KSI: Get to know the YouTuber, boxer and singer
He's multi-talented 😎
KSI has truly hit the big time over the past decade, building a fanbase on YouTube and making it as a gamer, boxer, and musician. From huge hits like 'Holiday' and his collabs 'Don't Play' with Anne-Marie and 'Not Over Yet' with Tom Grennan - it's safe to say the YouTuber, musician and entrepreneur is taking the world by storm! And he recently joined us for Hits Radio Live in Manchester.
KSI, whose real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji (or "JJ" as he is also known), ventured into music in recent years, as well as some pretty high profile boxing matches (we're looking at you, Tommy Fury 👀 ). Take a look through everything we know about KSI, including his career journey from YouTube to the charts!
Who is KSI?
KSI is a British YouTuber and rapper who has risen to worldwide fame since he launched his YouTube channel way back when he was a teenager in 2009. After years of hard graft, he's now the 115th most popular channel on YouTube, in terms of subscribers, with 24.1 million (at the time of writing).
He started off his career with videos of himself playing Fifa but gradually branched out into gaming videos and then 'vlog-style' videos. As KSI's engagement flew through the roof and he gained an even bigger following, he then decided to launch a music career - something he dreamed about for a long time.
How old is KSI?
He was born on 19th June 1993, making him 31-years-old.
Where is KSI from?
KSI was born and raised in Hertfordshire, but now lives in London. His father Jide is from Ibadan, Nigeria and his mother, Yinka, is from Islington, London.
His younger brother is YouTuber Deji, and the pair were named the 'UK's Most Influential YouTube Creators' in 2015.
When did KSI start a YouTube channel?
Way back in 2008, with an account called JideJunior when he was just a teenager, KSI had his first YouTube presence. His current channel, JJ Olatunji, was made in 2009. Over the years, he's seen the popular video site evolve as well as his career - with many of his videos going viral very early on.
KSI also has his music YouTube channel under the name KSI, which is where you can find all of his music videos.
Is KSI a member of the Sidemen?
Yep! KSI is a member of a group of British entertainers who formed the entertainment collective Ultimate Sidemen (that is now just called Sidemen). The group is best-known for producing videos of various challenges, sketches and of course, video game commentaries.
During their time as a group, the Sidemen have hosted a number of football events in a bid to raise money for various charities.
When did KSI start releasing music?
KSI has always been into music, as he has released diss tracks as part of the Sidemen but it was only in 2019, when he signed with RBC Records and BMG, when he really began to make noise in the music business.
He has regularly topped the charts with collaborations with Yungblud, Anne-Marie and Craig David. Despite his musical success, KSI still uploads to YouTube, uploading his music as well as playful videos alongside the Sidemen.
KSI's albums
After the huge success of his debut studio album ‘Dissimulation’ in 2020, he released his second body of work, ‘All Over The Place’, in 2021 where he collaborated with Lil Durk, Craig David and Anne-Marie.
In November 2022, KSI told us all about his upcoming music and how it would "blow everyone's minds", revealing that he had a "big" song to put out in 2023: "It's something no one is going to expect.
"For me, when it comes to music, I always like doing the unexpected, making people go 'oh I didn't know he could do this type of sound', and then being pleasantly surprised and enjoying it."
Who has KSI collaborated with?
KSI has worked with a lot of other artists since he entered the world of music! On his debut album 'Dissimulation', artists such as Offset, Trippie Redd, Lil Baby, AJ Tracey and Rich the Kid all featured.
His second album 'All Over The Place' featured artists such as Future, 21 Savage, Yungblud, Anne-Marie, Craig David, Lil Wayne, Bugzy Malone and Digital Farm Animals.
KSI then excited fans even more in 2022, when the rapper released a collaboration with Tom Grennan on 5th August, titled 'Not Over Yet' - which was certified Platinum in the UK with 600,000 sales in June 2024.
WATCH: KSI - 'Not Over Yet' (feat. Tom Grennan) Official Music Video
KSI at Hits Radio Live
In November 2024, KSI joined the lineup for Hits Radio Live! The rapper took to the stage of Manchester's Co-op Live Arena to perform his biggest hits to sold-out crowds. Also on the bill was Perrie, Jax Jones, Cian Ducrot, Rita Ora, Clean Bandit, Teddy Swims and Tom Grennan.
How much is KSI worth?
In November 2021, KSI made it onto heat's Rich List, with the rapper reportedly worth an estimated £19.6 million. In 2019, he was ranked second by The Sunday Times in its list of the top 100 UK influencers. Not bad, eh?
As of 2024, it is reported that KSI's net worth is around the $27 million mark.
What is KSI's Prime?
You may have spotted the recognisable packaging in shops across the UK - but what is Prime? Well, it's a drink line created by KSI and fellow YouTuber-turned-boxer Logan Paul.
The drink comes in two forms - as a sports drink and an energy drink. Available in various flavours, Prime was famously sold out in shops around the world, with fans and followers rushing to buy the social media stars' product.
At the time of Prime's launch, KSI and Logan had over 39 million subscribers between them (on their main YouTube channels), with the marketing of the popular drink becoming a some-what phenomenon.
KSI's fight with Tommy Fury
After a four-year long rivalry, KSI came face to face with former Love Island star - and brother to heavyweight champion Tyson Fury - Tommy Fury. The fight took place in Manchester on Saturday 14th October 2023, at the AO Arena.
