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Who is KSI? Meet the YouTube star and rapper set to appear on Top Gear

KSI is a guest on Sunday night's Top Gear

who is ksi
Francesca Shillcock
Senior Features Writer
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Top Gear returned at the end of January on BBC One with presenters Chris Harris, Paddy McGuinness and Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff fronting the motoring show. The new series has already seen well-known names appear as guests on the show such as comedian Romesh Ranganathan, and Laurence and Emilia Fox.

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In Sunday's upcoming episode, social media star and rapper KSI is will make an appearance. Presenter Chris recently came out in defence of the celebrity booking after a viewer tweeted the show slating KSI's upcoming stint by saying: "Scraping the barrel with 'celebs' now. Just get rid of this part of the show. Adds nothing to it and always skip it." The host replied: "With a bloke who has 20 million young followers? I think you might not be very clever." If you're wanting to know more about KSI from who he is and what he does for a living, this is all you need to know…

Who is KSI?

KSI, whose real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, is a 26-year-old British YouTuber, rapper and internet personality who has over five million followers on Twitter, and 21 million subscribers on YouTube. KSI built his online fan base from 2008 onwards, by posting gaming-commentary on FIFA games, but now the influencer posts more generic content. The internet star is also a part-time boxer, and posts video of him taking part in the sport online.

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ksi appears on top gear© Photo: Getty Images

KSI a rapper, boxer and YouTube star

What else is KSI known for?

As well as being a hugely successful vlogger, KSI has had a pretty successful career in music. In 2015, KSI released his first single Lamborghini (fitting for Top Gear!) and his first album Keep Up. The debut proved successful and reached number thirteen on the UK Albums Chart and number one on the R&B Albums Chart. The rapper then went on to release more singles and Eps throughout 2016 and 2017. At the end of January this year, KSI released his latest single, Wake Up Call, and the video has already racked up over ten million hits on YouTube.

ksi top gear© Photo: BBC

KSI is a guest on Top Gear's upcoming episode

What is KSI's net worth?

In 2015, Forbes reported KSI's net worth as over $4 million, which equates to around £3.5million, and he was ranked the fifth highest earning YouTube star in the world. By 2017, it was reported that his earnings had more than doubled, and his net worth reached $11 million, around £8.5 million. Since then, the music and social media star has gone to complete more advertising campaigns and even earned plenty of bucks for his high-profile boxing fight with fellow YouTuber Logan Paul in LA in 2019. After the fight, the Mirror reported that KSI earned a minimum guaranteed amount of $900,000 (circa £700,000) from his second fight against Logan Paul, but his final cheque from the fight was also reported to be in the millions.

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top gear presenters© Photo: BBC

Top Gear is back for series 28

Does KSI have a girlfriend?

Not much is known about KSI's love life, however the internet sensation made reference to his girlfriend in a social media post in 2019 prior to his match with Logan Paul. The boxer wrote: "My body has been pushed to a point I never knew I had. I came to Vegas to be trained by the best with no distractions and I have come out an absolute beast." He continued: "Throughout this period I have missed my family, my friends and my beautiful girlfriend, but they all understood that me training in Vegas was necessary."

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