Cultural Curators

This dynamic duo is not only RuPaul's Drag Race champions, but Webby award-winning podcasters of Sibling Rivalry and Queerty Award winners for Best Web Series, thanks to their derring-do on streaming channel Dropout's Dungeons and Drag Queens.

These New York queens also slay on social media. Monét X Change (@monetxchange) has 1.2 million followers on Instagram, and over 695,000 on TikTok (@themonetxchange), while Bob the Drag Queen (@bobthedragqueen) boasts 2.1 million followers on Instagram and 3.3 million on Tiktok. Whatever the platform, these two know how to captivate viewers, be it by spilling tea, tackling hot topics, delivering side-splitting silliness, or making TikTok trends their own.

Their profiles have only been rising. In 2024, Monét launched her own show on Dropout, the kiki-focused Monét's Slumber Party. Earlier this year, Bob made waves on Traitors Season 3 before releasing his debut novel, Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert, which is now a New York Times bestseller.

Sulinna Ong may have the coolest job in the world. As Spotify’s global head of editorial, Ong helps determine how the world listens to music and discovers new artists. Ong and her team are tasked with creating suggestions and playlists for Spotify’s 678 million monthly active users, and keeping longstanding mixes, like RapCaviar, fresh.

The former Live Nation and BMG Music exec has championed Spotify additions like short-form video and track commentary, favoring a mix of AI and personal curation for her listeners. Spotify is making a concerted effort to highlight to subscribers the people guiding their listening, acknowledging that, while AI is a helpful tool for understanding what a listener may like, “[It] doesn’t have a point of view,” as she recently told Billboard. Ong is insistent that her digital and human editors remain independent and abide by a code of ethics, not influenced by payola or label interference.

Navigating the future of music in a world increasingly shaped by AI is not for the faint of heart. Case in point: The rise of AI artists. Ong says her focus is on human musicians and supporting their work, but she acknowledges the winds of change. "I have not seen a generative AI artist or track take off," she told Billboard. "That’s not to say that it won’t happen in the future, but right now, that’s not what we’re seeing."

When it comes to content, online creators often appear pigeonholed — e.g., clickbait pranks, day-in-my-life vlogs, or absurdist comedy — but if there's ever been a case for striking out on your own, it can be found in the continually rising success of Alexis Nikole Nelson.

Nelson, aka the Black Forager, is a food activist and foraging teacher who first took over TikTok in the years of anxiety-fueled COVID-19 hobby farming. Her content is aimed at growing public interest in reclaiming local environments (and their Indigenous history) through urban foraging. It's a movement Mashable first chronicled in 2020, when Nelson had an already significant following of 479,000, and it has since become one of the many ways people interact with both the climate and racial justice movements.

Originally a humble pursuit to revolutionize how people relate to their local flora, the @BlackForager account has led the 33-year-old Ohio native to new heights, including a Forbes 30 under 30 recognition and a James Beard award, a collaboration on a line of eco-friendly cleaning supplies, and appearances on the rising comedy streaming service Dropout. For almost 7 million followers across her Instagram and TikTok pages, the self-proclaimed "Loud Plant Lady" is still tapping into the world's desire to slow down and smell the roses — and maybe take a bite of 'em, too. 

If you're interested in fashion history, there's a good chance you'll be interested in Mina Le. Also known as "gremlita," this 28-year-old YouTuber's video essays dive into clothing and culture, exploring subjects such as film costume accuracy, beauty myths, and evolving fashion trends. Her videos on fashion and beauty regularly rack up several hundred thousand views, with over 2.5 million on her 2024 video dissecting the "death of personal style."

Though Le only began posting video essays in 2020, her engaging and informative content has earned the Los Angeles-based creator over 1.7 million subscribers on YouTube, which is further bolstered by 413,000 followers on Instagram. Some of her most popular videos have focused on TikTok's negative impact on fashion, a look at "toxic" femininity, and a critique of the clothing in Netflix's Emily in Paris. Instead of critiquing specific looks, Le takes the long view in her content, and her deep well of sartorial knowledge truly puts her in a different class of fashion creators.

This video essayist, known by more than a million subscribers as F.D Signifier, is part of the phenomenon colloquially labeled BreadTube (or LeftTube), a wave of online creators who utilize YouTube as a conduit for political awareness.

