KSI

KSI for Flaunt Magazine

**Olajide "JJ" Olayinka Williams Olatunj** (born 19 June 1993) known professionally as **KSI** *(Knowledge Strength and Integrity)* is an English YouTuber and rapper.

## Biography

In 2019, he was ranked second by *The Sunday Times* in a list of the top 100 UK influencers. He is also currently part of a British YouTube group known as *The Sidemen*. KSI registered his main YouTube account in 2009 and built a following posting gaming-commentary videos of the FIFA video game series. As his fan base has grown, his YouTube content has diversified to include vlog and comedy style videos. As of June 2021, he has over 35 million subscribers and over 8 billion video views across his two YouTube channels.

KSI's 2020 debut studio album, *Dissimulation*, debuted at #2 on the UK Albums Chart. He has achieved 11 Top 40 singles on the UK Singles Chart, six of them ending up in the Top 10 and four of them ending up in the Top 5. KSI featured in the British comedy film *Laid in America*, and was the subject of *KSI: Can't Lose*, a documentary film following the build-up to his first amateur boxing fight. He was involved in two further boxing events, the second of which became famous, the trending topic on social media, and described by The Guardian as *"the biggest internet event in history"*.

He is currently the director of *Online Takeover Music LTD*, *Dissimulation LTD*, *BEERUS LTD*, *Sidemen Holdings LTD*, *New Age Tour LTD*, *The Throne Holdings LTD*, *Nemedis LTD*, *Kilimanjaro Your Mum LTD* and *KSIOLAJIDEBT LTD*.

### Early life

KSI was born to Jide and Yinka Olatunji in Watford, Hertfordshire, England. His father is from Ibadan, Nigeria and his mother is from Islington, London. Raised in Watford, Hertfordshire, he attended Berkhamsted School, a private/independent school in Hertfordshire.

## YouTube Career

*The following career descriptions do not include KSI's boxing career, for further information please visit KSI's Wikipedia or his career page on The Sidemen Wiki.* \*

### 2008 — 2013: Beginnings, *FIFA* videos and controversy

KSI registered his first account on YouTube under the username "JideJunior" in 2008 while in his early teens. He registered his current YouTube account on 24 July 2009 under the name KSIOlajideBT, where he uploaded gaming–commentary videos of the *FIFA* video game series from his bedroom at his parents' house in Watford. He dropped out of sixth form to pursue his YouTube career once he was earning steady monthly revenue from his uploads. In an interview in 2014, he recounted asking his teacher whether he should drop-out. His teacher asked how much KSI was making from YouTube, to which KSI answered, *"around £1,500 a month"*, which was more than his teacher earned. His parents initially disapproved, but later became supportive and featured in a number of his videos.

KSI later uploaded more vlog-style content and played a variety of games and in 2012, the channel reached a million subscribers.

KSI has been widely and heavily criticised for his self-described *"rape-face"*, a recurring joke on his channel during 2012 and 2013 and was the centre of a controversy following third-party allegations of sexual harassment of female staff at a *Eurogamer* event in 2012, that went so far as accusing him of sexually assaulting a spokesmodel Brandy Brewer, despite her tweeting that she consented to the motorboat, writing *"it’s called comedy……relax"*. As a result, Microsoft cut ties with KSI and he was banned from *Eurogamer* events. KSI subsequently apologised *"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"* and stated his desire to move on from the incident and *"be judged on the great content and value he gives to brands and partners, without controversy."*

### 2013 — present: Sidemen and expanding content

In October 2013, KSI signed with Maker Studios' sub-network, Polaris. Since 19 October 2013, KSI has been part of the British YouTube group known as the Sidemen. The group produces online videos, most often consisting of challenges, sketches and video-game commentary, as well as selling exclusive Sidemen merchandise.

In 2015, KSI published a biography titled *KSI: I Am a Bellend*. The book was released on 24 September 2015 in the UK and five days later in the United States, and KSI toured to support the book from its release until 4 October 2015.

In 2016, KSI and the Sidemen published *Sidemen: The Book*  which sold 26,436 copies within three days and topped the hardback nonfiction charts.

