Entertainment
The Creators Behind New York City’s Digital Revival
Bing bong! If you’ve ever been to New York City, you know the iconic sound of the subway. Or you’ve heard the onomatopoeia echoed by one of New York’s many content creators. America’s largest city is swarming with talent chasing the attention economy. This is how some of New York City’s newest and brightest social media stars are shaping that moment.
If your TikTok algorithm is even slightly New York-centric, you’ve seen the chaotic sparkle of Side Talk New York, the “1-minute street interview show” that’s become both a meme machine and a cultural archive. Filmmakers Trent Simonian and Jack Byrne have turned shouting matches outside MSG into high-speed anthropology. A man declaring “Bing Bong” after a Knicks win? That’s folklore now (the phrase was popularized by frequent guest host Nems). But the genius of Side Talk is in the small moments of joy and absurdity across boroughs that it captures. The pulse of the city translated directly into pixels.
If you’re lucky, you might catch an interview done with microphones attached to Metro Cards on your Subway journey. Subway Takes, created by Kareem Rahma and Andrew Kuo in 2023, has interviewees defending their hot takes live on the train while the host, Rahma, agrees or disagrees. The platform is one of many that have revitalized interest in the city, which suffered greatly from the woes of the Covid-19 pandemic, causing a huge increase in hospitalizations and deaths, as well as shuttered businesses, brought tourism to halt and brought an interest into uplifting local communities and highlighting the rich and unique culture and atmosphere of New York.
Especially in tourism and food content, there is a renewed interest in New York, from places of interest to tourists, to old-school local businesses that have survived generations. Rob Martinez, the name behind Eating With Robert, has amassed a huge following on TikTok, YouTube, Substack and Instagram for his videos and writing about amazing food finds. Martinez, originally from Long Island, began his journey by highlighting his favorite local eateries in New York, and has expanded his food content globally, traveling elsewhere in the United States and abroad to highlight local food cultures and deserving small businesses. –
Another way New Yorkers have garnered attention is through their recipes, not the glossy, studio-lit kind, but those that feel born in apartment kitchens, somewhere between nostalgia and innovation. Future Canoe, a YouTuber who reviews and cooks food in humors videos, with New York as his backdrop. The videos often pair experimental recipes (trying to attempt AI click bait recipes, trying “struggle meals”and reviewing viral NYC dishes). In the same spirit, Farideh Sadeghin, the former Munchies host now helming her own YouTube channel, captures that quintessential “cook with me” energy. Her collaborations—whether grilling ribs on a Brooklyn rooftop or testing a Lower East Side deli’s secret sandwich—turn everyday cooking into cultural conversation. It’s not just about the food; it’s about how food folds into city identity, class, and accessibility.
Another lively example of coverage of neighborhood favorites and the revival of New York is Brooklyn Bites, mainly known via their Instagram account @brooklynbitess. Run by first-generation Italian-Americans Sabrina and Giuseppe, their page reads like an ever-expanding family table: clips from Sunday sauce, neighborhood pizza spots, and trips back to Italy all sit side by side. They spotlight local restaurants and bakeries as lovingly as they document the kind of comfort food made by nonnas, showing Brooklyn and the Italian diaspora that raised them to the world. The tone is casual and deeply affectionate, the hosts pull you into a shared cultural memory, one bite at a time.
Altogether, what connects the content of Subway Takes, Eating With Robert, Future Canoe, Brooklyn Bites, and Side Talk is a collective insistence on presence. These creators reject sanitized portrayals of New York in favor of the messy, immediate, lived-in version. The platforms differ in focus, but they share a rhythm: hyperlocal storytelling charged with digital intimacy. In post-pandemic New York, the city’s return is being championed by creators.
Viral Twitch streamer and artist PlaqueBoyMax has restarted his notorious “Song Wars” competition after leaving it dormant for nearly a year. Earlier Song Wars runs in 2024 and 2025 helped establish the series as a regular stop for underground rappers looking to test unreleased tracks on stream. The new “Rising Stars Edition” of the series has artists play their unreleased music for a panel of judges. The first iteration was certainly a memorable one. The contest, where artists tried to impress a small room of judges and gain new listeners has contestants joining a video call live while their track is played and scored zero to ten. Notably, contest and previous “In The Booth” guest 2Slimey left the show early after a poor response to his music. Here’s how the stream went down, and what’s next for Max in 2026.
Over the past year Max shifted some of his focus away from streaming and toward his own music career. He still streams regularly, and has many brand partnerships, including recent streams with Nike in London for example. But Max has also jump-started his own music career. In May 2025, he formally announced a joint deal with DJ Zack Bia’s Field Trip Recordings and Capitol Records and began focusing on touring and promotion. Max also recieved praise by probably being the first Twitch streamer to be nominated for a Grammy. He was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Recording for his production on the song “Victory Lap”, a collaboration with Fred again.. and Skepta. Max spoke about the nomination on stream and in interviews, describing how he first heard the news while he was live and then watched the clip circulate across social media In mid-March, Max announced that Rising Stars Song Wars would return with updated rules.
