they both pick out an outfit for one another to go on a date night, but there’s a catch...both have no clue what the other is choosing until they put it on. Not only do we get to see a bit of fashion for our fashionista’s out there, but we also get a glimpse at how goofy and light-hearted the relationship is between the newlyweds. For my HGTV fanatics, Adrienne also gives us some of her interior designer insights as she gives us a tour of her first house as well as her beach house in Malibu. From popstar/movie star to YouTuber and even day time talk show host on The Real, Adrienne truly does all things, and something tells me she isn’t stopping there.
Social Commentary/Gossip: Some prefer a cup of tea in the evening or right before they go to bed. Although, that’s not the case for Candice. She serves her piping hot tea at the crack of dawn with her channel, Daytime Tea Time. Candice is sure to spill all the tea on the latest celebrity news, pop culture, hot topics, and TV drama while giving her take on the topic at hand.
Though Candice started her channel just over a year ago she has gained some substantial growth with approximately 420 thousand subscribers and just under 80 million views. Not only does Candice keep it real and report the facts but she’s a comedian at heart and adds humorous visual aides to her videos for a more pleasing and funny experience when tuning in. Candice’s channel is surely on the rise and really received a lot of attention after she scored an exclusive interview with Terrence Howard, who’s known for his leading role in the musical drama television series, Empire. In the video she explains how she was contacted by Terrence’s team to set the record straight about his mental stability after an interview he did at the 2019 Emmy’s Award. Candice uses her platform to put the ignorant comments to rest and allow Terrence to elaborate some of the remarks he made during said interview.
Candice is certainly making big moves, especially when it comes to her interviews with such high-profile actors. Her recognition is well-deserved and it’s apparent the amount of work and research she puts into each video. Though she may provide her opinion, Candice always provides the facts before even getting into her take on things. Not only does it display accountability, but a level of trust can be established between her and her viewers. If she keeps it up it seems Candice may be well on her way to be next in line for Wendy Williams 10 0’clock spot on Fox.