Paper short abstract:

This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on race, culture, and social media, providing a nuanced understanding of the intersections between African performativities and Black privilege in the digital age.

Paper long abstract:

The proposed paper explores how emergent African (diaspora) influencers utilize social media platforms to challenge Western narratives and assert their cultural identities. It interrogates how African interventions presently shape and influence popular culture by challenging traditional Western narratives, offering new perspectives of Africa(ns) and disrupting normative understandings of race, identity, and culture. Through a detailed analysis of the acts of purposively selected online artists (with social media handles, @maximbabytouray, @alwayspilipili2, and @napiofficial27), this study uncovers how they leverage their platforms to promote African performativities and assert Black privilege. It further investigates how their interventions in popular culture serve as a form of activism, contributing to a broader discourse on race, identity, and culture in the digital age. The paper argues that African performativities on social media not only highlight the dynamism of African cultures but also underscore an emergent Black privilege and its potential and capacity to redefine cultural norms and values in the West. The findings of this research offer valuable insights into the dynamics of cultural exchange, representation and populism on social media, highlighting the transformative potential of digital platforms in amplifying marginalized voices and fostering cultural understanding and social cohesion. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on the role of social media in shaping contemporary cultural landscapes and the power dynamics inherent in these digital spaces.