KSI (entertainer)

KSI

KSI in 2012
Born Olajide Olatunji
(1993-06-19) 19 June 1993
Watford, Hertfordshire, England
Other names KSIOlajidebt
Occupation
Years active 2008–present
Family Deji Olatunji (brother)
Website www.ksiofficial.com

Musical career

Genres
Labels
Associated acts

Olajide "JJ" Olatunji (born 19 June 1993),[1] better known as KSI, a shortened version of his YouTube username KSIOlajidebt (stylised as KSIOlajideBT), is an English comedian, YouTube personality, rapper, and occasional actor.[2] He is best known for his YouTube channel, which has, as of 2 May 2016, reached over 12 million subscribers.[3]

The pseudonym "KSIOlajideBT" comes from a gaming community he was in (KSI), his real name Olajide, and BT British Telecom, according to his website. His videos mostly consist of FIFA gameplay/commentary, whilst playing other games on various platforms with the occasional vlog. He has also appeared on a few of different shows such as BT Sport where he played FIFA with England and Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

YouTube career

Before his successful channel, KSI had a YouTube channel (which is still online) called JideJunior, which he created on 24 April 2008.[4] KSI opened his current YouTube account on 24 July 2009, with a video about the FIFA video game franchise.[5] According to his website, YouTubers such as Weepeler and Hjerpseth inspired him to start his own YouTube career. His main channel is primarily focused on FIFA, although he plays other games such as Grand Theft Auto V and other PC-based modifications on his secondary channel. KSI's family often appear in his videos, including his younger brother Deji and his father.

His secondary channel, KSIOlajidebtHD, contains videos of him playing more casual, arcade and horror games in a manner similar to that of comedic horseman PewDiePie. KSI's videos sometimes feature his brother Deji Olatunji, better known as Comedy Shorts Gamer.

KSI was the centre of a controversy following his actions at a Eurogamer event in 2012,[6] raised after he appeared at the Xbox One launch party in London.[7] With the reasoning of the controversy due to supposed sexual harassment on attendees of the event, Microsoft cut ties with the video game commentator, and he was banned for life from the Eurogamer Expo.[8] A message from KSI's manager states "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."[9] Due to the severity of the controversy, it spilled over to involve VideoGamer.com.[10][11]

In February 2013, KSI 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).

In August 2013, KSI was reacted to on the Fine Brothers' series Teens React.[12] Soon after he then posted a reaction to this video in "KSI Reacting to Teens Reacting To KSIOlajidebt".[13] In October 2013, KSI signed with Maker Studios' sub-network, Polaris.[14] Around that same time, he and five other gaming YouTubers formed a group called the Ultimate Sidemen, which initially consisted of himself, Ethan Payne (Behzinga), Simon Minter (miniminter), Josh Bradley (Zerkaa), Tobi Brown (TBJZL), and Vikram Barn (Vikkstar123). The group added a seventh member, Harry Lewis (wroetoshaw), in 2014. After defeating Virgin Gaming co-founder Zach Zeldin in a match of FIFA, KSI visited Las Vegas,[15] where he discussed YouTube's launching of a paid-channel subscription project.[16]

Music career

KSI branched out into music, mainly as a rapper. Starting out with fellow YouTuber Randolph, he released "Heskey Time", a rap song about 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 which follows a similar vein to Epic Rap Battles of History. There, 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 of them involves KSI as himself against Robin van Persie, hitting out at van Persie's acrimonious transfer from Arsenal to rivals Manchester United. He has also 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. KSI released his first 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.[17] On 29 October 2015, KSI announced his debut EP entitled Keep Up.[18] It was be released on 8 January 2016 by Island Records. The EP features guest appearances by Jme, Sway, Tiggs Da Author, and others.[19] The EP's title track featuring Jme was released on 13 November 2015 along with a music video released on 15 November 2015.

Chart success

KSI and Randolph released a novelty single on 20 December 2012 as BlacknWhite, called "Sweaty Goals". It reached #20 on the iTunes chart and #68 on the UK Singles Chart.[20]

He directed and appeared in the music video for the Droideka track "Get Hyper", which is used as a segment on his videos where he uses the song when fans request him to "get hyper". The song eventually charted on the UK Dance Chart, UK Indie Chart, and UK Singles Chart.[21]

Sway's track "No Sleep", which features a guest appearance from KSI, also charted in the UK, narrowly missing the top 40, having been there in midweek.[22] The song was performed at the Xbox One launch party and on the CBBC show Friday Download.