On 4 August 2017, KSI tweeted that he would be leaving the Sidemen, citing conflicts with fellow member, Ethan Payne *(Behzinga)*. 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. Later that month, KSI released a video in which he claimed that he was being deported from the United States for receiving an incorrect travel visa. In November 2017, KSI released a video discussing whether his supposed falling out with the Sidemen was real or fake, saying, "[the drama] wasn't entirely real but wasn't entirely fake either."

## Music Career

### 2015 — 2016: Early releases

Having written and produced comedy–rap songs for his YouTube channel in 2011, KSI released his debut single, *"Lamborghini"*, featuring P Money, on 23 March 2015, with Dcypha Productions.

*"Keep Up"*, the title song for KSI's debut extended play of the same name, featuring JME, was released on 13 November 2015, it reached #45 on the UK Singles Chart. The full EP was released on 8 January 2016, through Island Records, debuting at #13 on the UK Albums Chart and #1 on the UK R&B Albums Chart.

On 29 April 2016, KSI released *"Goes Off"*, featuring Mista Silva, as the first single from his second EP titled *Jump Around*. The EP's second single, *"Friends with Benefits"*, featuring MNDM, was released on 29 July 2016, reaching #69 on the UK Singles Chart. The full EP was released on 28 October 2016 through Island Records. One of the EP's songs, *"Touch Down"*, featuring Stefflon Don, appeared on the soundtrack of the 2017 film *Baywatch*.

### 2017 — 2019: Independent releases

On 23 June 2017, KSI independently released *"Creature"*, which reached number 100 on the UK Singles Chart. *"Creature"* was the first single from KSI's third EP, *Space*, which was released independently on 30 June 2017. On 6 October that year, KSI released his fourth EP, *Disstracktions*, which includes diss tracks against fellow Sidemen members W2S and Behzinga. The EP reached number 31 on the UK Albums Chart and number one on the UK R&B Albums Chart. One week before its release, KSI announced that the EP would be his "final release" with Island Records and that he would be releasing music independently.

On 2 February 2018, KSI released *"Uncontrollable"*, featuring Big Zuu. The song played during KSI's ring walk for his boxing fight against Joe Weller and charted at number 89 on the UK Singles Chart. KSI released *"On Point"* on 17 August 2018, which was played during his ring walk for his second boxing bout.

On 12 April 2019, KSI released a collaborative album with Randolph titled *New Age*. It debuted at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart and at number one on the UK R&B Albums Chart.

### 2019 — 2020: New record label signing and *Dissimulation*

On 4 November 2019, it was announced that KSI had signed with RBC Records and BMG Rights Management to *"take [his] music to the next level"* and *"further develop his music career in the US and internationally"*. In addition to managing KSI's future releases, it was confirmed that the label would be administering and reissuing KSI's independent catalogue recordings. That day, it was confirmed that KSI had already started recording his debut studio album. On 8 November 2019, *"Down Like That"*, featuring Rick Ross, Lil Baby and S-X, was released as the album's lead single. It was performed live by the three featured artists as KSI's entrance music for his boxing rematch against Logan Paul. The song peaked at #10 on the UK Singles Chart and it has been certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry *(BPI)* for sales of 200,000 units in the country. A further three singles preceded the album: *"Wake Up Call"*, which debuted at #11 on the UK Singles Chart, *"Poppin"*, which charted at #43 in the UK; and *"Houdini"*, which debuted at #6 on the UK Singles Chart and received a silver certification from the BPI.

KSI's debut studio album, titled *Dissimulation*, was released on 22 May 2020. The album debuted at #2 on the UK Albums Chart and further charted in 15 other countries. It was the UK's best-selling debut album by a British artist in 2020 and it has been certified silver by the BPI for sales of 60,000 units in the country. The album spawned two further UK top 40 singles, *"Cap"*, and *"Killa Killa"*. KSI was scheduled to perform at Parklife, Longitude and Reading and Leeds music festivals in 2020 to promote *Dissimulation*, but these were later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

KSI featured on *"Lighter"* by British DJ and record producer Nathan Dawe. The song peaked at #3 on the UK Singles Chart and became one of the UK's best-selling songs of 2020. It has been certified platinum by the BPI for sales of 600,000 units in the UK and it was nominated for Best British Single at the 2021 BRIT Awards. KSI also featured on *"Loose"* by Zimbabwean-British artist S1mba, which peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart.

