See how Gen Z streamers are building online communities through music
USA TODAY’s Drew Pittock takes a deep dive into Isaiah Turner’s passion for music, which has amassed more than 100,000 followers online. Find out how.
On January 19, 2026, Isaiah Turner posted a simple video of himself listening to Slipknot for the first time on Instagram.
The caption was just a few words: ”Who’s next? ”
Fans of the band flooded the comments with endorsements, starting Turner on a crash course in music history, from metal and punk to electronica and indie. The 22-year-old has become an unlikely figure traveling through a genre that many people take decades to discover.
What started as a reaction video has evolved into a larger community where strangers exchange memories, recommend their favorite songs, and find common ground across generations and backgrounds.
“Music transcends race, age and culture,” Turner says. “Music brings everyone together.”
Within months, Turner, known online as ThatKidZayy, had amassed more than 100,000 followers who wanted to join him on the journey. As a young Black creator exploring genres often categorized as white, Turner served as a reminder that boundaries in music are far less rigid than the culture sometimes suggests.
A world of music outside Inglewood
Turner was born and raised in Inglewood, California, an enclave of Los Angeles that is approximately 40% black. The neighborhood features prominently in West Coast hip-hop history, helping launch the careers of some of the genre’s most iconic artists, from Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre to Mac 10 and D Smoke.
Turner said that before posting his reaction video, his musical tastes were primarily R&B from the ’90s and early 2000s, adding that Michael Jackson was his “favorite.”
“So my dad, he’s the best when it comes to music, and I love Funkadelic, Parliament, and jazz, so I like Buddy Miles. I love instruments more than words, so I listen to Marcus Miller,” Turner says of the legendary bassist. “But on my mother’s side, we have the Temptations, Michael Jackson, James Brown.”
Today, ThatKidZayy is guided by his followers into subgenres and communities that have historically been created and consumed by white people. “This guy has a PhD in white people’s music,” one person commented on a video of Freak folk hero Joanna Newsome.
Bridging the racial gap created by music
Part of the appeal is Turner’s identity as a young black man, said Dr. Ryland Lavaca, a professor of African, African American, and Caribbean studies in the University of Colorado Boulder’s music department.
“One of the reasons Zayy’s videos are so fascinating is that viewers are watching people cross boundaries that they’ve been taught are natural,” Labaka told me. “Even though rock and roll evolved substantially from blues, jump blues, rhythm and blues, boogie woogie, and gospel, rock, punk, hardcore, metal, and indie music have been culturally coded as white.” All of these belong in the pantheon of black music history.
Ravaca said Turner’s presence “quietly exposes the instability of racial categories that have historically been constructed by record labels and marketing executives.”
“The music industry helped teach Americans how to listen to music in a racist way,” Lavaca says. “In the early 20th century, companies marketed ‘race records’ to black consumers and ‘hillbilly’ music to white consumers, even though musicians regularly borrowed from each other and often drew on overlapping Southern traditions.”
Turner similarly recognizes that both her race and age influence her attractiveness. Although he is 22 years old, the older factions of the community have accepted him as one of their own. “You’re an 80’s baby at heart, we know it!” someone commented on the Blondie song. In response to Fleetwood Mac, one person shared: “First 45 when I was a kid. I loved this song the minute I heard it on the radio. I think I was 10. She’s been my favorite ever since.”
“There aren’t many people my age and my race who listen to ‘Heart’ or ‘Dellinger Escape Plan’ or ‘Ministry,'” Turner says. “So I think that helps that they at least understand my willingness to give to what they have a chance at. And I like that, because like I said, we need more of that in the world.”
“When curiosity has political meaning”
There is something almost transgressive about Turner’s identity against this sonic backdrop. Lavaca argues that this is because Turner actively avoids “narrow scripts that assign a predetermined soundtrack to racial identity.”
“He’s not necessarily making an overtly political statement, but his curiosity has political implications,” Labaka says. “He proves that black identity is not compromised by musical exploration.”
But all this has a history, some might argue, that is insidious and cynical. The very foundations of rock and roll, and by extension much of the music to which Turner responds, were laid by black artists such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Little Richard. The modern history of rock, punk, and metal is similarly filled with black pioneers. Most notable are DC’s hardcore punk outfit Bad Brains, as well as Pure Hell, Death, Polystyrene, and ESG.
“Scholars have argued that treating punk as an essentially white subculture erases a much more complex and multiracial history,” Lavaca says. “This means that Zai appears to cross racial lines, but it also reveals that those lines are historically constructed.”
real organic community
Of course, it would be an oversimplification to attribute Turner’s success to a single race. He’s built an organic community, essentially inviting strangers into his room and offering a supplementary code to anyone who wants it.
