By Deja Johnson
Last week, social media personality, “bdtrelilbrother”, otherwise known as Raymonte, took to his TikTok page to address his frustration with viewers claiming that he is “too ghetto” for corporate brand partnerships. Raymonte specifically addresses hip hop artist, Cardi B and the Black magazine publication, Essence. This situation has sparked a lot of opinions and views on the topic of Black brands not supporting many Black influencers or content creators with opportunities to grow their following. It all started when Essence wrote an article on Raymonte’s Birthday, sparking a conversation to show Black influencers’ lack of brand opportunities. Raymonte responded by saying the article is “kind of hypocritical” and then further explained how they invite lots of influencers to their events, including BET as well. This is very true, as Essence has never invited him to those events. further said Essence doesn’t use him as an example when they are contributing to the problem.
I honestly agree with everything that Raymonte has said about this situation because a lot of Black brands don’t want certain ‘kinds’ of black people representing their brands. It isn’t fair to assume that they can’t make a good impression on the brand especially if they have a good following or are just a good person overall. This sparked a lot of controversy on social media, especially Twitter, where lots of people agree with Raymonte. I agree with him, as I don’t find his content to be “ghetto”. I have to wonder, is this all happening because Raymonte has a certain look about himself, tattoos and ‘urban’ clothing? Is this why people assume he’s ghetto? In his recent TikTok video, Raymonte explains “how positive he is as a person” and he also mentions how “so much of his content is based off of body positivity and motivating his followers to stay/ finish school”. So many higher-up Black brands always want to work with people who they assume are not “ghetto” based simply on looks and honestly that is very unfair, as the Black community should support all creators on any platform.
Looking at Black brands like Essence and BET, it’s very disappointing that they don’t want to work with Raymonte, but would rather work with other people who have the same “ghetto” aura, which isn’t fair. I believe more Black brands should be opened to bring in more Black influencers to their brands, no matter their aesthetic. For example, Topicals brand trip was the best at doing just that! This trip supported so many Black content creators, which as a Black girl was amazing to see! I just wish other Black brands would do the same.
Brands I would love to see Raymonte work with are BET, Essence Magazine and maybe even beauty brands like Topicals, Camila Rose, or Mielle. Let’s do a better job at supporting our Black content creators and influencers more and help bring more opportunities to our community!