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KSI
Olatunji during an interview in April 2019
Born
Olajide William Olatunji

(1993-06-19) 19 June 1993 (age 31)
London, England[1][2]
NationalityBritish
Occupations
Parents
  • Jide Olatunji (father)
  • Yinka Olatunji (mother)
Relatives
  • Deji Olatunji (brother)
YouTube information
Channels
Years active2008–present
Genres
Subscribers
  • 20.4 million (KSI)
  • 7.4 million (KSIOlajidebtHD)
[3]
Total views
  • 4.9 billion (KSI)
  • 1.1 billion (KSIOlajidebtHD)
[3]
Associated acts
  • Sidemen
  • Deji
100,000 subscribers2011
1,000,000 subscribers2012
10,000,000 subscribers2015
Last updated: 24 September 2019
Musical career
Genres
Years active2010–present
Labels
Websiteksiofficial.com

Olajide William "JJ" Olatunji (born 19 June 1993),[4] better known as KSI,[A] a shortened version of his online alias KSIOlajideBT, is a British YouTuber, internet personality, actor, rapper and amateur boxer.[6][7]

Olatunji's main YouTube channel has accumulated over four billion video views and twenty million subscribers; he is also the 99th most subscribed user on YouTube.[8] Olatunji has also become well known for his music; he released his debut extended play, Keep Up, in 2016, reaching number one on the UK R&B Albums Chart as well as charting in several other countries. After releasing three more extended plays and singles, Olatunji released a collaborative album with Randolph, New Age, in 2019.[9]

Early and personal life

Olatunji was born in London but grew up in Watford, Hertfordshire.[1] Olatunji attended Berkhamsted School together with fellow Sidemen member Simon Minter.[10] His parents are of Nigerian descent.[11]

Olatunji's younger brother, Deji Olatunji, is also a well known YouTube personality who was previously known as ComedyShortsGamer until August 2018 when he decided to revert to using his real name. The brothers both ranked number one and two respectively as "UK’s Most Influential YouTube Creators" by Tubular Labs in 2015.[12][13]

In late November 2018, it was revealed that Olatunji and Deji have had a falling out which began when Deji leaked his brother's personal bank records during a diss track video toward YouTube personality Randolph. Olatunji later condemned Deji's actions when reacting to the diss track and had also expressed his disappointment towards his parents for allowing the publication of his financial records.[14] By early-January 2019, Deji apologised to his brother for his "impulsive" and "rash" behaviour.[15] However, in May 2019, when Deji made the diss track public again, Olatunji stated on Twitter that he's "done" with his brother.[16] Deji would later accuse Olatunji of years of mental and physical abuse.[17]

YouTube career

2008–2013: Beginnings, controversy and FIFA videos

Olatunji shooting a video in 2012

Before creating his current main channel, Olatunji had a YouTube channel called JideJunior, which he created on 24 April 2008.[18][better source needed] Olatunji opened his current YouTube account on 24 July 2009, with a video about the FIFA video game franchise.[19] According to his website, YouTubers such as Weepeler and Hjerpseth inspired him to start his own YouTube career. His main channel was previously focused on association football and FIFA, although he played other games such as Grand Theft Auto V and other PC-based modifications on his secondary channel (KSIOlajidebtHD).[20][better source needed]

Olatunji was the centre of a controversy following his actions at a Eurogamer event in 2012,[21] raised after he appeared at the Xbox One launch party in London.[22] With the reasoning of the controversy due to sexual harassment of attendees at the event from Olatunji, Microsoft cut ties with Olatunji and he was banned for life from the Eurogamer Expo.[23] A message from Olatunji 's manager stated: "Sexism is not something he condones or wants to be associated with. He wishes to apologise for any offence the video of 15 months ago may have caused in the short time it was on his YouTube channel, references to it since and subsequently used by other people. In recent months, he has also been actively avoiding certain content seen in the distant past and wants to be judged on the great content and value he gives to brands and partners, without controversy."[24]