At the end of the bout, the results showed two scorecards reading 57-56, in Tommy’s favour, with the other reading 57-57. This made Tommy the majority-decision winner against KSI.
HOWEVER, the results were later corrected, with the original result involving incorrect maths. The 57-57 scorecard was revealed to have meant to be 57-56 (to Tommy), making him in fact the unanimous-decision winner.
Despite this, KSI described the result as a "robbery", alongside Tommy being docked a point for illegal shots to the back of the YouTuber-turned-musician's head. KSI said: "That is a robbery, bro. How many jabs did you land? Look at your face, look at your eyes. I’m the YouTuber, you are the boxer so you have to win?
"He is the man who is supposed to be the pro boxer. He hit me on the back of the head over and over. It is outrageous. I want to appeal. I need to see it again. I felt like I won that."
8 things you didn't know about rapper KSI:
KSI has a special meaning
KSI has confirmed that his initials stand for 'Knowledge, Strength, Integrity. He even has them tattooed on his arms.
KSI has met royalty!
In 2021, KSI was lucky enough to meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge! Taking to Instagram, KSI told fans that he asked the Duchess if she had 'ever made a Tik Tok'. Her answer was a big fat no.
KSI is a boxer
His most famous fight was with fellow YouTuber Logan Paul (brother of Jake Paul) in 2018, the fight was even named "the biggest amateur boxing match in history" by the Radio Times.
In 2019, KSI and Logan Paul were in the ring again and the rapper won by split decision. At the end of 2021, the pair had teased a major announcement, declaring they would be confirming "The Final Chapter" of their rivalry on an Instagram Live stream.
However, despite fans hoping for a rematch, turns out they were just releasing an energy drink called 'Prime'.
KSI later went up against Tommy Fury, in a fight which took place in Manchester in October 2023. Tommy was ruled the winner after the tense bout, with KSI describing the result as a 'robbery'.
KSI didn't finish school
Apparently, when money-savvy KSI found out he was earning more than his teachers from YouTube and sponsorship deals, he decided to quit when he was in sixth form. He has admitted that his parents weren't too supportive of his decision.
In an interview on This Morning in January 2023, KSI explained his decision in more detail: "It got to the point where I spoke to my teacher and you know like, 'I'm making this amount' and he was like, 'How much is it?' and I was like, '£1,500 a month'.
"He was like 'that's more than me'. I was like 'rah' and at that point, I was like I'm out! I don't need to be at school anymore."
Of his parents' reaction, he opened up: "They wanted me to be a lawyer, a doctor, an engineer, all of that and I had no interest in that. First of all, I just wasn't smart enough - that was just a lot for me to do. I couldn't go into sport because I was just terrible. I was just terrible at all of that so I told my parents I wanted to be a YouTuber and they laughed.
"They were just like, 'We worked so hard to get you into private school… We're in debt, so much debt to get you into the best position possible and you want to throw it away to just be a YouTuber and I was like 'yes!'" Thankfully, KSI was able to pay back his parents' debts!
He supports Arsenal
KSI is a true London boy and is an avid supporter of Arsenal FC. He's even created videos with various players, including Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mesut Ozil. When it comes to the World Cup, he has previously revealed that he supports Nigeria.
His original YouTube username wasn't as catchy
Just like all of us in our younger days, KSI's first YouTube name wasn't as catchy. He registered his first account on YouTube under the username "JideJunior" in 2008 in his early teens.
KSI does a lot for charity
He loves to give back. He often donates money he makes from adverts during his YouTube videos towards specific causes close to his heart.
KSI does a lot for charity
He loves to give back. He often donates money he makes from adverts during his YouTube videos towards specific causes close to his heart. KSI also plays charity football matches with his YouTube group the Sidemen.
He's a telly star
As well as YouTube and music, KSI has made appearances on Celebrity Gogglebox and The Great British Bake Off.
KSI on TikTok
You can follow KSI on TikTok, where his username is ksi, and he currently has over 11.8 million followers on the platform. KSI was also among the top 10 most viewed artists in the UK on TikTok in 2023.
KSI: MOBO 2022 Awards nomination
KSI was nominated at the 2022 MOBO Awards, the 30th anniversary of the ceremony! He was up for Best Media Personality gong, which is a public-voted category, going up against the likes of Big Zuu, Chunkz, Mo Gilligan and Munya Chawawa among others - but lost out to Nella Rose.
KSI's Amazon Prime documentary
KSI: In Real Life was executive produced by renowned investigative journalist Louis Theroux, and released on Amazon Prime in January 2023. Capturing his life over the course of one year, viewers followed KSI from his performance at Reading and Leeds Festival, his boxing career, recording his third album and also putting his relationships with his family under the microscope.
One particularly poignant moment saw KSI have a frank discussion with his dad Jide, in a clip he also shared on Instagram which saw the pair open up about their relationship and embrace.
He also opened up about making the doc in an interview on This Morning: "I think people started to realise and go, you know what, we see him on YouTube doing all these crazy things but when he’s just himself behind the camera, when everything is turned off, he’s just a normal human being."
Explaining that social media had impacted his life in negative ways as well as positive, he added: "I definitely lost my way and I feel like therapy helped me tremendously and made me understand what’s really important to me, what values are and what my purpose in life is."
Watch the documentary on Amazon Prime.
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