Social media influencer Jake Paul is depicted above. Jake has garnered over 12 million subscribers on YouTube, and set records when he passed five million subs just six months after activating his account. Cartoon by Audrey Kennedy
Despite his controversial rise to fame and his extravagant lifestyle, social media influencer Jake Paul has positively changed Generation Z’s culture and here are three reasons why.
*This has been written for satirical purposes.
1. HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Jake Paul, a popular YouTuber lifestyle influencer, was raised in Westlake, Ohio. The modest start to his career and his subsequent fame is admirable.
For those who haven’t heard of Paul (“Have you been living under a rock?”), he was not always a YouTube star. He grew an audience on the app Vine, which was sadly discontinued at the beginning of 2017. For a rant on that, stay updated, but back to the point. Jake was one of the first famous Viners, producing hilarious six-second videos that were watched millions of times.
Now, Paul can be seen making collabs with Gucci Mane allegedly for the reasonable price of $250,000, and producing fire diss tracks like “It’s Everyday Bro.”
Paul and his fellow content producers, dubbed Team 10, spit hard bars about their luxury lifestyle and success in the track. In the breakout video, Jake and Team 10 dance around in a circular formation, flexing their Teslas, mansions and Rolexes, showing that the American Dream is still very much alive.
2. A TRIPLE THREAT
Outside of his daily vlogs, Jake is a budding actor. He had a short-lived stint on the Disney Channel show Bizaardvark. In the show, he tested out his acting chops by playing a completely unrecognizable character named Dirk, a YouTuber who does stupid things for views.
His performance is believable and it’s hard to believe that Jake is not Dirk in the flesh!
Unfortunately, after a series of controversial events, Jake and the show parted ways. However as the saying goes, when God closes a door, he opens up a window and thus Jake’s music career began.
Though “Its Everyday Bro” eventually garnered more dislikes than likes on YouTube, Jake’s underground tracks like “Jerika” and “Ohio Fried Chicken” are gems. With lyrics like, “Used to call you mom but now I call you wifey,” and “If you were a dude I think I’d die,” he captures the essence of true love.
I have no doubt in five years, he will be accepting an MTV Music Award for his pioneering spirit.
3. THE JAKE BEHIND THE SCENES
After hearing claims that Jake was not a “philanthropist” and was self-serving, I was immediately taken back.
Was it the fact I didn’t know what “philanthropist” meant? Maybe. But, I think it was that people ignore all the good Jake has done.
According to Wikipedia, “philanthropy” means actions or “private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life.”
In what way does Jake not embody this?
Sure, Jake has been described as the “Donald Trump of YouTube.” Yes, he did, in fact, mock a fan from Kazakhstan implying that he was a terrorist.
But it’s all fun and games, right?
And okay, he has ongoing lawsuits against him from his former neighbors for disrupting the neighborhood’s peace.
But Jake’s “disruption of peace” is sending a message to his fans to be unapologetic and “savages.”
In closing, as he eloquently puts in response to dissenters, he “dabs on them haters.”
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