In February 2013, Olatunji appeared on the video "KSI VS FIFA // The Record Slam" made by GWRomg in which he broke the previous world record for 'the most goals scored against computer' of 110 goals, by scoring 190 goals. As a result, his name appeared in the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition (2013).[25] After defeating Virgin Gaming co-founder Zach Zeldin in a match of FIFA, Olatunji visited Las Vegas,[26] where he discussed YouTube's launching of a paid-channel subscription project.[27] In October 2013, Olatunji signed with Maker Studios' sub-network, Polaris.[28]

2013–2017: Expanding content

On 19 October 2013, he and four other gaming YouTubers formed a group called the Ultimate Sidemen (later shortened to just the Sidemen) via the creation of a Rockstar Games Social Club crew of the same name on Grand Theft Auto Online. The group initially consisted of himself, Ethan Payne (Behzinga), Simon Minter (Miniminter), Josh Bradley (Zerkaa), and Tobi Brown (TBJZL). The group decided to add a sixth member in Vikram Barn, known as Vikkstar123, the following month. The group then added a seventh member, Harry Lewis (wroetoshaw or "W2S" for short), in 2014.

In 2015, Olatunji released a book titled KSI: I Am a Bellend, called KSI: I Am a Tool in the United States. It is described by its publishers as "an all-out assault on the online universe",[29] as the book includes his history and controversies on YouTube.[30] The book was released on 24 September 2015 in the UK and five days later in the United States.[30] Olatunji did a tour supporting the book on 24 September 2015, ending on 4 October 2015.[30]

Olatunji performing in 2016

In early 2017, Olatunji stopped uploading videos to YouTube, later releasing a video in July stating that he was displeased with the direction YouTube seemed to be going. On 4 August 2017, Olatunji tweeted that he would be leaving the Sidemen group due to internal conflicts with fellow Sidemen member Ethan Payne.[31][32] Shortly thereafter, he released a number of diss track videos criticising members of his then-former group, to which most of the members responded back with their own.[32]

Later that month on 15 August, Olatunji released a video in which he claimed that he was being deported from the United States (as he was staying in Los Angeles at the time) for receiving an incorrect visa,[33] returning to the group's private mansion which he and some of the others co-owned at the time, but was otherwise not returning to the group. However, by the following month, he officially rejoined the Sidemen.[citation needed] This led to accusations that the Sidemen group manufactured their conflicts for the sake of getting views, as Olatunji and the other Sidemen gained a large number of views and subscribers upon uploading their diss tracks.

Most notably, YouTuber Joe Weller released a diss track of his own criticising Olatunji and Sidemen for faking their "Sidemen war", which led to Olatunji and Weller attacking each other on Twitter.[32] This resulted in their announcing, at an annual content creator-focused event called Upload (which Olatunji and some of the other Sidemen members founded), that they would be facing each other in a boxing match on 3 February 2018 at Copper Box Arena in London.[32] During the announcement, the two YouTubers verbally and physically confronted each other, with Olatunji making fun of Weller's struggles with depression.[32] Both released follow-up videos with Olatunji apologising for his remarks. In November 2017, Olatunji released a video discussing the issue of whether his supposed fight with the Sidemen was real or fake, with him saying that "[t]he drama wasn't entirely real, but wasn't entirely fake either."[32]

2018–present: YouTube boxing

KSI during the weigh-in before his amateur boxing match with Logan Paul in August 2018

On 3 February 2018, Olatunji competed in his first white-collar amateur boxing match against fellow YouTube personality Joe Weller at the Copper Box Arena in Hackney Wick, London. The fight, titled KSI vs. Joe Weller, was won by Olatunji 1 minute and 30 seconds into the third round by way of technical knockout;[34] Olatunji was awarded the YouTube Boxing Championship Belt.[35] On YouTube, the fight drew 1.6 million live viewers, 21 million views within a day,[36] and over 25 million over the next several days, making it the biggest white-collar boxing fight in history.[37]

Olatunji expressed his respect for Weller after the fight for being "way harder, way tougher than I thought," and praised him for his commitment to raising awareness on mental health issues. He then proceeded to call out American internet personality Logan Paul, his brother Jake Paul, and retired footballer Rio Ferdinand.[38]

