Elena Morey
A&E Editor
Since the conception of YouTube, various individuals have gained substantial fame and influence using the platform to launch a career. From YouTubers whose names are known worldwide, to those who have a small but loyal following, YouTuber Daz Black is somewhere in the middle. He rose to fame around 2017, despite having a smaller following many years before. His channel was predominantly based around video games, and most videos were screen recordings of his gameplay as well as his commentary. What really attracted fans was his unique take on the gameplay as well as his hilarious side commentary. Soon, Black’s channel would be primarily focused around his comedic personality.
Black’s style is something between honesty and pure joy. Black himself is a joyous, funny, relatable and charismatic person. He is very down-to-earth, and has a real quality about him. Most other famous YouTubers seem un-relatable or so elevated that the viewer begins to feel distant. But Black is truly “one of the people.” His honesty about his life as well as his own shortcomings create great material for his own comedic spin on his own content. Over time, his videos moved toward reviews of other YouTube content, called “Daz Watches.” He began to address his fanbase more and more, calling them “Dazzlers.” His positive attitude and subtle nuances about centering his content around genuine humor and gameplay, rather than just clickbait and giving the viewers what they want. His various humorous critiques of other YouTubers and some of their content really reflects how much effort and critical thinking he puts into his own content.
A unique aspect that makes Black’s channel so significant and popular is his laugh. The man has the laugh of pure, innocent happiness, no matter what he may be laughing about. He even cracks himself up. Furthermore, his various skits display some acting skill, as well as later creating fuller parodies of pop culture. Black’s is never afraid to laugh at himself. His channel not only offers a great laugh, but a more critical perspective about some aspects of life that are often glossed over. Sometimes, it is alright to laugh at yourself or recognize how silly something may be on the outside.
Not only is he hilarious, for some Western audiences, his British accent is another element to his “exotic” perspectives. Black is not everyone’s cup of tea, but he sure does drink a lot of it! Most of his merchandise is centered around all the tea he drinks and often has something to do with tea.
Another staple of his channel is his broken Windows PC. It often interrupts videos with an annoying chime and warning of “Low Disk Space,” which Black has had looked at by a professional, who found that the computer is insane. There is no low disk space, but still the notification continues its annoying chime and asserts itself bravely into Black’s content. Many of the Dazzlers have demanded the “Low Disk Space” be incorporated into his merchandise, and, — low and behold — Black came out with various merchandise appeasing their demands. This kind of behavior is exactly who Black is. He doesn’t see himself as an elevated YouTuber, or as a low-level influencer. Black always gives his audience a great laugh, no matter their sense of humor or what video they see on his channel.