On 29 March 2015, he gained his first UK Top 40 single with "Lamborghini" as it debuted and peaked at #30 on the UK Top 100 chart.[23]

Other media

On 16 March 2015, KSI announced via his YouTube channel that he was releasing a book entiltled KSI: I Am A Bellend. The book is entitled KSI: I Am A Tool in the United States.[24] It is described by its publishers as “an all-out assault on the online universe”.[25] The book includes his history and evolution as a YouTuber, tips on YouTube, his controversies throughout his career including his fallout with fellow YouTube personality Gudjon Daniel, and more.[26] The book was released on 24 September 2015 in the United Kingdom and five days later in the United States.[24] KSI did a tour supporting the book on 24 September 2015, ending on 4 October 2015.[26]

In June 2015, it was announced that KSI, along with YouTube personality Caspar Lee, will star in a movie entitled Laid in America. It will be released in 2016 and will feature other YouTube personalities including Timothy DeLaGhetto and Josh Leyva.[27][28]

Discography

Extended plays

List of extended plays
Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK
[29]		 UK R&B
[30]		 CAN
[31]		 NZL
[32]		 SCO
[33]		 US R&B
[34]		 US Rap
[35]
Keep Up 13 1 63 23 15 19 14

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[29]		 UK
R&B
[36]		 AUS
[37]		 IRL
[38]		 SCO
[39]
"Lamborghini"
(featuring P Money)		 2015 30 7 — 61 28 N/A
"Keep Up"
(featuring Jme)		 45 7 78 90 40 Keep Up
"Goes Off"
(featuring Mista Silva)		 2016 — — — — — N/A

As featured artist

List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[40][41]
"Sweaty Goals"
(as BlacknWhite)		 2012 68 Non-album single
"No Sleep"
(Sway featuring KSI, Tigger Da Author, and Tubes)		 2013 44 Wake Up
"Christian Bale"
(Yogi featuring Casey Veggies, Knytro, Sway, KSI, and Raptor)		 2014 – Burial
"MAC-10 Flow"
(Sway featuring KSI)		 – Non-album single

References

  1. ↑ "KSI [SDMN] on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  2. ↑ 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."
  3. ↑ "KSIOlajidebt - About". YouTube. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/user/JideJunior/
  5. ↑ Olatunji, Olajide. "KSIOlajidebt Home". Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  6. ↑ Cordell, Ben (October 2012). "YouTube Celeb KSI Sexually Harasses Attendees At Expo". StickTwiddlers.
  7. ↑ Totilo, Stephen (6 October 2012). "Booth Babes Not The Only Embarrassment At Eurogamer Expo". Kotaku. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  8. ↑ Schreier, Jason (23 November 2013). "YouTuber Says He Was Censored For Criticising Another YouTuber". Kotaku. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  9. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (23 November 2013). "YouTuber KSI dumped by Microsoft after Xbox One launch appearance". Eurogamer. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  10. ↑ Lees, Matt (25 November 2013). "KSI Video Removal: Our Official Statement". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  11. ↑ Lees, Matt (22 November 2013). "KSI and Xbox: Why MS got it wrong (Copyright safe version)". VideoGamerTV. YouTube. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  12. ↑ "Teens React to KSIOlajidebt". TheFineBros. YouTube. 4 August 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  13. ↑ "KSI Reacting to Teens Reacting To KSIOlajidebt". KSI. YouTube. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  14. ↑ Gutelle, Sam (29 October 2013). "Captain Sparklez, KSIOlajidebt, Ali-A Among New Polaris Gamers". Tubefilter. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  15. ↑ C., Carl (13 February 2013). "KSIOLAJIDEBT VIDEO IN VEGAS FOR CHALLENGE SERIES!". Virgin Gaming. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  16. ↑ "KSIOlajidebt and Ali-A on YouTube pay channel charging". BBC. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  17. ↑ "Lamborghini (feat. P Money) - Single by KSI". iTunes. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  18. ↑ "KSI announces Keep Up". YouTube. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  19. ↑ "Keep Up (feat. JME) - EP by KSI on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  20. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/28960/BLACKNWHITE/
  21. ↑ "2013 Top 40 Dance Singles Archive 9th February 2013". Official Charts Company. 9 February 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  22. ↑ "2013 Top 40 R&B Singles Archive 2nd November 2013". Official Charts Company. 2 November 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  23. ↑ https://twitter.com/BBCR1/status/582208477168275456
  24. 1 2 Gutelle, Sam. "YouTube Star KSI’s New Book Flies Off The Shelves In Two Countries". Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  25. ↑ Ditum, Nathan. "Why it’s worth trying to understand KSI, YouTube’s most controversial star". NewStatesman. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  26. 1 2 "YouTubing 'bell-end' KSI: 'I'm a really nice guy'". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  27. ↑ "YouTube Stars KSI, Caspar Lee To Star In ‘Laid In America’ Feature Film". tubefilter. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  28. ↑ "Laid in America on IMDB". Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  29. 1 2
  30. ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  31. ↑ "KSI – Canadian Albums Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  32. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – KSI – Keep Up". Hung Median. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  33. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  34. ↑ "R&B/Hip Hop Albums : Week of January 30, 2016". Billboard. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  35. ↑ "Top Rap Albums : Week of January 30, 2016". Billboard. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  36. ↑
  37. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (16 January 2016). "ARIA Singles: Justin Bieber 'Love Yourself' Spends 6th Week at No 1". Noise11. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  38. ↑ http://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p%2Fmusicvideo%2Fmusic%2Farchive%2Findex_test.jsp&ct=240001&arch=t&lyr=2015&year=2015&week=13
  39. ↑
  40. ↑ For "Sweaty Goals" – http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/28960/BLACKNWHITE/
  41. ↑ For "No Sleep" – http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/34145/SWAY/

External links

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