Entertainment / The New Wave Of Brown YouTube

The New Wave Of Brown YouTube

Entertainment Jan 13, 2014

by Anokhi Admin

There is nothing like culturally relevant humor.

It straddles the space between racially offensive, culturally insensitive and yet laughing at such jokes with friends and family feels great when you can relate. It signifies a connection and understanding on a level that those who haven’t had the benefit of growing up with your principles, your ethnic traditions and your societal problems, will never understand. Now, in a tongue-in-cheek encounter with old-school family values, South Asian Gen-Y and Millennials are expressing their voices through YouTube. By tackling issues and traditional values through comedy, first and second generation immigrant video bloggers are fearlessly challenging and redefining among South Asian youth what it means to be “brown.”

Wilbur Sargunaraj

Rustic South Indian persona, Wilbur’s original claim to fame is his title as India’s first Youtube sensation. His comedy is written in song, and he pokes fun of Bollywood, Cricket, and day to day life of South Asians in India such as the poor sanitation or the complexity of women’s traditional dress. “My love affair with music started at a young age. I would sing and dance for at family gatherings. One of my inspirations was Michael Jackson – all my beats follow his style. When I realized I couldn’t become a doctor, software engineer or lawyer, I decided to follow my passion for music.” Since he went viral, Sargunaraj turned to movie making, with Simple Superstar which was screened at the Calgary Film Festival in 2013. Even the highly critical Roger Ebert tweeted that Sargunaraj was a good laugh.

SuperWoman

Ontario-based, 23 year old Lilly “Superwoman” Singh seems like the traditional Sikh mother’s nightmare.

Off camera and in interviews she comes across as the clean cut simple -girl, but her videos reflect another persona and her jabs at different facets of South Asian culture and way of life are sharp, witty and on point.

Lilly vows that her background in psychology has nothing to do with her video uploads, but rather the cathartic aspects of vlogging about personal concerns, and the lack of representation of brown women comedy vloggers made her step up her game. When asked about her humor, Lilly explains that “I think I just say things that other people are scared to say. As a brown girl, I don't think people expect me to say the things I say, and when I do, they're like ‘Oh my god, I feel that way, too, I've just never said it.’” Lilly is the perfect example what happens when you just be yourself; making well known names such as Huffington Post loving her style.

JusReign

Jasmeet Singh, of Guelph Ontario's one-stop-shop Sikh comedy act is a definite win. The 22 year old could be doing sketch comedy but he prefers film, using the camera to take on multiple personas in a single video from South Asian commercials, weddings, Desi teen habits and more.

His videos like “Sh** White Guys Say to Brown Guys” and his other discussions of race issues like Most Annoying Brown Guys or his familial cracks on Desi Parent Health bring out the laughs, though his parents threatened to kick him out of the house at first. In his typical tongue-in-cheek manner, Jasmeet explained that “things changed when other parents came up saying ’Your son's doing a good job…’ When the money started rolling in – you can't find no brown parents who are going to complain about money – they were like “Okay, you do what you gotta do.”

Humble the Poet

Toronto-bred Humble the Poet, aka Kanwer Singh, is an elementary school teacher in Toronto by day, and moonlights as a successful MC/Spoken Word Artist, tattoos, beard, head wrap and all since 2008. By using Hip Hop as his vlogging medium, Kanwer uses life experiences and his ethnic traditions to raise a discussion among listeners about contemporary social issues.

His work has taken of, featuring on MTV, in Rolly Stone, Allhiphop and more. He’s toured North America (including Lollapalooza 2012) and other festivals in London and Delhi.

He collaborates regularly with Harman the Hater to create comedy videos that deride social media, “brown” stereotypes and relationship issues.

These men and women are not only using You Tube as a means of spreading their message through their alter egos, they also get to test the waters professionally by showcasing their comedic talent in front of the widest possible audience. Whether they stay communicating strictly through this mediam remains to be seen as these talents could most definitely break into sketch comedy, professional film, publishing and more. They’re raising awareness of important social issues among today’s youth in a way that’s most relevant and accessible to them, and that is perhaps most important of all.

_{Image Credits:

Wilbur.png http://www.wilbur.asia

Superwoman.jpeg http://www.sikhchic.com/}
_{Jusreign.jpeg}_{http://jusreign.tv/}
_Humble.jpeg_{http://www.bhangraw.com/}

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