Meet La Guardia Cross. He's the new "it" black father on YouTube that you should know. Also meet Amalah Cross—she's the 1-year-old reason we should know who he is in the first place.
Cross is a first-time father who decided to share his life on YouTube in New Father Chronicles. Little did he know that there would be 2 million people who'd watch his toddler take over his entire life, but he's glad his viewers are here to follow his journey of getting drooled on, slapped and chastised when he doesn't feed Amalah fast enough.
With over 45,000 subscribers and counting, Cross' proudest moment is still the first time Amalah slept through the entire night. He woke up, cried and went back to sleep because when you're a parent, sleep is fleeting. We chatted it up with Cross to find out more about him and why he has no friends. Check it out!
The Root: Why should we know who you are, and why should we watch you on YouTube?
La Guardia Cross: I’m a content creator, producer, music-maker and, most notably, a first-time father to a 1-year-old tyrannical world leader.
If folks aren’t already sick of the oversaturated media market of positive black-father images, they should check out my New Father Chronicles web series. Also, my daughter’s really, really, really, really, really, really cute. We’re pretty funny together—I translate her babble and she’s a martial arts expert.
TR: Why did you choose to share your life on YouTube?
LGC: I have no friends. Will you be my friend? Also, will you babysit my daughter?
TR: Yes, and most certainly!
LGC: I began posting weekly videos to YouTube in 2014 as a personal self-accountability challenge to pursue my artistic endeavors. I committed to create something every Wednesday, speak to people who knew more than me and see where the journey would take me. Along the way, my wife pulled me into the bathroom with some unexpected news. WHOOPS! New fatherhood became a part of my reality, so I ended up speaking about it in my videos.
TR: Is your YouTube personality truly who you are as a man and father?
LGC: Am I as silly in real life as I am on camera? Yes. Did I really help my 1-year-old daughter launch a presidential campaign? Maybe.
TR: What have you learned about yourself since becoming a YouTuber?
LGC: I’ll lose sleep to create and share moments I’m passionate about. I’m also passionate about sleep, so I need to fix that.
I really enjoy getting to know the people in the comment section. The parents that relate and share advice; the kids that steal their parents’ phones and leave incoherent comments; the folks that don’t have or plan to have kids, that laugh harder because they sleep uninterrupted—I love these people. I love them in an online-only, no-strings-attached kind of way.
TR: When your first video went viral, what did you think?
LGC: WHAT!? Let me check those numbers again. One more time. OK, one more time before bed. Is it too early to check again? No, I’m checking again.
The artist side of me always hopes that anything I’m a part of creating will be seen by many, but when it happens … wow! I couldn’t believe that something my daughter and I created in our little apartment could spread so far.
TR: What happens when your daughter gets older? Will you still do videos with her?
LGC: There’s so many phases of growth ahead of her, and just as much for me as a father. She hasn’t even officially began talking yet, so the sky's the limit. As long as she continues to enjoy it, I’ll continue creating videos with her in various forms. New Father Chronicles is only one collection of stories.
TR: What has your daughter taught you about yourself?
LGC: I don’t know as much as I thought I did.
TR: Who is your content for?
LGC: Anyone who likes my answer to question No. 1, anyone who can relate to new parenthood and anyone that read this article long enough to make it to question 8.
TR: What’s next for you?
LGC: More New Father Chronicles. My wife and I will be sharing our romantic car-dealership wedding story in August, and more things to be revealed later. New Father Chronicles is just the beginning.
Check out the new season of New Father Chronicles!
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