IShowSpeed, the popular American streamer, who is in Ghana for a tour, has for the first time revealed his Ghanaian roots.
According to the 21-year old, with an incredible following of over 50 million on YouTube alone, he is partly Ghanaian. His mother, he has disclosed in an interview is from Ghana.
“I have family members who are Ghanaian. My mother is actually Ghanaian. I’m home; my mother is a Ghanaian” he disclosed. His bodyguard Rudi, is also a Ghanaian.
Popularly known as Speed, the social media sensation arrived in Ghana earlier on Monday, January 26.
According to information circulating, the streamer may appear at the Supercar Spectacle car show at Independence Square, where luxury vehicles will be showcased.
He is also expected to engage with Ghana’s content creation space through a possible race with local creator The Village Beast, an activity likely to attract strong online attention.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Abeiku Aggrey Santana, who is with the team minutes ago revealed the current location of the streamer.
He posted “IShowSpeed receives a heartfelt royal welcome at Akropong Palace with Wode Maya. Culture, connection, and true Ghanaian hospitality on full display”.
The streamer visited the Akuapem King’s palace, where local chiefs and dignitaries performed a customary ceremony to bestow upon him the name Barima Kofi Akuffo. He early on had a refreshing waterfall bath at Asenema and mangoes for dessert, he revealed his intention to acquire a property. “I’mma get a house here”.
The American has been in other African countries as part of his continental tour.
When he touched down at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), he was seen leaving with a tight security.
His arrival was quiet and according to reports, this has been the case in every country he has visited. TheNewRepublic has saw a video of him sitting in the waiting vehicle and granting short interview before departing to his hotel.
He was heard with his Ghanaian bodyguard in a video saying “we just landed in Ghana, bro. We are excited by the turn up”.
As part of his itinerary, he plans to race ‘the village beast’, stop at the Bukom Arena at Jamestown where there will be a boxing fight. He is likely to visit the Kwame Nkurmah Memorial Park in Accra.
Featured prominently is his visit to GoldBod jewelry shop in Accra. Captioned “Meetishowspeed in one of our showrooms tomorrow”, the flier said.
Though brief, his visit is expected to market the country to millions across the world due to his huge following on the internet.
Before his arrival, Abeiku Aggrey Santana posted on X, to express excitement about the visit. He shared a flyer showing a number of fun and cultural activities planned for the tour.
He was earlier in Nigeria, South Africa, Benin, and La Cote d’Ivoire. He has millions more on other social media platforms including Tiktok, IG. Facebook.
Aside his over 50 subscribers on YouTube alone, he averages 200, 000 plus concurrent viewership on livestreams. Sometimes his livestreams will peak around 600, 000 live viewers.
He was originally billed to spend two days in Ghana but because he extended his stay in South Africa, that has compressed his schedules.
He will wrap up his visit to Africa in Namibia before returning to the United States (US) with his team.
Interestingly, bodyguard of Speed is apparently a Ghanaian.
By Gifty Boateng