Gen Z Influencers: KSI

Who said an influencer could only influence one field?

We’re used to chef stars, make-up gurus, fashion moguls, music authorities, sports heroes. But what happens when someone tries to create his or her fan base across many fields? After all, the very word “influencer” speaks about the ability to shape behaviours and attitudes and build a following, without specifying the area of influence.

Younger generations such as Gen Z seem to be attracted by those personalities who embody the broader meaning of the word influencer. People who bring their peculiar spirit into many thematic spheres. One example above all of these “all across the board” influencers is KSI.

With over 20 million subscribers on his main YouTube channel (and a secondary one with some 8.13 million subscribers) and 7.7 million followers on Instagram, a clothing line with his name and a Lamborghini in his garage, you’d expect KSI (real name Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji) to be another vlogger from sunny California or posh central London. Except he is not: he comes from Watford, Hertfordshire, has Nigerian origins and he dropped out of school to be a YouTuber. And he can’t be described as just a V-logger.

It all started in 2009, when he first created his YouTube channel, then named KSIOlajideBT, to upload gaming videos of him playing EA Sports’ signature title FIFA while commenting honestly and hilariously. In two years, he had already gained 20.000 followers by making what parents (including his) seem to dread the most: staying home playing video games. And he didn’t stop when someone told him to “get a real job”: he dropped out of school when he was already making 1.500£ per month from his channel, demonstrating that he could actually live by doing what he enjoyed the most.

That’s probably the first thing that makes him so dear to Gen Z audience: he earns by doing what he likes. He has started from scratch in his parents’ house in a suburban area, and he looks like he is genuinely having loads of fun. In one word: he is relatable.

And relatability intensifies when you have a character that embodies the eagerness of youth to try many things and not to fossilize on only one.

KSI started experimenting in various fields since his early years on YouTube. First, he introduced some comedy vlogs on his channels, full of pranks and hilarious montages. Then, after having already reached 3 million followers, he joined four other British YouTubers and founded Sidemen, a collective dedicated to upload videos of various nature: challenges, gaming commentaries, comedy skits, stunts.

Since its inception in 2013, the Sidemen group grew to include seven members (KSI, Vikram Barn, Josh Bradley, Tobi Brown, Harry Lewis, Simon Minter, Ethan Payne), promoted charity football matches, produced its own YouTube Premium series, and reached 6.8 million subscribers. All without losing its initial vibe: making videos about what these British boys enjoy the most, being it a football challenge, a parody of a television game-show or a travel vlog.

While there’s no univocal classification for Sidemen’s videos — and this adds up to our discussion on “multiform” influencers — one of KSI’s winning characteristics stands out in them: he is funny. He invents pranks, he continuously banters with his friends, and he makes fun of himself too, mocking a stereotypical African accent and slang while interpreting some of his characters (such as the poor Baba Tounde or the Spelling Bee teacher).

What also emerges from KSI’s story with the Sidemen is his “untamed” attitude: he wants his creativity (and career) to run free, which brought him to leave the group for a while in 2017 because he wanted to “move on to bigger things.” A decision that didn’t come quietly: KSI started publishing diss tracks against the other members of the Sidemen, especially Ethan Payne, to which Payne and the others replied with more vengeful tracks. At the end of 2017, however, KSI released a video hinting that this feud with the Sidemen could have been partially fake. One thing stays true, though: drama, dissing and “spilled tea” seem to be big among young audiences’ entertainment, and KSI and his pals surely do know it.

Quarrels and fights are, in fact, the main protagonists of another switch in KSI’s career: that as a YouTube boxer (we told you, no boundaries to influence!). In 2018, KSI challenged American YouTuber Logan Paul, one of his fierce competitors for views and followers, to an amateur white-collar bout. Almost the contemporary equivalent of a swashbuckling tale.

On August 25, 2018, KSI and Logan Paul confronted each other on the ring of the Manchester Arena in what was called “the larger event in YouTube history”. 21.000 tickets sold, 2.25 million live viewers, 23 million views of the full fight video. And that was only the beginning.

On November 9, 2019, a rematch of the KSI vs Logan Paul event was held, but this time as a professional fight. Paul trained with heavyweight champion Shannon Brigg, while KSI’s coaches were professional boxers Viddal Riley and Jeff Mayweather. The match took place at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, and it was live-streamed by sports pay-per-view giants such as DAZN and Sky Sports. KSI won via split decision, but the buzz generated by the match didn’t end with the final scores.

The world of boxing seemed to be split in half: on one side, those who considered the “professional” label and high-paying sponsorship of the event a positive turn for the sport, a way of attracting younger and newer audiences to it. On the other hand, harsh critics argued that KSI vs Logan Paul was just a farce that damaged boxing, that made it look like cheap entertainment more than a real sport.

Whichever the faction, the power of two non-pros to gather an unspecialized audience towards such a specific discipline remains. What generates this power? There surely isn’t a single answer. Yet, a key to the success of figures as KSI may reside in their thrilling nature, so close for age and attitudes to their followers, but so far in terms of their extravagant adventures.

Speaking of which, KSI’s adventures didn’t stop with boxing. After the last match with Logan Paul, he seems more determined than ever to experiment new things and paths. For now, his field of election is rap music, a genre that well-reflects his bold style and quick tongue.

His first EP, Keep Up, was released in 2016 and reached the number 1 on the UK R&B Album Chart. After that, came three other extended plays, all for digital stream and download, and a collaborative album, New Age, which also jumped to number 1 of the UK R&B in 2019. The first single released from this album, Down Like That, was the theme song of KSI’s second match against Logan Paul, and it reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart.

What does this all say about Gen Z’s affection for KSI? That they can see he is a hard worker, and they like it. He always seems to be after a new, astounding project, finely tuned with the help of personalities of the R&B scene such as P Money, Mista Silva, Lil Baby, Rick Ross, S-X. Younger generations can see that KSI is passionate about what he does, he has fun doing it, but he doesn’t idle.

A breakdown of Down Like That’s lyrics seems to finally explain KSI’s multifaceted, always evolving, against-all-odds nature: “I’m always uppin’ the levels, and people don’t know what to expect,” he says on Genius’ YouTube channel. “I was the underdog, people band against me saying I got no chance, and then I come through and win. Time and time and time again, and that’s just me, proving people wrong.”

KSI looks like he has understood that the secret of success in a multimedia world is avoiding stagnancy, giving audiences, especially the younger ones, inspirations they can relate to, but without stopping making them dream. “You never really know what to expect from me,” he concludes in his lyrics explanation. “One minute I’m playing FIFA, the next I’m doing music with Waka Flocka [an American rapper, NdA], the next I’m boxing in a professional fight. It’s all over the place, but it’s intriguing, I feel like my audience respects that and likes that a lot about me.”

KSI — YouTube Channel Metrics

• Subscribers: 20,9 mln
• Subscribers rank (on the global platform): 122nd
• UK Country Rank: 7th
• Total views (from channel inception in July 2009): 5,1 bln
• Most Viewed Video (Lamborghini): 110 mln views

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This is part of YAD — Understanding Young Audiences Digest: a free monthly digest on young audiences for VOD and TV professionals. We’ve analysed millions of data points and we don’t mind sharing some of them — if this could help channels and commissioners to reach Gen Z, by understanding their needs, behavioural traits and intrinsic cultural values. 

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