Before They Were Famous

Considering how he seemingly appeared fully formed out of nowhere, it might surprise you to find out that YouTuber Def Noodles has actually been a part of the entertainment industry for a hot minute now. As a younger man, he struggled to make it as a comedian before deciding to take his unique brand of comedy to YouTube where his social media experiment would eventually explode into a full-fledged career. That’s right since the majority of us began this topsy-turvy year of existence that is a life lived under lockdown last March, Def Noodles has seen his online persona take off inspiring a legion of die-hard fans as well as an army of detractors. What can I say? That’s simply how life as a YouTuber works these days, especially when your persona is as much an agent of chaos as Def Noodles likes to be, pointing out hypocrisy, ridiculousness, and dangerous behavior amongst YouTube influencers. So where did this young man who spends 16-hours-a-day following the movement of the fringiest of celebrities come from? You’re about to find out.

It’s kind of tough to remember this now, but 1999 was a banner year for the movie industry – and I do mean banner. Not only did we get a jaw-dropping amount of films from some of the industries greatest ever including Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut”, Michael Mann’s “The Insider”, but newcomers who would prove their mettle over the next decade like The Wachowski’s, Sofia Coppola, and Spike Jonze all made hit films that year as well. This film was a raunchy teen-comedy the likes of which audiences hadn’t seen since the hey-day of this type of film with “Porky’s” back in the early ’80s. It followed the tale of four young friends, played by Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, and Eddie Kaye Thomas, who all make a pact to lose their virginity by prom night, and co-starred the likes of Alyson Hannigan, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Shannon Elizabeth, Seann William Scott, Eugene Levy, and Jessica Coolidge, to name just a few. Today, I’m going to go through some of the most memorable actors to fill you in on what they got up to after this film and where they are today.

Mulatto is one of the fastest up-and-coming stars in hip-hop today after tracks like “MUWOP”, “No Panties”, and “Rich Sex” have helped her earn a net-worth currently slated somewhere in the $500,000 to $1 Million range. But as good as all that sounds – Mulatto has a problem, and that problem is that her “family” members are coming out of the woodworks, looking to get a taste of all her hard work. Now some of you are probably wondering why that’s such a bad thing and figure Mulatto should be happy to help out those members of her family that might be less well off than she is. But here’s the thing -- she’s already doing that.

Without ever even having to utter a word, Khaby Lame is taking the entire world by storm thanks to his incredibly popular TikTok profile that has exploded in recent months. His content is often simplicity itself and he likes to react to some of the craziest life-hack tips on the internet which has turned this Senegalese native with Italian citizenship into a global sensation. Khabane Lame has managed to more than double that already impressive number with his nearly 40 Million followers on Tik Tok which has allowed him to enter the hallowed ground of becoming one of the Top 100 performers on the platform, alongside other big stars like Charlie D’Amelio. These are simply unprecedented numbers when it comes to the Italian national scene. But how did Khabane get to this moment and where does he go from here? Stay tuned to find out!

Key Glock is quickly becoming one of the most talented rappers to ever emanate out of Memphis, the hometown where he grew up idolizing hip-hop superstars like Gucci Mane and Lil Wayne. When he was little older than a kid, this enterprising young man founded his own hip-hop collective, the “Whole Lottta Errthang” crew, to create his own music and capture the spirit of the city he was from. But things weren’t always fun and games, in fact, sometimes they were deadly serious. By the time he was 18-years old, Glock would not only lose one of his crew members to criminal activity but find himself in prison to boot. After his release, he’d continue to push forward, earning himself a contract from Young Dolph, his cousin through marriage. But how did this young man go from running the streets of Memphis to running the city’s burgeoning hip-hop scene? Well, you’re about to find out.

2HYPE is made up of members CashNasty, Jesser, ZackTTG, Kristopher London, Jiedel, and Moochie, who regularly team up to provide gaming and sports-focused content while based out of their home in Los Angeles. These six individuals first met online while scattered across the continental United States – and all of them began their careers as YouTubers thanks in large part to the hit video-game series NBA2K. After their individual uploads began to attract a following, it would be their fans that pushed for them to form a group. But where did each member come from and how did they arrive at this moment in time where they’re one of the most popular collectives on YouTube? Well, you’re about to find out.

Believe it or not, but a YouTube influencer could help prevent current London mayor, Sadiq Khan, from the first-round landslide in his upcoming re-election campaign. That’s right, Niko Omilana, who’s best known for his YouTube channel where he regularly creates comedy content, including a whole bunch of hilarious prank material, is the first choice of nearly 5% of all Londoners to become their next mayor. That’s the shocking results that a recent ITV London News poll uncovered and needless to say, it’s got a lot of people across the pond wondering if they’re about to have a totally new type of politician representing one of the most famous cities in all the world. But if you ask Niko himself, then he’ll tell you that with the support of his fans -- the Nico Defense League, or NDL for short -- his upcoming victory is a matter of destiny. But how did a kid who’s been making YouTube videos since he was barely thirteen years old arrive at the precipice of becoming one of the most powerful politicians in the entire world? Well, you’re about to find out.

It’s been almost fourteen years since “Superbad” first hit theaters back in 2007, which means kids born that same year are just now reaching the age where they might finally be able to appreciate this comedic gem that helped launch the careers of a handful of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars like Emma Stone, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, and Bill Hader. This raunchy teen comedy with a whole lot of heart became an instant hit upon release and the film revolved around two high-school best friends, Seth and Evan, who embark on a mission to party and lose their virginities before high-school graduation. Sure, that’s not exactly the most revolutionary idea in terms of storytelling, but few films have been able to pull off these tropes in such spectacular and hilarious fashion. Now that this film is ready to be enjoyed by an entirely new generation of fans that are finally old enough to watch it, I thought it might be fun to take a look at not only where some of the talented cast members have ended up, but whether or not we’ll ever get a sequel to this comedy blockbuster.

On the BRIGHT SIDE OF FAME -- ever since that monumental moment, MTV has become a staple of American culture and gone on to completely revolutionize the music industry in the process. By the late 80’s MTV’s popularity had grown by such leaps and bounds that they began airing non-music video programming as well – which means that long before the rise of peak reality TV in the 21st Century, MTV got there first. On the DARK SIDE OF FAME is a different story altogether – after creating a series of original hits likes “The Real World”, “Beavis and Butthead”, “Jackass”, and later series like “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom”, a whole bunch of people began to wonder if this content was truly appropriate for MTV’s targeted audience of kids and teenagers. The channel developed a reputation for pushing the boundaries of good taste and eventually came under pretty heavy fire for a series of different controversies over the years. So while you might think that MTV is mostly just music, comedy, and reality television, it’s also had more than its fair share of Satanism, censorship issues, cover-ups, and yes, even untimely losing lives.

28-year-old actress, Jennette McCurdy became known the world over after debuting on the Nickelodeon sitcom, “iCarly” before moving onto her own spin-off entitled: “Sam & Cat”. But despite being part of an accomplished series that was one of Nickelodeon’s biggest properties, earning her a whole host of fans, Jennette has recently revealed that her experience working on these television shows was far from ideal. After retiring from acting in 2017, Jennette would go onto create her new podcast on YouTube titled “Empty Inside” where she often catches up with some of her famous celebrity friends while also dropping revelations about her career, like her decision to leave Hollywood behind after her mother passed away. But why did Jennette leave her once-promising acting career behind in the dust? And just what role did her own mom play in her unhappiness? Today you’re gonna get all those answers and more.