### 2020 — 2021: *All Over the Place* and The Online Takeover

On 23 October 2020, KSI released the first single for his sophomore album, *"Really Love"*, featuring Craig David and Digital Farm Animals, which peaked at #3 on the UK Singles Chart and has been certified gold by the BPI. On 15 January 2021, KSI released the album's second single, *"Don't Play"*, with Anne-Marie and Digital Farm Animals. The song debuted at #2 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming KSI's highest-charting single in the UK to date, and has been certified gold by the BPI. On 12 March 2021, KSI released the album's third single, *"Patience"*, featuring YUNGBLUD and Polo G, which debuted at #3 on the UK Singles Chart and has been certified platinum by the BPI.

On 16 February 2021, KSI announced on Twitter the creation of his own record label named *The Online Takeover* in partnership with his music manager Mams Taylor. Shortly after, he announced the first signee of his label, which was American-British singer Aiyana-Lee, who featured on the track *"Killa Killa"*. On 26 April 2021, KSI announced via his social media the release of his upcoming sophomore album titled *All Over the Place* and is scheduled to be released on 16 July 2021. On 18 June 2021, KSI released the album's fourth single, *Holiday*, which will only be featured on the platinum edition of the album. The single was originally not planned to be on the album and previously, *"You"* was set to be the fourth single to be released on 4 June. Due to people leaking songs off the album, including *"You"*, the fourth single was changed to *"Holiday"*. The song debuted at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart, making it KSI's highest-charting solo single to date. On 6 August 2021, KSI released the album's fifth single, *"Lose"* with American rapper Lil Wayne, and was the lead single for the deluxe edition of the album, which was released on 27 August.

### 2022 — present: New releases and upcoming album

On 6 May 2022, KSI featured on *"Locked Out"* by S-X. The single is S-X's third single for his debut album. *"Locked Out"* became S-X's first single to chart in the UK Official Charts which peaked at number 53. On 13 May 2022, KSI announced that he and Proper Loud signed Yxng Dave to The Online Takeover, making him the second artist to be signed to the label. On 30 May 2022, it was announced that KSI had signed with Atlantic Records and Warner Music UK "following his huge collaboration with Anne-Marie on Don't Play". On 5 August 2022, KSI released *"Not Over Yet"* featuring Tom Grennan. The song charted at number four on the UK Single Charts, and debuted at number one on The Official Big Top 40. The single marked the first record under Atlantic Records. A remix featuring Headie One and Nines released on 28 August and served as KSI's ring walk tune in his bout against Luis Alcaraz Pineda on 27 August 2022. On 30 September 2022, KSI released *"Summer Is Over"*.

## Personal life

He has a younger brother named Deji, who is also an online YouTube personality. Both his brother and his parents have featured in various videos on his channel. The brothers are ranked first *(KSI)* and second *(Deji)* as the "UK's Most Influential YouTube Creators" by Tubular Labs in 2015. KSI and Deji also have a notable uncle and a maternal grandfather who died before KSI was born. KSI and his family have all said that he was a shy person as a child and an introvert, however this changed once he began uploading on YouTube. He has previously lived in South East London with YouTubers: Miniminter, Vikkstar123 and Zerkaa in the Sidemen House *(and the former Sidemen House)* from 2014 to 2019. He now lives in a flat in Central London with Simon *(Miniminter)*, whom he has known since the age of 11 from Berkhamsted School.

KSI had a well-publicated relationship with Seana Cuthbert, and the two made several videos together in the early years of his channel. They split in mid-2014 after being together for around two years. He revealed the news in a video entitled "Googling Myself" released on 4 September 2014. KSI remained adamant that they were still *"close friends"* and that she's one of the *"coolest"* girls he had ever met. The rest of the Sidemen often joke about his break up with Seana in their videos by also saying that they are getting back together. During the "Sidemen Beef", wroetoshaw had a line in one of his diss tracks claiming KSI and Seana broke up because he cheated on her. This is not confirmed.