In the Rising Stars stream, which aired three days ago on March 15th, Max tells viewers he invited thirteen artists and that each one will play one song while judges score from zero to ten in a single night competition. He also says he intends to repost the records on his own channels, through playlists and SoundCloud uploads, so the songs keep moving after the stream ends. With a focus mainly on the underground, the Rising Stars lineup included BabyChiefdoit, BabyFace E, 1300Saint, Teezus, Slayr, alongside lesser known artists like Bleood, Chucky, Sk8star and 2Slimey. The judging panel gave this competition more reach than a typical Twitch stream. Multi-platinum producer Southside, DJ Akademiks, BruceDropEmOff and ImDontai all joined Max on the panel. The show aired live on PlaqueBoyMax’s Twitch channel and later appeared in full on YouTube, allowing viewers to watch the entire competition after the stream ended.
Most coverage after the stream focused on 2Slimey’s appearance and exit. Known for his auto-tuned, heavily distorted music, the Oklahoma-based rapper was polarizing for the panel. During Rising Stars, he played his track “New Swag,”. Almost the entire panel gave him zero out of ten, with Akademiks as the only judge willing to go as high as five. 2Slimey then left the call after hearing the mostly negative feedback. Reaction content framed that moment as the main story from the stream, replaying and commenting on 2Slimey’s segment, although Chicago rapper Lil Noonie also received low scores from some of the judges. Several creators uploaded dedicated reaction videos to the Rising Stars stream, focusing on the judges’ scores for 2Slimey and replaying the moment he left the call. Slayr, from Philadelphia, won the competition and received praise and positive feedback from the judges.
Song Wars now operates at a different scale than it did when it first helped build Max’s profile. He comes into this version as a working rapper with label support and streaming numbers, not just as a Twitch host sorting through submissions. Artists still show up because the room can move them into playlists, social posts and writeups that would take longer to reach on their own. Outlets such as The Fader and NPR have since profiled Max’s streams and competitions, treating Song Wars and In The Booth as central to his rise from Twitch into wider hip‑hop coverage. The Rising Stars competition shows that this mix of risk and opportunity remains in place, and it shows that Max still wants one strong song, played once in front of the right crowd, to matter.
New Jersey native PlaqueBoyMax, born Maxwell Dent, has seen his meteoric rise to fame for streaming and music since 2022. Alongside this growing fame, Max has upgraded his recording setup from the most basic and budget of microphones and interfaces, to studio sessions in some of the most famous recording studios in the world, alongside producers like frequent collaborator Fred Again (often stylized Fred again..). Max’s setup is a case study in going from DIY bedroom workflow to a fully‑routed hybrid studio and streaming rig, without losing the speed that made his early clips feel so off‑the‑cuff. What makes his current setup interesting isn’t just the price tag, but how it’s designed so he can record vocals, talk to chat and cut songs live, all on the same grid.
In those earlier tutorials, Max is almost apologetic about how barebones his rig is: a Scarlett 2i2 on the desk, an SM58 or AT2020 on a stand, Audio‑Technica headphones into a cheap splitter so a friend can listen in, and everything running through FL Studio. The workflow is simple: drag a YouTube beat into FL, find the key and tempo with a site like Tunebat or similar analyzers, then build a vocal chain from the DAW’s built‑in EQ, delay, reverb and limiter. For pitch correction, he points viewers toward Antares Auto‑Tune and budget alternatives like Slate Digital’s Metatune, turning that basic chain into something closer to a modern rap preset. It is the definition of an accessible starter kit: one interface, one mic, one DAW, and a handful of plugins that come standard or are easy to pirate if you’re a teenager on a laptop.
The PlaqueBoyMAX vocal sound that people now try to reverse‑engineer is a more polished version of that chain, with third‑party plugins doing the heavy lifting. Community presets and breakdown videos point to him leaning on EQ stages like Waves VEQ3 or VEQ4 for tone‑shaping, plus an exciter or enhancer such as Waves Vitamin to pull his voice forward without just cranking the top end. From there it is the classic modern stack: Auto‑Tune for continuous pitch, compression to level out the performance, then short room reverb and slapback delays that keep things intimate even when the beat is wide. It is still built in FL Studio, but instead of only stock plugins, he layers color EQs and enhancers similar to the way his collaborator Fred again.. stacks analog‑style tools in Ableton and on outboard gear.
