Tums the TikTok narrator unites South Africans in their diversity
A humorous take on suburban living that started out as a means to curb boredom during the 2020 lockdown, has now become an internet sensation.
People around the world have been taking up new hobbies during Covid-19 lockdowns and South Africans are no different.
Tumi Mmope, better known on social media as ‘Tums’, became an online sensation, thanks to her lockdown pastime. Instead of finding simple joys such banana bread-baking or home training, Tums was inspired to create, and quickly became a leader rather than a follower.
Known as ‘Tums the Narrator’ after one of her TikTok videos went viral, the 29-year-old mom from Ruimsig, Johannesburg, describes herself as a lover of people who loves trying new things. This is evident in the content she’s been publishing since March 2020.
@tumsthenarrator
Born out of boredom, her content has now developed into a creative outlet focusing on how South Africans can unite in their diversity. “I was publishing relationship stories, but got bored and started narrating the complications that come with owning a home within a sectional title complex. After the one video went viral, I realised I was onto something,” she excitedly explains with a ‘whoop, whoop’!
With over 95 000 followers on TikTok and over 50 000 on Facebook, she is indeed onto something.
According to technology research firm World Wide Worx and brand intelligence company Ornico’s ninth annual study on the South African social media landscape, published in June 2020, TikTok has about six million users in South Africa. This means it only lags behind messaging service WhatsApp (10.1m users), Facebook (9.1m users) and YouTube (9.1m users).
TikTok was launched in the country in 2018 and, according to DataReportal, 38.19m of our population of 59.62m are internet users. This means that about one in six local internet users use TikTok.
Also read: South Africa’s trendsetting TikTok doctor
Tums seems to have mastered telling stories in a way that feels realistic; ‘like I was there’, as she puts it. But what does she aim to achieve? “As long as I am able to share authentic and relatable content, I will continue to do so.”
As much as she loves sharing the woes of sectional-title living, she wants to demonstrate acceptance of diversity in South Africa.
“We live in a beautiful country and we have a lot of history that often drives people to dislike one another. But, by showcasing our strengths and differences, I believe we can truly unite,” she says, keeping her fingers crossed that a production company might approach her to develop her content into a series.
A creative at heart, Tums says she sometimes feels that she has more than one personality, hence she features different accents to embody different personalities in different environments in South Africa.
@tumsthenarrator 😂😂 Sassa Drama had me on the floor #justtums
For example, in her ‘Know your worth’ sketches, Tums makes use of characterisation so users will link the advice to the character and not necessarily the creator. In ‘Die komplex’, Tums is a bit more strategic when it comes to racial, political and religious topics as her audience is very diverse.
“I don’t want to leave a bitter taste with my audience. There’s a lot of negativity in the country and my platform is not about that.”
This is also the reason why she introduced ‘Know your worth’, which shows her diversity as a creator. She has also recently introduced ‘Just Tums’, which is based on herself as she is able to find humour in just about any situation.
Tums’ narration
Die komplex: Tums’ account of sectional-title living with ‘Karen’ comically focuses on complaints, levies and other universal home-owner committee issues.
Know your worth: A hotline for relationship issues with ‘Maria’ the problem solver, who gives petty advice on relationships and how to get even in relationships.
Just Tums: Tums’ narration of ‘the other day…’ is based on personal experiences in everyday life.
“Pinkie swear,” she replies when asked to confirm whether she actually does live in a complex. Real-life experience of ‘sectional-title living’, as Tums calls it, makes up the bulk of her inspiration and is what brought ‘Die komplex’ into existence, she explains. “At first I was surprised at how many people related to the content.”
While the conversations in her videos are based on real scenarios, she says has learnt to take better care when creating characters and choosing topics of discussion to avoid any negative backlash.
‘Die komplex’ is her personal favourite skit and she doesn’t pay too much attention to the likes or views, despite many of them going viral. However, she derives joy from engaging with her audience in the comments section.
@tumsthenarrator #diekomplex #mrmarais claims dispute
“The different views give me direction on what they want to see, but I rely a lot on intuition. If it doesn’t feel right, I don’t publish it,” she says. “There have been very few instances where I deleted content because of misinterpretation, but I took note and moved on.”
Her love of content creation is evident when she says, “I have created a family with my audience and engaging with them is invaluable. I’ve met such wonderful and supportive people on these social media platforms and the authenticity is more than enough for me.”
But Tums has not quit her day job just yet. She works as a marketing manager in the farming industry and absolutely loves her vocation. Despite her online success, Tums prefers to keep her three-year-old out of the spotlight.
When asked about her family’s views on her content, she says they are extremely supportive and honest; they even tell her if they don’t like something she published, which she values. “They don’t just follow me, they also support and defend me if the trolls try me. They really are my soldiers,” she says laughingly. “I brush off negative comments and just sommer delete and keep moving on. I do not internalise it or take it personally, provided I do not offend a mass number of people.”
Tums’ tips for aspiring TikTokkers in South Africa
* Be yourself – You will attract the right people.
* Know your niche audience – Understand who you are talking to and build trust with your audience. They will be your soldiers if, one day, you do get it wrong.
Follow Tums on TikTok (@tumsmmope), Facebook (Tums the Narrator) and YouTube (Tumsmmope The Narrator), or read more about Tums here: The West Rand’s very own TikTok star
@tumsthenarrator Lol #justtums
Also read: South Africa’s trendsetting TikTok doctor
Read original story on albertonrecord.co.za
