KSI’s “Thick Of It” is a 2024 single by YouTuber-turned-musician KSI, featuring American rapper Trippie Redd. While the track was positioned as another step in KSI’s evolving music career, it unexpectedly exploded online in October 2024 — not for praise, but as a viral meme across TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Reddit and YouTube.
The song’s opening bars — “From the screen, to the ring, to the pen, to the king” — quickly became the centre of internet mockery. TikTok users latched onto the lyric as emblematic of what they viewed as overly polished, corporate-feeling influencer music. What followed was a wave of memes portraying the track as sounding like default video game music, movie end-credit filler, or background audio for an AI-generated trailer.
As the memes grew, “Thick Of It” became shorthand for satirising influencer empires, particularly the way KSI’s music overlaps with his wider business ventures, online persona and audience demographics.
Origin of The Meme
On August 31st, 2024, KSI and Trippie Redd first performed “Thick Of It” live at the DAZN X Series 17 event. Footage of the performance was uploaded to YouTube the same day, where it gained hundreds of thousands of views in the following months, introducing fans to the track ahead of its official release.
@shrimpfriedrisuh Bros downfall is crazy #fyp #foryou #fy #foryoupage #makethisviral #viral #ksi #thickofit #goopiedance #meme #cringe #sidemen #prime #feastables #lunchly #loganpaul #mrbeast
The first major spark for the meme occurred on September 28th, 2024, when KSI uploaded a studio snippet of the song to YouTube. The video showed him recording vocals into a hanging microphone and prominently featured the now-infamous opening line. While the clip attracted engagement and praise from fans, it also drew early scepticism from viewers who felt the song sounded generic or overly manufactured.
Lyrics That Blew Up!
The most quoted section of “Thick Of It” is its opening verse:
“From the screen, to the ring, to the pen, to the king. Where’s my crown? That’s my bling. Always drama when I ring”
KSI
These lyrics — referencing KSI’s journey from YouTube to boxing and music — became a recurring punchline online, with users parodying the cadence and rhyme scheme across multiple platforms.
Music Video
On October 3rd, 2024, KSI released the official music video for “Thick Of It” on YouTube. The video quickly amassed hundreds of thousands of views within its first day, alongside tens of thousands of likes and comments.
While some viewers praised the production quality, others used the comment section to further fuel memes, comparing the visuals and sound to trailer music, sports montages, or fictional movie soundtracks.
Spread
Reaction to “Thick Of It” intensified at the start of October when TikTok creators began reposting the song snippet with ironic captions. One of the most influential uploads came from TikToker @unreal.hiphop on October 1st, 2024, who captioned the clip with a warning-style message implying the song was a threat to listeners. The video quickly amassed millions of views and hundreds of thousands of likes.
@itsnatalietran
Top comments on the post mocked the track’s tone and structure, with users joking that it sounded like a Minecraft movie end-credits song or a stock soundtrack from a video game menu. These comments were frequently screenshot and reposted, further accelerating the meme.
TikTok Meme Culture
As the sound spread, creators began using “Thick Of It” to satirise the idea of a hyper-commercialised influencer ecosystem. Many videos depicted exaggerated “Gen Alpha” scenarios, where fictional fans consume multiple influencer products while the song plays in the background.
A recurring meme format showed characters or stock images paired with captions referencing Prime Energy, Lunchly, podcasts, YouTube content and influencer brands — all while “Thick Of It” played ironically. The joke centred on sensory overload and perceived inauthenticity rather than the song itself.
@_oblivion25 When life was simpler #funny#memes#thickofit#ksi#bestriktokaudios#talktua#brainrot#trending
One widely shared TikTok slideshow depicted SpongeBob watching TV with text joking about drinking Prime, eating Lunchly and listening to KSI all at once. The post gained hundreds of thousands of likes in a single day, becoming one of the most recognisable memes tied to the song.
Community Reactions
The memes quickly spilled onto Reddit, particularly the /r/ksi subreddit. Users reposted TikTok clips expressing disbelief at the song’s tone, with some posts receiving thousands of upvotes within hours. While some fans defended the track, the prevailing sentiment leaned toward ironic humour rather than outright hostility.
@lilsloth32
By October 4th, 2024, the primary TikTok sound associated with “Thick Of It” had been used in thousands of videos, cementing the song’s place as a short-lived but highly visible internet meme.
Legacy
Although “Thick Of It” was released as a serious musical project, its viral lifespan was defined by meme culture. The song became less about chart performance and more about how internet audiences remix, parody and reinterpret influencer content in real time.
@cuckoo.fw KSI THICK OF IT EDIT✍️|ib@AMEEREDITS|#ksi#thickofit#edit#viralvideo#fyp
In the end, “Thick Of It” stands as another example of how TikTok can rapidly transform a mainstream music release into a cultural punchline — sometimes regardless of the artist’s intent.