Hardware‑wise, the jump from the SM58 and AT2020 to a Neumann U87‑class mic instantly changes how that chain behaves. Condenser mics at that level pick up more top‑end detail and room tone, which means his EQ and de‑essing can be subtler while still landing that bright, hyper‑present vocal that cuts on TikTok and Twitch VODs. Max uses a dedicated USB mic like the Elgato Wave 3 for streaming, keeping his recording chain and his broadcast chain separate. The Wave series is designed for creators: plug‑and‑play on Mac or PC, built‑in clip protection and a software mixer that can route game audio, DAW output and mic to different virtual faders.
If you look at the streamed studio sessions with Fred again.., you can see how this philosophy scales up. Those sessions often run on a two‑computer workflow: one machine dedicated to the DAW and recording, the other capturing the screen, camera feeds and audio mix for Twitch, bridged by virtual channels and an interface capable of multiple cue mixes. A Stream Deck or similar controller sits on the desk to instantly mute talkback mics, switch scenes or drop markers, so a private conversation can happen while the beat still plays for viewers. Cameras range from a proper mirrorless body on an HDMI capture card in the control room to a simple webcam in the booth.
What ties all of this together is that Max’s setup is optimized for what his audience expects him to do on any given night: write hooks in real time, bounce between Discord, Twitch chat and FL Studio, and turn the best ideas into actual releases. The bedroom rig made that possible on a budget, but the current high-end configuration lets him keep the same spontaneous energy at a far higher technical ceiling. No matter what the setting, PlaqueBoyMax has excelled at giving people chances to watch the music being made as it happens.
Darren Watkins Jr., better known as IShowSpeed, crossed 50 million YouTube subscribers this week on January 20, 2026, which was his 21st birthday. The milestone marks the peak of a rapid rise that now includes a real music career in addition to streaming and live content. Since 2021, the Cincinnati-born creator has released songs that have earned hundreds of millions of streams and has performed his music live at festivals and stadium events.
IShowSpeed’s first released song was the humorous “Dooty Booty”, released August of 2021. However, the more serious “Shake”, released on November 24 of the same year, was Speed’s first mainstream success. The track sampled the Fugees’ “Ready or Not” and Ray Charles’ “Hit the Road Jack,” combining nostalgic hip-hop elements with high-energy delivery that aligned with his streaming persona. The music video reached over 230 million views on YouTube, introducing millions to his music beyond his existing fanbase. The success of “Shake” proved that IShowSpeed’s appeal extended beyond his stream entertainment value. Listeners responded to the track’s infectious production and playful aggression, and the song became a reliable fixture in his live sets. On Spotify, “Shake, Pt. 2 (Get Get Down Version)”, a remix to the song, has accumulated over 71 million streams, and remains one of his most-played tracks nearly five years after release.
Following “Shake,” Speed has released multiple projects that showed range and experimentation. “World Cup,” released during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, became another major entry in his discography, with over 91 million Spotify streams. The song tapped into his international reach and real-time entertainment instincts, delivering music tied to global events he covered on stream. Speed’s releases span multiple languages and genres. Collaborations with Brazilian artists and Portuguese-language tracks like “Amar De” featuring MC Kevin o Chris and MC CJ reflect his willingness to adapt his music to his international audience, capitalizing off of local connections and travels. Spee’s total catalog has over 229 million combined streams on Spotify oline. While not all of his 22 releases achieved the scale of “Shake” or “World Cup,” the breadth of Speed’s output demonstrates commitment to music as a serious creative venture rather than a secondary project.
IShowSpeed’s first major festival appearance came at Rolling Loud Portugal in August 2023, where he performed alongside DJ Scheme. For Speed, performing at Rolling Loud Portugal validated his transition from content creator to working musician. He performed “Shake” and his World Cup track, establishing his live setlist and proving he could deliver energy to a crowd outside his typical streaming environment. Since his festival debut, IShowSpeed has maintained live performance as part of his brand. He continues to perform live at events and venues during his international tours, frequently incorporating music segments into his IRL streams. These performances reach his existing audience while introducing his music to new listeners through festival platforms and media coverage.
IShowSpeed’s music strategy mirrors his broader content approach. He tours internationally, documents his travels on stream, and uses those experiences to create music. Speed benefits from a young, digitally-native audience that follows him across platforms, translating stream viewership into music streaming and concert attendance.At 21, IShowSpeed has already built multiple revenue streams and creative outlets. His music career, while secondary to his streaming dominance, shows measurable success. Over 229 million Spotify streams, multiple viral videos, and festival performances establish legitimate standing in music industry circles.
For Speed, future growth likely depends on his willingness to invest more heavily in music production and touring. His current approach balances streaming content with music releases and occasional live performances. Now, IShowSpeed represents a new category of creator: someone whose primary fame comes from streaming and personality but whose music career has real traction. His path demonstrates that building a music career no longer requires traditional gatekeepers or industry backing. A large, engaged audience on streaming platforms can sustain a music career independently.
