IShowSpeed wraps up Africa tour highlighting the continent's cultural
diversity
[January 27, 2026]
By MARK BANCHEREAU
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The American streamer and YouTuber IShowSpeed is
on the final leg of a 28-day tour of Africa aimed at showcasing the
continent's cultural diversity, which is often overshadowed by images of
poverty and violence.
“I’ve done so many incredible things in my life,” he said during a stop
in Botswana. “But this trip is different. It opened my eyes. Africa is
not what I thought.”
The 20-nation tour across southern, eastern and North Africa began in
Angola in late December. He attended the Africa Cup of Nations final in
Morocco on Jan. 18, then visited Senegal, celebrating the national
soccer team’s victory with fans, and Nigeria, where he passed 50 million
YouTube subscribers and marked his 21st birthday.
On Monday, he visited Ghana, trying jollof rice, meeting a traditional
ruler and receiving a massage at the shea butter museum.
“I am back home, there ain’t no better feeling,” the content creator,
whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr., said upon arriving in Ghana,
revealing that his ancestry traces to the West African country. He
arrived on Tuesday in Namibia, likely the tour’s final stop.
For his “Speed Does Africa” series, Watkins streamed live on YouTube. In
videos lasting up to nine hours, he sampled local dishes, learned
traditional dances and challenged athletes, often shouting in
excitement. Large crowds of his followers swarmed him at many of his
destinations.
Changing perceptions of Africa
Pape Seye, a 40-year-old resident of Senegal’s capital, Dakar,
highlighted Watkins’ visit to the House of Slaves on Gorée Island, a
symbol of the Atlantic slave trade that sent millions of Africans into
bondage.
“Americans, especially Black Americans, need to know that our histories
are tied, that many of our ancestors might have been deported from Gorée,”
he said.
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American YouTuber and online streamer Darren Jason Watkins Jr.,
known as IShowSpeed, meets fans at Independence Square in Accra,
Ghana, during his Africa tour, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Tsraha
Yaw)
 Souleymane Ba, a 24-year-old
literature student from Senegal, told The Associated Press: “I hope
that as Americans learn more about Africa and see its rich cultures,
they will realize it is not made up of ‘shithole countries.’”
For some Americans, the message appears to be resonating.
“IShowSpeed is single-handedly changing our view of Africa,”
GrowYourEther, another American streamer, said in a TikTok video.
“We had been told Africa is primitive, that it’s dangerous,” said
American influencer Caroline Jones in tears on Instagram, adding she
was moved by the warm welcome the streamer received on the
continent.
Others have been more skeptical. Beninese influencer Nelly Mbaa,
known online as Afro Chronik, said that Watkins embodies a Western
expectation that young Black men be valued for spectacle rather than
intellect. She said he's followed not for subtle humor, but for
performing “an absurd, exaggerated and grotesque character.”
“If he were to abandon this persona — the constant grimacing,
shouting and controversial remarks — his audience would likely
disappear,” Mbaa said.
IShowSpeed has more than 50 million YouTube subscribers, 45 million
Instagram followers and 47 million on TikTok.
He has built his brand on loud, exaggerated and sometimes aggressive
reactions that became his online persona, but also sparked
controversy. In 2022, he was banned from a professional online
gaming competition after a sexist outburst against a female player
and briefly suspended from YouTube for showing sexual content in a
video game.
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