Partying Up with BlackKrystel: Interview with an Emerging Star

The intersection of nerd and mainstream cultures have been doing the tango for years now. We are seeing an evolving industry; one that is beginning to respect nerd/geek culture and continues to absorb it into big media features. This means, more opportunities for incredible folx to flex their talents within subcultures that were previously ignored. This brings me to BlackKrystel, cosplayer and gamer, who recently dropped their gaming music video called “Party Up.” I was lucky enough to be able to interview them, so please enjoy! 

BlackNerdProblems: Please tell us a bit about yourself! Where did you grow up, and how did you get to where you are today? BlackKrystel: I was born in New York but grew up in a small town in Florida. I started my online personality back in high school where I would make weekly gaming YouTube videos and stream; but when I moved back to NY for college, I wasn’t able to continue so I found another way to express myself through cosplay. Cosplay opened a lot of doors for me and once I graduated, I was able to pick back up streaming again. Through streaming, I got into eSports as a host/assistant producer.  As for music, it’s always been a part of my life and a lot of it was while I was gaming. I grew up in my church choir all while catching the lead roles in my high school musicals & local playhouse. Playing guitar and piano was my favorite escape, other than gaming. I even became VP in my college’s acapella group. I love arranging covers and mashups…