“Race creates an element of surprise because American culture has trained audiences to expect young black men to primarily identify with rap and R&B, but surprise alone cannot explain his success,” Lavaca says. “People stay because he seems curious, emotionally available, humorous, and willing to listen without being condescending. His openness allows audiences to experience familiar music as new again.”
Lavaca added, “They’re watching someone discover the music that shaped their identity, perhaps the music that helped them survive adolescence, loneliness, anger, alienation, and sadness. When he responds enthusiastically, it feels like their personal attachments are publicly affirmed.”
Reactions can be very personal.
After Turner danced through a Stereolab song, one viewer shared that seeing Turner’s joy reminded him of two friends who loved the band and later died of cancer.
A commenter wrote, “Thank you for bringing back happy memories.”
It’s a phenomenon that Turner is well aware of and is happy to exploit.
“The intention behind my content is to share my experience of listening to these new songs with people, while also giving them a similar experience as when they first heard the songs,” he says. “Sometimes it’s the first time other people hear it with me, so it’s a fun learning experience as well.”
Turner’s joy at discovering new music is undeniable, but his genuine reaction stands in stark contrast to the carefully curated “authenticity” of social media. Sometimes he jumps out of his chair in a fit of ecstasy, jumps on the bed, or even does an impromptu headstand. At other times, he braces himself in his chair, as if the raw, pure emotion of the truck is going to knock him over. If the song is particularly “firey,” he’ll light the lighter.
While the majority of comments on Turner’s videos are people recommending new artists and songs or sharing their love for those featured, others pay tribute to the content creators and community he fostered.
“I’m really enjoying watching your musical journey,” one follower wrote in a video of Turner responding to The National. “Love this to you,” he wrote another while taking a dig at Bright Eyes.
His response to Stereolab was truly infectious. “This is how you bring the fun of Stereolab to dancing.” “That’s right, baby!” “You’re an amazing person.” “This account gives me so much joy.”
“Honestly, I never thought I would be in this situation,” Turner told me. “I feel like I have an influence that brings together different ages, races, and generations, and that’s a very healthy and warm feeling.”
He added, “Just by listening to music, you can create so much positivity on the internet and in the world, but there’s not a lot of that positivity today, especially on Instagram, and sometimes it’s not very positive. So, I feel very, very, very much that I’m able to bring people together.”
A place where everyone can participate
However obvious his reaction may be, Turner’s community is no less democratic, and everyone has a role to play.
“We choose songs in a variety of ways,” Turner explains. “We also make decisions based on whether a comment has a lot of likes and the number of times a song or band is commented on. Sometimes I choose them at random, and sometimes I choose them by checking their direct messages. ”
These methods allow Turner’s Instagram profile to turn into “a digital record store, listening party, oral history, and neighborhood conversation all at once,” Lavaca said.
“Zayy’s account turns music endorsements into a form of communal participation. His followers aren’t just consuming his content, they’re helping shape its direction. Each endorsement is, in effect, saying, ‘This music matters to me. Come into this world and tell me what to listen to.'”
Fans aren’t the only ones who recognize the value of what Turner has created. Numerous artists and bands have reposted the content or left comments, including Jack Black, Erykah Badu, singer-songwriter Cat Power, and Pete Kember, aka Sonic Boom of the proto-shoegaze group Spacemen 3.
Simon Raymond, co-founder of the seminal Scottish indie band Cocteau Twins, contacted Turner personally after he began listening to his work.
“With Instagram (the only social media I have any slight enjoyment in) now being a parade of topics reviewing new music and discussing the latest releases, it’s doubly refreshing to come across Zay’s unique profile,” Raymond told me. “It’s unique because we, the viewers, are seeing his ‘live’ reactions to each piece of music he’s lined up for us to digest. So what we’re seeing is a 100% authentic, unscripted, unedited reaction from someone who’s really listening.”
He continued, “Zay’s response reminds us why we love listening to music, why we love discovering something new, and why we love expanding our minds and emotions. For those of us who are lucky enough to make music, it’s the biggest affirmation of why music is so important.”
Invitation system and exclusion system
Turner’s foray into increasingly obscure genres and bands is also significant, especially given the elitism and gatekeeping that pervades some underground scenes.
“Knowledge of subcultures often has social value,” says Lavaca. “Knowing about lesser-known bands or obscure subgenres can establish credibility within the scene.” “But Zayy makes that knowledge not just exclusive, but inviting. His followers can demonstrate their expertise while also welcoming others into the community.”
It was a reaction Turner didn’t expect.
“I absolutely love the community that grew out of here,” Turner said. “When I was doing this, I never expected them to accept me so easily because, like we said, I’m a young black guy from Inglewood who listens to primarily white music, old music. So for them to have open arms as much as I do for their music, it’s completely well-rounded. I’m so grateful to them.”
Drew Pittock covers trending news from around the country for USA TODAY. He can be reached at DPittock@usatodayco.com.
