Comedians, musicians, dancers and more: in the UK, Black Britons are killing it all on TikTok. Racking in millions of followers worldwide, these TikTokers are leading the next generation of internet crossover stars as they start to claim their places in music or acting. And TikTok wants to celebrate them.
For this year’s Black History Month, the app teamed up with some prolific Black British talent on the app with their #ThisIsBlack campaign. Showing off talented people in all areas of entertainment on the app, Trevor Johnson, Head of Marketing, Global Business Solutions for Europe at TikTok, has said: “This Black History Month, we are incredibly proud to continue supporting our Black community by providing a platform for representation in all areas of culture and enabling important conversations to be had.”
Here are some of the top TikTok talent, who just so happen to be Black (though of course they’re just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the amazing talent out there).
Dreya Mac
Age: 20. TikTok handle: @dreyamac. Niche: music/dancing/skits
Why are they the next social media star: Dreya is a funny, androgynous beacon of joy on TikTok. Offering a mix of dance videos, sketch comedy – and now musical content, as she starts up her musical career. With her first big dance break being a background dancer for Stormzy’s first Number One single ‘Vossi Bop’, she’s used her love for dancing to push her forward in her career, but music – which she only started at the start of the year – is where her heart is now – an EP is due soon.
Victor Kunda
Age: 22. TikTok handle: @victor.kunda. Niche: skits/sketch comedy
Why are they the next social media star: Taking the app by storm with his funny skits, embodying relatable characters found in everyone’s life, Victor Kunda is hard not to laugh at. This cheery chap’s content even features a signature jog, which he and all his TikTok famous friends do – think of it as a little challenge. He’s one of the leading TikTokkers in the UK, and Kunda’s personality really sells, leading him to gain a solid social media following and start his modelling career.
Kerboodlemynoodle
@kerboodlemynoodle this was better in my head 😾 #kerboodlemynoodle
Age: 18. TikTok handle: @kerboodlemynoodle. Niche: sketch comedy
Why are they the next social media star: Her real name is apparently Sage, and this slightly mysterious TikTokker is a big hit on the app. Most popular for her role-playing as male characters like Gary, an EDL supporter, and the self-explanatory Mr Perv, this 18-year-old highlights some of the discomforts of being a Black British woman through the art of sketch comedy. Sage has some social commentary in her work, which seems to go over many’s viewers’ heads, but her ability to stay in character, as well as write compelling sketches, shall take her far.
Faceinthenews
Age: 20-something. TikTok handle: @faceinthenews. Niche: rapping/sketch comedy
Why are they the next social media star: Also a huge Instagram star, Faceinthenews is a proud Jamaican talent who uses her culture to create funny characters to reflect the life she – along with many other Caribbean kids – has lived. Now she’s doing the odd freestyle as she tries to start up her rap career, Tye will hopefully have her face in the news for real one day.
Uglyandz
TikTok handle: @uglyandz38. Niche: skits/comedy
Why are they the next social media star: Uglyandz is a reflection of north London and its culture, as he makes skits centring around his life there. Everything has some sort of humour rolled into it as he is one who is never to be taken seriously. If you’re a TikTok fan, you might have seen him act out being a Jamaican uncle; those skits send his likes through the roof. A self-proclaimed comedian, presenter, and actor – and maybe, he says, the “north-west London Jay-Z” – he might even be the next great social media polymath.
Papz
Age: 18. TikTok handle: @papz14. Niche: sketch comedy
Why are they the next social media star: Papz has been adding to drill culture by creating funny parodies and sketches using the scene’s fashion, lingo and even beats to make songs that lightly mock what he sees around him. He’s essentially bottling drill and London culture into minute-long videos that the whole city can relate to. Blowing up on his way out of education, Papz is steadily rising to reach the heights of some other TikTokers on the list. In the future, the star tells NME that he wants to “keep inspiring the youth and go on to making my own comedy sketch in the next coming year”.
Jay Berry
TikTok handle: @jay.berryy Niche: DJing
Why are they the next social media star: From DJing for fun on the app to now posting meme questions for other TikTokers to “stitch” (or add a video response to his original video), Jay Berry has used TikTok to elevate his fledgling music career. After gaining nearly 400,000 followers on the platform, he has been invited to DJ and MC at festival sets like this Summer’s MetroFest in London, where he had the biggest crowd for most of the day.
Nife
Age: 26. TikTok handle: @itsjustnifee. Niche: dancing
Nife has amassed a dedicated fanbase with her cool dance moves to hit afrobeats tunes. Creating a budding afrobeats dance community on the app, Nife has proven her star power is not just in her feet, as she implores others to come together on TikTok and express themselves.
Ehiz Ufuah
Age: 22. TikTok handle: @_ehiz. Niche: acting/skits
Why are they the next social media star: Great friends with Victor Kunda, Ehiz Ufuah has his sights on his acting career. Blowing up after “covering” the Tracy Beaker theme song in his inimitable way, Ehiz has become the face of UK TikTok quite quickly, and it now crossing over into the world of television, where he is a part of an ensemble on the show Excess Baggage for Comedy Central. Easily the biggest Black British TikTok star (he now has 10 million followers), this once-homeless university student has really switched his own narrative – and all through the means of TikTok.