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KSI discusses YouTube burnout and swapping out gaming for music

KSI discusses YouTube burnout and swapping out gaming for music

Olajide 'KSI' Olatunji has mentioned how 'hostile' YouTube is in a recent interview with GQ Magazine 

The YouTuber turned rapper began his journey as a gaming creator which he described as a 'lot of fun', but cites that period as a difficult time. 

"It was tough because I was the writer, director, producer, editor and actor on a constant basis. I didn't do anything besides eat, sleep and work. I never went out," Olatunji told GQ. 

"I did it for eight years and there were highs and lows. It was a lot of fun and I loved playing games. Racism was a big low. I got a lot of comments, as well as verbal and physical abuse. YouTube is a hostile place, because drama sells. People want blood."

Game over

The YouTuber eventually hit a wall with content and decided to quit. In 2017, KSI put his social channels in 'blackout' mode and deleted a massive chunk of the gaming content on his channel.

"I didn't create content for four months. I travelled instead. I got a girlfriend and that helped. It made my life a lot easier. I worked out. I finally did everything that wasn't YouTube," Olatunji said to GQ.

"My last stop was LA, where I hung out with YouTuber and musician RiceGum. After that, I was ready to come back. I was excited by YouTube again and ready to start a music career."

Say that to my face

KSI recently made boxing one of his key business ventures. After a long feud with fellow YouTuber Joe Weller, the pair sought to settle their differences in a YouTube boxing match. 

The pair both livestreamed the boxing match to their respective YouTube channels and a reported 1.6 million watched the events unfold live. The archived videos now have almost 25 million views.

KSI also plans to fight Logan Paul in the summer.

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Editor

Danielle Partis is editor of PocketGamer.biz and former editor of InfluencerUpdate.biz. She was named Journalist of the Year at the MCV Women in Games Awards 2019, as well as in the MCV 30 under 30 2020. Prior to Steel Media, she wrote about music and games at Team Rock.