Getting his start in video content creation in 2020, Signifier has become a key player in a network of online thinkers working to steer impressionable viewers away from the site's conservative figures using the rules of their own playbooks. And Signifier has risen in popularity as a uniquely Black voice amid a slew of creators diving deep into American culture, media, and politics. 

Signifier's videos make sense of subjects that are often reduced to loud 'gotcha' posts on X or reactionary videos on TikTok. This creator explores subjects like Black male sexuality and the legacies of figures like Diddy and Beyoncé.

Signifier's growing following suggests that young people are still interested in thoughtful context and commentary; they may just be seeking it out on YouTube rather than the pages of more traditional media.

Golloria George isn't just a beauty influencer. She's pushing cosmetic and beauty companies to create products inclusive of dark-skinned women. The mission is personal for George — she arrived in the U.S. as a 5-year-old South Sudanese refugee and soon felt otherized.

George grew up distinctly aware that the makeup aisle had little to offer her. She's spoken about the everyday reality of feeling unseen and unwelcome in the beauty industry, and she's not interested in making her critiques more palatable to skeptics.

As George likes to say, she's unapologetically herself. It's been a winning strategy for the creator, who now has an audience of more than 4 million followers on Instagram and TikTok.

Her authentic voice and expertise have also led to major consulting gigs with the likes of Patrick Ta Beauty, Hailey Bieber's Rhode, and Fenty founder Rihanna.

While George takes her work seriously, she's undeniably fun to watch. Her enthusiasm for beauty and lifestyle products, along with her simple but stunning glow-ups, make for must-see viewing.

No one does an OOTD like Wisdom Kaye. The Nigerian-American influencer, stylist, and model, 24, has garnered over 13.7 million followers on TikTok and 7.5 million on Instagram for his slickly shot videos of high-fashion looks. It helps that he has a deftly curated closet packed with funky pieces, but one can't discount his unmatched creativity. Kaye often responds to comments, challenging him to buck fashion faux pas and style outfits based on niche prompts: Dune characters, fonts, countries competing in the Olympics, seabirds, Italian brainrot memes, you name it. Kaye's playful approach to haute couture is demystifying personal styling for the masses. At the same time, his lewk-serving swagger feels singular on platforms where monoculture runs rife. The fashion world has taken notice: In the past year, Kaye's social media presence has earned him a Met Gala invite and landed him high-profile campaigns with brands like Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, and Bentley. Deservedly so, we might add: He's just so freaking cool.

Model Alex Consani has walked the runways of fashion's biggest houses, from tastemakers like Alexander McQueen and Schiaparelli Couture to giants like Versace and Chanel. Skyrocketing in popularity both online and off, she made history late last year as the first trans woman to win Model of the Year at the Fashion Awards (and, along with model Valentina Sampaio, walked the same historic steps on the runway of Victoria's Secret). But Consani still hadn't peaked, taking on the role of Brat summer muse in Charli XCX's "360" music video (and subsequent It Girl Grammy performance) and even getting her own Chicken Shop Date with Amelia Dimoldenberg. The 22-year-old — yes, she's only 22 — has joined the ranks of some of the most prolific and sought-after high fashion models, but few, if any, have become the kind of relatable, absurd pop culture icon that she has. Garnering a massive following on TikTok due to her off-kilter impressions and instant meme status, the model has become a model (pun intended) for the internet's new era of unabashed weirdness. To the 6 million users watching on TikTok and yet another 3.5 million over on Instagram, her haute couture looks are eye-catchingly bold and fashionably relatable. Pop culture is following in Consani's digital footprints.

Perhaps you know Tefi Pessoa from her multi-part series on pop culture moments, her advice column at The Cut, or one of her many, many viral TikToks, but chances are, you love her. The Miami-born Latina has nearly 2 million followers on TikTok, not to mention her significant following on Instagram, and she's known for giving incredible big sister-esque advice. She told Mashable in 2022 that her first internet community was Neopets, where she named her virtual pets Britney Spears and Manny from Degrassi. Three years on, Pessoa has come a long way. Her affable personality has made her sought out as both an interviewer and interviewee — she got Jeff Goldblum to open up on the red carpet, made TikToks with former president Barack Obama, was interviewed by Drew Barrymore, and, just this year, was named by Time and Rolling Stone as one of the world's most influential creators.