KSI had a notable ex-girlfriend in 2017. During their relationship, he tried his best not to expose her to the public, due to personal reasons and fears that she would be harassed. On 31 July 2017, KSI had an interview with Caspar Lee about his career and revealed that he has a new girlfriend. He said that no one can find who she is and that he doesn't follow her on any social media. On 1 August 2017, DramaAlert released a photograph of KSI and his girlfriend, holding hands. They had their backs to the camera. As the Sidemen War started, Behzinga and W2S *"roasted"* KSI for not showing his girlfriend anywhere. In October 2017, KSI released a new video titled *Mauritius With My Girlfriend*. In the video the two are seen in Mauritius and KSI actually revealed her face for the first time. He revealed her name to be Lois. However they broke up about a month later.

KSI began a relationship with his unnamed girlfriend in 2019, he has followed the same protocols of not revealing a face or a name. In 2021, it was revealed that KSI and his girlfriend broke up. In 2023, in KSI's Amazon Prime documentary *KSI: In Real Life*, which premiered in January, he is seen telling viewers that they broke up. At the end of the documentary, a black screen of text reveals that after a few months of talking, KSI got back together with his girlfriend.

## External Links

* KSI on Twitter
* KSI on Instagram
* KSI on YouTube
* KSI on Facebook
* KSI on Wikipedia
* KSI on Wealthy Gorilla
* KSI on Spotify
* KSI on Apple Music
* KSI on Tidal
* KSI on Audiomack
* KSI on Notion

## Collaborations with YUNGBLUD

### Patience

Patience is a collaboration between YUNGBLUD, KSI and Polo G, released 12 March 2021 through KSI's labels RBC Records and BMG Rights Management. The song was released as the third single from KSI's upcoming second studio album, *All Over the Place*. A music video was released three days later and the song charted at #3 in the United Kingdom. Over an upbeat pop beat, the trio sing about their relationships, past hardships they've faced, and how they have changed because of them. The song's existence was first confirmed by Olatunj *(KSI)* on 8 January 2021, during the *What's Good Podcast*. During his interview, Olatunj claimed that the song is the best song from his album, and hinted that there was a major artist featured. Olatunj and Harrison *(YUNGBLUD)* officially announced the song with via Instagram, where it was revealed that YUNGBLUD and Polo G were the featured artists.

## Discography

* *New Age* (with Randolph)
* *Dissimulation*
* *All Over the Place* (upcoming)

## Trivia

* KSI is one of the richest YouTubers in the world having an estimated net worth of $15 million. In 2020, The Times magazine stated that KSI earns an estimated £12 million per year.
* KSI has a combined total of almost 40 million subscribers across his two YouTube channels.
* KSI's singles *"Down Like That"*, *"Wake Up Call"* and *"Poppin"* have received over 300 million streams globally.
* KSI's main channel is the seventh most subscribed YouTuber channel in the United Kingdom, after Adele.
* KSI lost his virginity at the age of 19.
* KSI stands for "Knowledge Strength Integrity".
* He has a yellow belt in karate.
* He once lost over 2 billion views by privatizing 1,000+ of his videos when he took a break from YouTube in 2017.
* He was the first British YouTuber and first Black person on YouTube to receive YouTube's *Diamond Play Button*.
* He bought a Lamborghini Aventador in 2014 and also owned a Porsche Cayenne *(which was allegedly more of a "practical car")*.
* In his "Googling Myself" video, KSI revealed that he is agnostic *(neither believing in nor disproving the existence of a god)*.
* KSI's parents are Nigerian, but he considers himself to be British, as he has lived in the UK for his whole life.
* KSI took a hiatus in February 2017 when he stopped uploading videos for 5 months. He took a break again later in that same year to train for his fight against Joe Weller.
* KSI is a supporter of Arsenal F.C.
* KSI was the online face of *Sport Relief* in 2014.
* For unknown reasons, KSI hates Christmas.
* Like his brother, he has a peanut allergy.
* KSI renamed his second channel from 'KSIOlajidebtHD V2' to 'JJ Olatunji' so that he could get his real name on the 10 million subscribers Diamond Play Button.
* KSI was about 11 years old when he created his first YouTube channel. He used to upload content of the Family Guy TV Show but received a copyright strike, after which he began uploading his first original gaming content of an old game called "June 2000" or "June 3000". Despite having around 10-20 views at the time, he perceived the videos as doing well and was surprised that people checked out that kind of content. Later, he gave his brother Deji the channel, although it is unknown if the channel was *ComedyShortsGamer* or *AngelzKid* at the time. KSI then created a new channel called *KSIOlajidebtHD*, which is known today as *JJ Olatunji*.
* As of current writing [23 June 2021], he has a record for the most character portrayals to date.

