In the age of viral videos, stars are being made by new and unconventional means. Social media platforms like Instagram, Vine, and YouTube are breeding grounds for up-and-coming entertainers to build massive followings and allow their statistics to act as digital resumes making name for themselves on the Internet and beyond.
Young, Black, social media power couple, Keraun Harris aka King Keraun and Simone Shepherd have found a career in maximizing their following for profitable gain through comedy.
Harris didn’t always have dreams of being an internet sensation. In high school, he had plans to join the NFL, but an injury left him out of the game for good. In 2009, Harris found himself serving out a two-and-a-half year prison stint in Houston, TX. Upon his release, he became a father and took to making videos on Instagram to pass the time while seeking employment. One video after another his presence online grew and he found himself in a new career. Today he has over 1.4 million Instagram followers and more than 100 million loops on Vine making him one of the most popular content creators online.
Simone Shepherd’s journey to success is much different from her better half. Raised in Pennsylvania, Shepherd sought out a career in entertainment from the beginning. Her background in theater with a degree from North Carolina Central University has allowed her to create videos with a wide range of acting skills. Shepherd’s hilarious antics in entertainment began while she was a regular on BET’s “Hell Date” and landed her the opportunity to work alongside Russell Simmons, writing and producing content for All Def Digital. Audiences followed her to social media where her sketch comedy videos on Vine have amassed to more than 3 million fans and landed her deals with some of the most recognizable brands in the world.
Together the duo are taking over the internet. Harris, who can now call Russell Simmons, his mentor, has plans to follow in the footsteps of Martin Lawrence by writing and producing his own content on a wider stage. As he continues to post videos online, Harris is also getting his feet wet by taking on larger acting gigs, recently a guest star on ABC’s Black-ish. He has also co-founded, “Dreams To Reality”, an online platform designed to help others reach their career potential.
When Shepherd isn’t making viral Vine videos, she is working with Marlon Wayans on his brand new network and developing a project with Tyra Banks. She also was invited to audition on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
Harris and Shepherd give new meaning to the term power couple as they have made the internet work for their benefit and we can only imagine where it will take them next.
