The streamer Saqib “Lirik” Zahid has one of the largest channels on Twitch with over 2.6 million followers. He is known for streaming without a webcam. Now he explains why. One of the reasons was his skin color. After 9/11, he didn’t want to be perceived as “brown”.
This is Lirik: The 29-year-old streamer currently holds rank 25 on Twitch. He is among the elite of streamers. Unlike many others at the top, he has not primarily benefited from the hype around Fortnite but has gradually worked his way up over the years.
He started his career in 2011 with World of Warcraft and has since showcased a variety of games like DayZ, H1Z1, or most recently Call of Duty: Warzone and Minecraft. Lirik has even been involved with Star Citizen, which brought considerable joy to the developers.
He is a typical variety streamer, not really focused on any one game or genre.
Since at least December 2019, Lirik is likely one of the big earners on Twitch. At that time, he was one of the three streamers from the agency Loaded who was exclusively contracted by Twitch.
This is one of Lirik’s peculiarities: From 2011 to 2013, no one really knew what Lirik looked like until he accidentally left his webcam on, revealing his face on air.
Today, Lirik is more open about his appearance: You can see photos of him on Instagram or Twitter. Nevertheless, he is one of the few top streamers who stream without a webcam and rely solely on their voice. Except for the Fortnite streamer Dakotatz and him, hardly anyone among the top 25 streamers does this.
“Because I’m brown”
Here’s why he long kept the webcam off: Currently, the topic of skin color is a hot topic in the USA. In a recent stream, Lirik explained why he streamed for so long without a camera:
One of the reasons I never used a camera is because I have brown skin. I don’t think I would have become as popular [as I am now] if I had started with a webcam.
That was one of the reasons. Because, damn man, after the damn 9/11 and all that shit, it was really weird how people perceived you online. And if you grew up like that, you just don’t know what people think of you.
Streaming without a camera helped a bit because people didn’t have preconceived notions online. People don’t have filters online. They see you and instantly form a judgment.
Lirik in the Twitch stream
Has anything changed on Twitch? Lirik started streaming in 2011 and preferred to remain anonymous due to his skin color. He was born in 1990 in Germany, raised in Boston, and seems to have fully experienced 9/11. The terrorist attacks in New York occurred in 2001.
The atmosphere against people who looked like they were Muslim seemed to have boiled over around Lirik.
The times had – at least temporarily – changed a bit. The streamer Ali “Myth” Kabbani was born in 1999 and started streaming in 2016. He is an American of Syrian descent. Myth streams with a webcam and today has the second-largest channel on Twitch. His popularity seems to have been unaffected by his skin color.
Myth once expressed surprise at the racist voice chat in COD: Modern Warfare.
Lirik’s statements show how individual each person’s experiences can be.
It stands out that among the top streamers on Twitch, there are indeed almost only white men. There is one woman and a handful of “non-white” streamers like Myth and Lirik.
