Meet Karlton Humes | Influencer, Actor/Comedian

We had the good fortune of connecting with Karlton Humes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Karlton, why did you pursue a creative career?
Well, It all started back in the 90s, 00s, snd 2010s as a church kids who was grew up in church and was at every service we had! Preachers kids’ know exactly what I mean! I would literally sit in service not knowing that I was observing at the same time! I just thought MY church and the guest churches we visited did these particular things in church. Black people have the BEST church hands down.

Fast forward to 2011, my freshman year of college on the campus of University of Arkansas AT Pine Bluff. I was a FRESH 18, coming in as an Art Education major. I knew I wanted to teach art because I could draw, that was it! That same year social media became this BIG thing and then apps were starting to come in place. Of course we had Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Bebo, Tagged, etc., but there was a NEW app in town by the name of “VINE”. It was a big deal! Vine was this platform that allowed creators to upload/create videos within six seconds that looped!

I started “doing it for the vine” got my content out there with the help of friends on the yard reposting and liking. At the time I was doing “Ratchet Girls Be Like” and other random things I could think of! Soon, the numbers were rising and my name was starting to speak for itself. After awhile another app was introduced by the name of “Instagram”. Keep in mind the Instagram was only for pictures. No years Vine came to an end and was deleted by its creator.

I kept doing the same videos and made them longer because of the time I had. My parents caught on to what I was doing, enjoyed them, but they didn’t like the fact the I was using bad language as often as I did. I remember my dad telling me “What you’re doing is fine, but kind of remove some of the cursing or find something else to be funny about!”

I sat there and thought what could I possibly do to be funny that no one is doing that I would break the internet? That’s when the church parody’s started.

I would record videos daily! One day I came in from class, I sat on the bed and asked myself “What church stuff could I do?” And I remember seeing Karen Clark Sheard “Balm in Gilead” on VHS as kid and the nostalgia it had! So as a college student I took what I had as far as costumes, microphones, etc., to complete this video. I create the video, upload to Instagram and BOOM it goes viral, and the rest is history.videos, stories, LIVE, nothing! I was on both at the time.

One day, Instagram decided to update and in that update was video. They gave us fifteen seconds—nine more seconds than Vine did! People began migrating and creating videos here. After so many

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What I do, is what I do! I’m a ONE MAN band. I play about 6-15 characters. I produce, edit, and direct all of my content. I’m an actor, influencer, entrepreneur, and comedian! Everything is done on my iPhone. Yes, I know! You thought I had equipment? Nope.

Many know me my from church skits, but don’t box me in. That’s a dangerous thing to do! As a creator I take pride in my creativeness and I’ve learned that being me has gotten me to where I am. I never had to act like anyone else. Ive always been Karlton.

Has it been a smooth road? No, it has not been! This life isn’t for the weak! You must be strong minded and willing to take risk! People are going to say mean things to harm you, belittle you, and turn you down. Don’t let that determine your next move. KEEP GOING!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well see, I really don’t have favorite spots in Dallas. I’m still exploring and seeing Dallas for what is has to offer. Dallas is definitely a great city with lots to do and I can say that I love it here.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have two people that influenced me to do what I love.

Eddie Murphy- Eddie was in a lane by himself which instantly made me attached to him! How he could play so many characters and make me believe that it was really him! I wanted to Karlton Murphy!

Martin Lawrence -as a kid I watched Martin in many different things, once I finally started watching his sitcom and saw that he could play many characters. It opened another realm! How did they do it? I studied and studied!

Website: https://backtobanks.com

Instagram: @notkarltonbanks

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Back2BanksTV

Other: Shopify for merch: https://back2banks.myshopify.com/