This profile is part of our Culture Shifters series, which highlights people who are changing the way we think about the world around us. Read about film archivist Maya Cade , internet star Drew Afualo , rapper Latash , music historian Katelina Eccleston , filmmaker Alika Tengan , and actors Rhoyle Ivy King and Nicco Annan .

Keyon Elkins got his first phone when he was 13 years old. It was a really rundown piece from Metro PCS, but it was what his mother could get and afford.

Elkins said he felt he was behind in comparison to his peers, digital natives who received their first phones before they were teens, but he took the Android he got and ran with it. He remembers flipping the camera and filming videos in his room. However, fearful of people seeing his true self, he never shared them with anyone. Elkins, who uses he and they pronouns, was still trying to navigate identity and adolescence.

I was still trying to figure myself out, he said. As a Black queer person growing up in the South, you have to hide a lot of things. In those videos, I was just really being myself, and I didnt share any of that. I kept it secret for the longest.

Elkins posted his first YouTube video at 14. Ugh, I hope nobody does that, he told HuffPost, cringing at the thought of how much time hes spent on the internet.

Now 21, Elkins is the voice behind some of the funniest tweets and TikTok sounds (notably, Its because I aint got a iPad in February 2021) and a source of viral joy, and he is a driving force in todays digital culture. With more than 500,000 Twitter followers and 66,000 YouTube subscribers, he refrains from calling himself a cultural critic or even a social media personality. In his eyes, hes someone who just posts anything and wants to make people laugh.

The Shreveport, Louisiana, native has been creating content for almost a decade, dabbling in photography and styling, and offering witty, opinionated commentary on television, film and various pop culture trends. He ascended to popularity after an epiphany he tweeted about in December 2019. (Elkins hilariously realized that Hamburger Helper doesnt come with meat in the box.)

Hes picked up several celebrity fans along the way, too. Elkins was mentioned by Adele in her November 2021 Rolling Stone interview; she said, If anythings blowing up on Twitter, I always go straight to that account. Though Adele dubs Elkins the arbiter of whats hot and whats not, he just sees himself as this kid from Louisiana that talks about what he wants to talk about, and people just check for it.

Following the fake album announcement with imaginary duets from Beyonc and Ariana Grande, she searched @keyon on Twitter to see his response, Rolling Stone reported. Elkins knew the track lists were fraudulent, pointing out that Adele doesnt typically do features.

However, that day was actually incredibly nerve-wracking for Elkins. He woke up early, at 8 a.m., to study for an exam he had a few hours later then, his phone began buzzing incessantly. His home screen was flooded with a stream of Twitter notifications and mentions.

All I seen was Adele, Adele, Adele. Im thinking maybe she released a new song early or a new album early, Elkins said. But I see, Adele mentioned you in Rolling Stone. Im like, hold on. Somebodys playing a joke on me.

He visited Rolling Stones Twitter page, which mentioned him, and he was in shock.

I was really, really excited. Adele really doesnt do interviews like that, so for me to be name-dropped in one of those interviews, it distracted me, he said. Later on that day, I couldnt even focus on my exam. It was bittersweet. I got mentioned by Adele, but at the same time I bombed my exam.