Ghana has granted citizenship to US YouTuber and streamer IShowSpeed as he concludes a month-long tour across Africa, the country’s foreign minister has announced. The decision comes amid growing public attention around the influencer’s engagement with African culture during his visit to the continent.
In a post on X on Monday, Foreign Minister Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa said that after the “confirmation of the irrefutable ties of IShowSpeed to Ghana,” the government “has approved the issuance of a Ghanaian Passport to IShowSpeed.” He added: “Keep making our great nation, Ghana, and our beloved African continent proud. Ghana celebrates you.”
IShowSpeed, 21, is an African American content creator born in Cincinnati, Ohio, as Darren Jason Watkins Jr. He is currently one of the most-followed influencers globally, having reached 50 million YouTube subscribers this month. Rolling Stone recently named him the Most Influential Creator of 2025, while Forbes estimates his net worth at about $20 million.
The YouTube and Twitch star began his Africa tour on December 29, travelling to 20 countries. Throughout the journey, he showcased various aspects of the continent to his tens of millions of followers, including a visit to a diamond mine in Botswana, experiences with Ethiopia’s cuisine, and attendance at the Africa Cup of Nations football final in Morocco.
His coverage has resonated strongly with viewers, many of whom praised the alternative image of Africa presented in his videos. Some Black Americans shared emotional reactions online, saying IShowSpeed’s content revealed a vision of the continent that contrasts sharply with long-standing media stereotypes of poverty and violence.
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