## References

1. ↑ Flaunt — "KSI: Musician, Youtuber, Boxer & Badass Anomaly — Flaunt Magazine". Published 10 July 2020. Archived
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mulligan Brother — "10 KSI Motivational quotes and his success story". Published 15 November 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Times — "Exclusive interview: who is KSI, Britain’s biggest online star?". Published 12 January 2020. Written by Decca Aitkenhead. Archived
4. ↑ The Times — "The Sunday Times Influencer List 2019: meet the UK’s top 100". Published 8 September 2019. Written by The Sunday Times. Archived
5. ↑ JJ Olatunji - YouTube Channel
6. ↑ KSI - YouTube Channel
7. ↑ The Guardian — "YouTuber KSI wins boxing rematch with rival Logan Paul". Published 10 November 2019. Archived
8. ↑ BBC — "KSI v Logan Paul: Is the 'biggest event in internet history' a sign of the future?". Published 27 August 2018. Written by Lulu Arundell. Archived
9. ↑ Companies House — "Olajide Olayinka Williams OLATUNJI - Personal Appointments". Retrieved 21 June 2021. Archived
10. ↑ Deji (@ComedyShortsGamer) on YouTube — "HOW WELL DO I KNOW MY PARENTS?!?!" Posted 4 November 2018.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Business Insider — "The rise of KSI, the 26-year-old YouTube millionaire who beat Logan Paul in a professional boxing match". Published 21 July 2018. Written by Shona Ghosh. Edited by Isobel Asher Hamilton. Archived
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 The Telegraph — "Meet the 21-year-old YouTuber who made millions playing video games". Published 16 October 2014. Written by Josh Warwick. Archived
13. ↑ GOAL — "What is KSI's net worth & how much does the YouTuber earn?". Published 19 May 2020. Archived
14. ↑ StickTwiddlers — "YouTube Celeb KSI Sexually Harasses Attendees At Expo". Published 5 October 2012. Written by Ben Cordell. Archived
15. ↑ Kotaku — "Booth Babes Not The Only Embarrassment At Eurogamer Expo". Published 6 October 2012. Written by Stephen Totilo. Archived
16. ↑ Kotaku — "YouTuber Says He Was Censored For Criticising Another YouTuber". Published 23 November 2013. Written by Jason Schreier. Archived
17. ↑ Eurogamer — "YouTuber KSI dumped by Microsoft after Xbox One launch appearance". Published 23 November 2013. Written by Wesley Yin-Poole. Archived
18. ↑ Tubefilter — "Captain Sparklez, KSIOlajidebt, Ali-A Among New Polaris Gamers". Published 29 October 2013. Written by Sam Gutelle. Archived
19. ↑ HITC — "YouTube: Get to know all seven Sidemen members". Published 17 September 2019. Written by Paul Fogarty. Archived
20. ↑ The National — "Insomnia Dubai: YouTube stars Sidemen coming to gaming convention". Published 11 September 2019. Written by Farah Andrews. Archived
21. ↑ Gulf News — "YouTube stars The Sidemen at Insomnia Dubai Gaming Festival". Published 10 September 2019. Archived
22. ↑ NewStatesman — "Why it's worth trying to understand KSI, YouTube's most controversial star". Published 23 September 2015. Written by Nathan Ditum. Archived
23. ↑ Irish Examiner — "YouTubing 'bell-end' KSI: 'I'm a really nice guy'". Published 17 September 2015. Archived
24. ↑ Goodreads — "Sidemen: The Book". Retrieved 21 June 2021. Archived
25. ↑ The Guardian — "YouTube stars the Sidemen are frontrunners in race for Christmas books No 1". Published 26 October 2016. Archived
