Olajide Olayinka Williams “JJ” Olatunji, known online as KSI, is a popular British gaming and comedy youtuber with both 24.7 million subscribers on his solo youtube channel, and 21.8 million subscribers on the group account, Sidemen. He has built his career for over 15 years and journeyed into business and music in 2024.
KSI branched off from his origins on Youtube to become a successful business owner in 2024. In March, he and the Sidemen launched their brand, Best Cereal, with the support of British cereal group, Mornflake. During their marketing campaign for the product, their main selling points for the cereal were the large amounts of fiber and lack of saturated fats.
In September, KSI launched His second business, Lunchly, with co-founders and youtubers, Logan Paul and Jimmy “Mr. Beast” Donaldson. Lunchly is a lunch-box styled product, and contains KSI’s 2022 drink, Prime, and Mr. Beast’s chocolate bar, Feastables, along with three different options of an entree. Lunchly was marketed as a healthier version of the already popular brand Lunchables, but it has attracted attention since multiple influencers, such as Rosanna Pansino and aSpicyCow, claimed to have found mold inside Lunchly.
Fall continued to be a successful season for KSI with his most viral venture of 2024, his hit song “Thick of It,” featuring Trippie Redd, releasing in October. Ultimately, the track peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart and number 64 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Although the song was poorly received, it gained popularity due to both KSI’s status as a youtuber and the media attention the song received from coverage by several influencers on various social media platforms. KSI describes his career in “Thick of It,” with the lines: “From the screen/ To the ring/ To the pen/ To the king.” “Thick of It” was also followed by a lesser known song, “Low,” which describes KSI’s inner feelings while achieving success.
KSI’s journey as an influencer has sprouted into his ownership of multiple businesses, and achievements in the music industry. There have been no signs of KSI retiring, so it can be expected that he will be active in 2025 as well.