KSI vs. Logan Paul

Main article: KSI vs. Logan Paul

On the weekend of 24 February 2018, it was announced that the Paul brothers would be fighting the Olatunji brothers in a boxing match,[39] with the matches divided between relative ages (the elder brothers KSI vs Logan Paul in one match and the younger brothers Deji Olatunji vs. Jake Paul in another match).[39] One judge scored the fight in favour of Olatunji and two judges scored a draw, resulting in a majority draw.[40] The fight has been labelled "the largest event in YouTube history"[41] and "the largest ever amateur boxing fight".[42]

KSI vs. Logan Paul II

On 3 September 2019, a rematch between the two was officially announced. The fight is set to take place on 9 November 2019 at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, and will be promoted by Eddie Hearn.[43][44] Unlike the first fight, the rematch will be a professional fight and the two fighters will not be wearing any headgear. The undercard will feature professional boxers, including Devin Haney and Billy Joe Saunders.[45]

Music career

2011–2014: Comedy music

In 2011, Olatunji branched out into music, mainly as a rapper. Starting out with fellow YouTuber Randolph, he released "Heskey Time", a rap song about footballer Emile Heskey which was released on iTunes just before Christmas in 2011. The video features Heskey missing various chances on FIFA. Following the success of "Heskey Time", he began doing a segment on his channel called "Football Rap Battles", a video series, on which he and Randolph play the characters of famous figures from the world of football. Although it started off with raps featuring world footballers including Mario Balotelli and managers like Sir Alex Ferguson, one involves Olatunji as himself against Robin van Persie, hitting out at van Persie's acrimonious transfer from Arsenal to rivals Manchester United. He appeared in music videos with Droideka, directing and appearing in his music video for his song "Get Hyper", whilst also collaborating with British rapper Sway, releasing two tracks with the London born rapper.[46][47][48][better source needed]

2015–2018: Keep Up and major label signing

Olatunji released his debut single as a solo artist on 23 March 2015 titled "Lamborghini", which features rapper P Money. The song was released under Sway's record label Dcypha Productions.[49] On 29 October 2015, Olatunji announced his debut EP titled, Keep Up. The EP's title track, featuring rapper Jme, was released as the lead single on 13 November 2015 alongside a music video released two days later.[50][better source needed] Keep Up was released on 8 January 2016 by Island Records and debuted at number 13 on the UK Albums Chart and at number one on the UK R&B Albums Chart.[51][52][53]

On 29 April 2016, Olatunji released a song titled, "Goes Off", featuring Mista Silva.[54] The song was released as the lead single to Olatunji's second EP, Jump Around. Olatunji later released the second single from the EP titled, "Friends with Benefits" featuring Dutch musical group MNDM on 29 July.[55] The EP's title track featuring Waka Flocka Flame was released as the third single on 16 September.[56] Jump Around was later released on 28 October 2016 through Island Records.[57]

After taking a four-month hiatus from YouTube, Olatunji released a song titled, "Creature" on 23 June 2017.[58] The song was released as a single for his third EP titled, Space, which was released independently on 30 June.[59] Olatunji later released his fourth EP titled, Disstracktions, three months later on 29 September 2017.[60] Disstracktions later went on to chart on the UK Albums Chart and UK R&B Albums Chart at number 31 and one respectively.[52][61]

2019: New Age

On 28 February 2019, Olatunji announced on one of his YouTube videos that he would be releasing a collaboration album with Randolph titled, New Age, along with a tour to promote the album.[62][better source needed] The album was supported by three singles with Randolph: "Slow Motion", "Beerus" and "Red Alert".[63][64][65] New Age was released independently on 12 April 2019 and featured guest appearances from Talia Mar, Jme and Quadeca.[66] The album debuted at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart and at number one on the UK R&B Albums chart.[67][68]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2016 NME Award Vlogger of the Year Himself Won [69]

Discography

Main article: KSI discography

Collaborative albums

Extended plays

  • Keep Up (2016)
  • Jump Around (2016)
  • Space (2017)
  • Disstracktions (2017)

