All Over The Place

If there’s anything KSI can’t do, he’s either not interested, or is locked away in his bedroom thinking of a way to make it happen. “I’m all about trying things, just to see if I can do them,” KSI—real name Olajide Olayinka Williams “JJ” Olatunji—tells Apple Music. “I’m able to bounce around, and do all of these things—and maybe through that, I'll find out what my true sound is. Maybe I’ll find out there’s no sound.”
KSI has given his fans/subscribers an access-all-areas pass to that journey. One of the UK’s foremost YouTubers and online personalities, he released his solo debut album Dissimulation in 2020, serving intimate, personal tracks alongside heavy-hitting anthems and larger features from standout names—and creating space for his digital and personal personas to coexist. “With this one, I'm starting to realize that I’m a really big deal,” he says. “I used to think that I had to be super serious to be a rapper. But, you know what? I can just be myself. And that's okay, because I started out doing just that. And I haven't looked back since.”
In that spirit, All Over the Place is true to its title. We get a carousel of alt-pop (“Patience”), R&B balladry (“You”), and a surprisingly slick garage anthem that recruits childhood hero Craig David (“Really Love”), nestled up against potent rap, with appearances from Lil Durk, Bugzy Malone, 21 Savage, and JAY1. There’s a similarly impressive band of production talent on board (S-X, Digital Farm Animals, Ayo Beatz, M1 On The Beat, Toddla T), but the Londoner insists the album executes his very individual vision. “I don't need other people, I just do things by myself,” he says. “I’ve always been a bit of a loner when it comes to working. Especially on my own albums. So during the whole pandemic and lockdown situation, I was there like, 'OK—this is my realm now.'” Here he breaks down his second album, track by track.
“The Moment” “After Dissimulation, I was just focused on improving. My verses, writing, singing, I wanted to step it all up. The track speaks for itself—I’m taking the moment, this is my year, and no one can stop me.”
“Number 2” (feat. Future & 21 Savage) “Another track where I’m gloating. I’m taking on the people that doubted me. So many were shitting on me, saying I’d never amount to anything, and now these guys look like clowns in a circus. I'm at a point that I'm loving life, and that feeling is amplified with getting Future and 21 Savage on this album. I'm in a completely different space now.”
“Patience” (feat. YUNGBLUD & Polo G) “I met YUNGBLUD at the NME Awards [February 2020] after his performance that night, and I instantly loved his energy. But I wanted to have him hone it in on this track, and sing a bit more, because he can, really well. But right now, it’s a bit too fast to push my audience into super screamo stuff—you want to ease people into such things.”
“You” “Not for the first time, here’s a track about my girlfriend. Or maybe it’s about me being a bit too obsessive? There are parts of the chorus that remind me of the character from [2018 TV drama] You, Joe Goldberg. I feel like this would be his anthem, or backing track.”
“Don’t Play” (feat. Anne-Marie & Digital Farm Animals) “It's funny now that I listen to the original [version] of this song, how it sounded—before Anne-Marie got on the track. I already had my two verses, but she was like, ‘Yo, I love this so much, I want my own.’ And she blew it out of the water and literally made it a hit. She’s amazing.”
“Really Love” (feat. Craig David & Digital Farm Animals) “This is my first time trying a garage beat. Well, [2020 single] ‘Lighter,’ perhaps, but that was a dance track to me. This is a whole lot more garage. First of all, I wasn’t too sure people would know who Craig David was, especially my [young] audience. Most people do—12-year-olds probably won't. I was really interested in the response, and it was insane. He's such a nice guy, so it's cool we were able to help get him yet another top 10 in his decorated musical career.”
“Gang Gang” (feat. JAY1 & Deno) “This track was one of the very first I made for the album. I wanted it as a single immediately, till more and more bangers kept coming.”
“Rent Free” (feat. GRACEY) “This is one of the first times I've been in the studio to make a song from scratch. I’m usually picking through beats, so here, I definitely wasn't super comfortable at first, but I just went along with it. Either way, GRACEY is so talented and started killing, doing the melodies all over the track. And Toddla T on production—super talented as well. It's crazy how I’m with all these talented people, just awkwardly sitting there.”
“Madness” "It’s a drill track—and it's pretty much me just talking my shit, like, really, really talking my shit. About how everything I do gets people talking. If I tweet, they talk about the tweets; if I do anything, people are going to make memes. Most of the time, I'm on my humble shit, but this track, I really let it go, like ‘Fuck that!’”
“Silly” (feat. Bugzy Malone) “This is an epic track. Again, it's a new flow from me, a new style, but it’s really all about how silly I actually am. I'm just not a super serious guy. And Bugzy absolutely killed it with the numeric flow, too.”
“Flash It” (feat. Rico Love) “I move into the Afrobeats section of the album here. Firstly, I learned Rico Love is so good at writing, it’s fucking ridiculous. He absolutely did his thing, and he’s so quick. And then I put some of my own sauce on it.”
“No Time” (feat. Lil Durk) “I know a lot of people, when they hear my vocal on this, will say, ‘What the fuck is this?’ I kinda borrowed it from [Atlanta rapper] 645AR—he’s a meme artist, but he does this crazy high-pitched thing that I thought would be cool to use, but obviously not go overboard with it.”
“No Pressure” “A funny story: My first verse on this track was actually meant for Wes Nelson’s 'Nice to Meet Ya.' Because [British rapper and producer] Ayo Beatz had been working with Wes a lot, around the time we were working also. That’s all I can say really, it just didn't work out. It was about timelines, and a little bit of politics.”
“Sleeping With the Enemy” (feat. S-X) “This song is more conceptual than the others. I’m looking back at my career and realizing: ‘This is all really weird. It’s like I'm living in a simulation, or a video game.’ Because with everything that I've accomplished, it just seems a bit too...I don't want to say too easy, because I've definitely worked hard for it. But still, sometimes I feel like, ‘Why me?’”