Bearded Dad Jack Black Has a Gaming Channel on YouTube Now

Photo credit: YouTube
Photo credit: YouTube

From Esquire

American treasure Jack Black has explored many creative outlets since his early days as a performer on Mr. Show. He’s gained a devoted following with his band Tenacious D, led comedy films like School of Rock and Bernie, and even won over the youth as the voice of the massively successful Kung-Fu Panda movies. But now it seems the multi-talented comedian has his sights set on his most ambitious media landscape yet: YouTube gaming.

In an announcement on the newly-minted channel Jablinski Games (which already has over 1 million subscribers), Black, sporting a fuzzy gray beard, jeans, and white socks, told fans that he’s going to be “bigger than Ninja, bigger than PewDiePie.” Shot, directed, and edited by his son Sam (a.k.a. Papa Sharks on Instagram), the Eric Andre-style freeze frames and cheesy synth music offer a hint of the DIY whacko style Jablinski will likely be going for.

While Black is a newcomer to the world of streaming, the rock-opera-comedian is not without his gamer credentials. Brütal Legend, released on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, was a 2009 metal-infused fantasy adventure game with a main character who was voiced and modeled after Black himself. It wasn’t the most popular title at the time of its release, but many recall the game fondly, especially for its voice cast that included Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy Kilmister, and Tim Curry alongside Black.

As streamers have grown in popularity recent years, so has the attention on the gaming community, which still struggles with issues of discrimination, racism, and sexism both in-game and on sites like YouTube and Twitch. Most notably was the regressive madness of #GamerGate, a shameful string of behavior and language which still, to this day, has not completely faded from the industry’s lexicon just yet.

Hopefully Black, with decades of comedic nuance under his belt, can help continue to steer the industry toward progress and inclusivity. If nothing else, Jablinksi is sure to make its subscribers happy. According to the channel, new videos will come up every Friday.

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