On The Rise
“My name is Stamps, but I am the whole package”, commands the Instagram profile of the quirky, dry-witted Kelly Stamps.
If you are familiar with Stamps (and if not, in due time. Just you wait!) oftentimes, you'll come to notice Stamps is never too short of a pun regarding her namesake. On an Instagram post from June 17th, her caption reads "…I evolved from Kelly Stamps to Envelope, to PACKAGE. This is what ayahuasca must feel like!" What more can I say except for that I love it, I'm here for it, and I support it.
If you hadn't heard already, Stamps is on the rise, an exponential one. I know, because I can feel it in my bones. It’s going to happen, and it already is, in real time.
Equipped with enviable charm and wit, Stamps manages to ground us with a dose of reality disguised within her trademark comedy. When asked by a viewer how the twentysomething remains effortlessly unbothered™, she responds with:
“Well, having a psychologically abusive parent along with being bullied for having a roller backpack, will do that.”
Never is her humor forced, or self-deprecating in order to exploit a sense of relatability to her audience, nowadays a trait implemented by numerous YouTube personalities and influencers by way of cringy virtue-signaling, in the case of Stamps, she possesses none of that. This further emphasizes the appeal of Stamps—she’s authentic and truly funny without having to rely on false cheeriness. On the other side of the coin, we could argue the same point, her morbid jokes are told in Stamp’s endearing monotone speech, though, again she doesn’t utilize dishonest cynicism for the sake of views, she’s just that—genuinely herself. Even the titles of her videos don’t shy away from the jarring, hilarious approach of her comedy.
Here are a couple gems for your viewing pleasure: there’s the “I Tried Making Tiramisu And This Is What Happened” or the comical “I Traveled To San Diego Purely For A Taco", the enticing “My Coworker Quit Because Of Me” and just more recently, “Minimalism ‘Cured’ My Depression”. Each artfully titled video gives us a glimpse into the storied life of Kelly Stamps, and it’s one you wouldn’t want to miss out on. Not only is Stamps a breath of fresh air, she’s necessary.
Among many of the ails social media provides, we shouldn’t forget the blessings offered as well. Traditional media rarely depicts black women in any appealing light, but with the rise of social media we are now able to view ourselves in ways in which we never quite had the fortune to. Across various platforms we can witness how we black people, especially black women, no longer are solely regulated (to an extent, though there is still a far way to go) to the monolith we're perceived as. We’re offered choices! Nowadays, I can finally get specific. Not only can I follow black women influencers, but I can get precise and, let's say, search for South Sudanese influencers the likes of Anok Kon or Sarah Lugor or Aapioo and results will pop up. We finally have options now! Huzzah!
In Stamps, I see a smiling, intelligent, quirky black woman—what feels like a reflection of myself—I rarely ever see depicted on a television show or in a film or in novels. Obviously, Stamps is not a fictional character, she’s a human being. And though it might come off as overwrought and melodramatic—and I stand by my words—her presence and her success mean something. We can dream a little bigger now because of Kelly Stamps. Now, that is all.
Thank you for coming to my Ted-Talk.
Kelly Stamps is probably my favorite YouTuber, and when she shared this I had to come comment on this article. 100% agree with everything you said, a lovely article about a cool person