Filmography

Title Year Role Notes Ref.
Laid in America 2016 Duncan Acting debut; leading role [70]
Can't Lose 2018 Himself Documentary [71]

Notes

  1. ^ "KSI" stands for "Knowledge, Strength, Integrity".[5]

References

  1. ^ a b FaZe Clan (3 February 2018). "TRAINING KSI - Exclusive Documentary". Retrieved 10 July 2018 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ Zerkaa (19 August 2017). "KSI - Little Boy (Official Lyric Breakdown)". Retrieved 10 July 2018 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ a b "About KSIOlajidebt". YouTube.
  4. ^ Olatunji, Olajide (8 January 2017). "WTF HAVE YOU DONE?!". YouTube. Retrieved 20 January 2017. For those of you that don't know, my real name is Olajide William Olatunji; William being my English name.
  5. ^ "What does KSI stand for and what is the YouTuber's real name?". Metro. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  6. ^ Guinness World Records 2016 Gamer's Edition - Page 61 "The fastest lap of Laguna Seca in GT 5 (two players) is by Callum McGinley and Olajide Olatunji (both UK) on 8 August 2013."
  7. ^ "This Is Your Chance To Ask KSI Anything As We Go In The Zone". MTV UK. Retrieved 16 August 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ "Top 100 YouTubers sorted by Subscribers - Socialblade YouTube Stats | YouTube Statistics". socialblade.com. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  9. ^ "New Age by Randolph & KSI on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  10. ^ Ghosh, Shona (21 July 2018). "The rise of KSI, the 25-year-old millionaire who's fighting Logan Paul after inventing YouTube boxing matches". Business Insider Australia. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  11. ^ "British-born Nigerian' KSI Makes Forbes 2015 "World's Highest Paid YouTube Star"". 360Nobs.com. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Two Nigerian Brothers, Olajide & Deji Olatunji Top UK's Most Influential YouTube Creators". Information Nigeria. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  13. ^ "Only a third of UK's top 10 most influential YouTuber's traffic originates in UK". The Drum. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  14. ^ "YouTube star KSI blasts family for leaking his banking info: 'Don't you f*cking dare'". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  15. ^ "Deji deletes KSI diss track and apologises in surprising twist to scathing family feud". Metro News. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  16. ^ Glaze, Virginia (2 May 2019). "KSI reveals why he's "done" with Deji as sibling rivalry sparks again". Dexerto. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  17. ^ "Deji accuses KSI of years of mental and physical abuse in emotional video". Dexerto.com. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  18. ^ "JideJunior". YouTube. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  19. ^ Olatunji, Olajide. "KSIOlajidebt Home". Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  20. ^ "KSIOlajidebtHD". YouTube. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  21. ^ Cordell, Ben (5 October 2012). "YouTube Celeb KSI Sexually Harasses Attendees At Expo". StickTwiddlers. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012.
  22. ^ Totilo, Stephen (6 October 2012). "Booth Babes Not The Only Embarrassment At Eurogamer Expo". Kotaku. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  23. ^ Schreier, Jason (23 November 2013). "YouTuber Says He Was Censored For Criticising Another YouTuber". Kotaku. Retrieved 9 December 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (23 November 2013). "YouTuber KSI dumped by Microsoft after Xbox One launch appearance". Eurogamer. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  25. ^ "GWR OMG: Watch KSI attempt FIFA 13 goals record in Arsenal v Tottenham showdown". Guinness World Records News. 4 February 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  26. ^ C., Carl (13 February 2013). "KSIOLAJIDEBT VIDEO IN VEGAS FOR CHALLENGE SERIES!". Virgin Gaming. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ "KSIOlajidebt and Ali-A on YouTube pay channel charging". BBC. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  28. ^ Gutelle, Sam (29 October 2013). "Captain Sparklez, KSIOlajidebt, Ali-A Among New Polaris Gamers". Tubefilter. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  29. ^ Ditum, Nathan. "Why it's worth trying to understand KSI, YouTube's most controversial star". NewStatesman. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  30. ^ a b c "YouTubing 'bell-end' KSI: 'I'm a really nice guy'". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  31. ^ Kent, Mike (4 August 2017). "KSI Confirms Rumors Regarding His Involvement [With] The Sidemen". Dexerto. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  32. ^ a b c d e f Alexander, Julia (30 January 2018). "YouTubers, FIFA gamers set for momentous boxing match to settle months of drama". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  33. ^ Kent, Mike (August 2017). "KSI Reveals He's Being Deported from the US". Dexerto. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  34. ^ Emma Kelly (3 February 2018). "KSI wins clash against Joe Weller in the third round". Metro. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  35. ^ "KSI Wants You to Choose One of Six Personalities to Fight Next for the YouTube Boxing Championship Belt". Dexerto. 19 February 2018.
