U.K. social media star and musician Olajide Olayinka “JJ” Olatunji Williams, known professionally as KSI, has gained mass attention with his latest song ‘Thick of It.’ Released on October 3rd, the song features American rapper and singer Trippie Redd. The music video for the song has accumulated 26.8 million views in two weeks but has also received criticism, with many calling it cringey. Some of the negativity directed at KSI and his song is believed to stem from recent controversies surrounding his food brand Lunchly with Logan Paul and Mr. Beast, as well as personal disputes with U.K. influencer DanTDM. Despite this, KSI wrote “Thick of It” to share his story of rising from internet fame to achieving success. However, the song has been mainly made fun of by fans and listeners, with some describing it as “bad” or “not that bad.” The song has also become the subject of memes on social media, particularly around the 56-second mark of the music video, which has become a popular trend.
“The new KSI song is horrible but it’s pretty funny because of how cringey it is,” junior Malik Alkhayyat said. “The hate online hasn’t changed the opinions of any teenagers who’ve listened to the song because mostly everyone thinks the song is bad and sounds like it was made for little kids.”
KSI has responded to the memes with his latest videos on his second YouTube channel (@jjolatunji) and expressed frustration with the hate. He continues to maintain that his song is a ‘banger’ and believes that people are overly critical of it.
“The thing is, the song isn’t bad (and) I don’t know why people are taking it (seriously),” KSI said, trying to maintain his composure. “I’m literally describing my life, I’ve gone from Youtube, to music, to boxing, to me being on top of the game, that’s the lyrics.”