26. ↑ Dexerto — "KSI Confirms Rumors Regarding His Involvement With The Sidemen". Published 4 August 2017. Written by Mike Kent. Archived
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Vox Mdia — "YouTubers, FIFA gamers set for momentous boxing match to settle months of drama". Published 30 January 2018. Written by Julia Alexander. Archived
28. ↑ Dexerto — "KSI Reveals He's Being Deported from the US". Published August 2017. Written by Mike Kent. Archived
29. ↑ Music Week — "Artist and YouTube personality KSI signs with BMG". Published 5 November 2019. Written by Andre Paine. Archived
30. ↑ NME — "Listen to KSI and Yungblud's new collaboration 'Patience' with Polo G". Published 12 March 2021. Written by Will Richards. Retrieved 21 June 2021. Archived
31. ↑ British Phongraphic Industry — "Certification of Patience". Published 11 June 2021. Archived
32. ↑ Official Charts — "Olivia Rodrigo reclaims Official Chart Double, KSI's Holiday scores highest new entry"". Published 25 June 2021. Written by Rob Copsey. Retrieved 20 November 2022. Archived
33. ↑ Rolling Stone — "KSI, Lil Wayne Kick Back on a Therapist's Chair in Video for New Song 'Lose'"". Published 6 August 2021. Written by Jon Blistein. Retrieved 20 November 2022. Archived
34. ↑ Official Charts — "First Listen: S-X and KSI team up on irresistibly-catchy Locked Out". Retrieved 20 November 2022. Archived
35. ↑ Official Charts Company — "KSI - full Official Chart History". Retrieved 20 November 2022. Archived
36. ↑ ksi (@KSI) on Twitter — "Welcome to the team bro @YxngDave" Posted 13 May 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022. Archived
37. ↑ Information Nigeria — "Two Nigerian Brothers, Olajide & Deji Olatunji Top UK’s Most Influential Youtube Creators". Published 24 October 2015. Written by Jo Daniel. Archived
38. ↑ The Sun — "KS-WHY? Who is Seana Cuthbert, when did she split from KSI and who else has the YouTube star dated?". Published 25 August 2018. Written by Joe Brophy. Archived
39. ↑ The Mirror — "Does KSI have a girlfriend? YouTube star's relationship and dating history". Published 9 November 2019. Written by Martin Domin. Archived
40. ↑ Dexerto — "KSI confirms he’s back with girlfriend in new Amazon documentary - Dexerto". Published 26 January 2023. Written by Virginia Glaze. Retrieved 16 February 2023. Archived
41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 YouTube — "KSI Reveals Secrets About His NEW ALBUM!!". Published 13 January 2021.
42. ↑ KSI (@ksi) on Instagram — "Patience - KSI x Yungblud x Polo G - Pre order link in bio 😈📷: @harisnukem" Posted 4 March 2021.
43. ↑ YUNGBLUD (@yungblud) on Instagram — "patience. with @ksi and @polo.capalot out march 12th. this is a fookin mental journey. ready? 🖤☠️🖤 (pre save link in bio) 📸 by @harisnukem" Posted 4 March 2021.
44. ↑ Wealthy Gorilla — "KSI Net Worth". Retrieved 23 June 2021.
45. ↑ The Times — "Rich List: KSI’s YouTube earnings make him one to watch". Published 16 May 2020.
46. ↑ Metro — "KSI hangs out with Swarmz in stripped down music video for new single Houdini as he gears up for ‘personal’ new album". Published 23 April 2020.
47. ↑ Social Blade — "TOP 250 YOUTUBERS IN UNITED KINGDOM SORTED BY SUBSCRIBERS". Retrieved 23 June 2021.
48. ↑ YouTube — "SIDEMEN EAT THE HOTTEST WINGS CHALLENGE". Published 16 August 2020.
49. ↑ YouTube (UNILAD) — "KSI Opens Up On His Family, Boxing, Music and YouTube (Minutes With UNILAD)". Published 8 November 2020.