  36. ^ "KSI Vs Weller Got Over 20 Million Views On YouTube Last Night". LADbible. 4 February 2018.
  37. ^ "KSI Reveals What He Said to Joe Weller in the Ring During a Breakdown of the YouTuber Boxing Fight". Dexerto. 7 February 2018.
  38. ^ Jessica Lindsay (4 February 2018). "KSI vs Joe Weller result – What happened and who will KSI fight next?". Metro. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  39. ^ a b Alexander, Julia (26 February 2018). "YouTube boxing just went international, so when does YouTube get involved?". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  40. ^ "Who won KSI vs Logan Paul fight? Result from YouTube boxing fight in Manchester". mirror. 25 August 2018.
  41. ^ Hamdani, Adam (25 August 2018). "KSI and Logan Paul weigh-in ahead of 'biggest internet event in history'". Independent. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  42. ^ Radio Times Staff (22 August 2018). "KSI v Logan Paul: why are YouTube's biggest stars going to fight in the boxing ring?". Radio Times. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  43. ^ Hamdani, Adam (6 April 2019). "KSI vs Logan Paul rematch: Date, venue, how to get tickets, where to watch online and more". The Independent. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  44. ^ Atherton, Matt (3 September 2019). "KSI v Logan Paul rematch confirmed as YouTubers go pro - Billy Joe Saunders may fight too". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  45. ^ Esco, Wil (18 September 2019). "Eddie Hearn: KSI vs Logan Paul will probably be most watched fight of the year". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  46. ^ "Droideka - GET HYPER (Official Video)". KSI. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  47. ^ "Sway Ft KSI, Tigger Da Author & Tubes - No Sleep". KSI. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  48. ^ "MAC-10 FLOW - Sway ft KSI". KSI. 10 August 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  49. ^ "Lamborghini (feat. P Money) - Single by KSI". iTunes. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  50. ^ "KSI Ft JME – KEEP UP (Official Video)". KSI. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  51. ^ "Keep Up – EP by KSI". iTunes. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  52. ^ a b "KSI: full Official Charts History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  53. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  54. ^ "Goes Off (feat. Mista Silva) - Single by KSI on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  55. ^ "Friends with Benefits - Single by KSI & MNDM on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  56. ^ "Jump Around (feat. Waka Flocka Flame) - Single by KSI on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  57. ^ "Jump Around - EP by KSI on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  58. ^ "Creature - Single by KSI on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  59. ^ "Space - EP by KSI on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  60. ^ "Disstracktions - EP by KSI on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  61. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  62. ^ "Big Announcement Incoming!!!". YouTube. KSIOlajidebtHD. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  63. ^ "Slow Motion (feat. KSI) by Randolph on Apple Music". Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  64. ^ "Beerus - Single by KSI & Randolph on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  65. ^ "Red Alert - Single by KSI & Randolph on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  66. ^ "New Age by Randolph & KSI on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  67. ^ "KSI and Randolph: full Official Charts History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  68. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  69. ^ "NME Awards 2016 with Austin, Texas full winners list". NME. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  70. ^ Hughes, Mark (8 September 2016). "YouTube Stars KSI, Caspar Lee Could Make 'Laid In America' A Digital Game-Changer". Forbes. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  71. ^ Hale, James (10 August 2018). "KSI Releases Documentary 'Can't Lose' Ahead Of Logan Paul Boxing Match Up". Tubefilter. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
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