Eman Kellam

Eman Kellam
Olaniyan in 2020
Born
Emmanuel Kellam Olaniyan

(1997-11-27) 27 November 1997 (age 27)
South London, London, England
EducationBRIT School
Occupations
  • TV presenter
  • YouTuber
Years active2012–present
YouTube information
Channel
Subscribers124,000[1]
Total views15.8 Million[1]
100,000 subscribers2020
Last updated: 18 February 2024

Emmanuel Kellam Olaniyan (born 27 November 1997) is a Nigerian-British television presenter and YouTube personality better known as Eman Kellam. He is best known for his presenting work for CBBC, MTV, BET International and his own YouTube web show British Slang With Eman Kellam.

Personal life

Olaniyan was born and raised in South London, to parents of Nigerian origin. He attended Forest Hill School.[2] and then The BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology where he studied Broadcasting and Digital Communications.[3]

Career

YouTube

Olaniyan started creating content on his YouTube channel "EmansBlogs" in 2012.[4] He started creating video blogs in his kitchen discussing topics that were popular and relevant at that point in time. It was not, however, until 2014 when he uploaded his most viewed video, "Pranking My African Dad",[5] in which he told his father that he had impregnated a 14-year-old girl, that his channel went viral and started to pick up speed and gain subscribers. This video has had over 8 million views as of August 2021 and has been discussed and shared across various platforms including WorldStarHipHop[6] and Bossip.[7] In January 2016, he appeared on the CBBC Channel as Lifebabble talent on the Scottish BAFTA award nominated show Lifebabble.[8][9]

French Montana collaboration

On 5 November 2016, French Montana premiered his highly anticipated album MC4 on the Apple Music show OVO Sound Radio.[10] The show was curated by Noah "40" Shebib and Oliver El-Khatib who founded OVO Sound radio with multi award-winning artist Drake.

Olaniyan and his father featured on the show in a intro skit on MC4 called "Check Come". The skit was taken from Olaniyan's infamous "Pranking My African Dad" video.

CBBC and BBC "Own It"

In February 2018 Olaniyan appeared on The CBBC Channel in the United Kingdom as a guest presenter to promote "BBC Own It", a new online learning resource commissioned by the BBC aimed at 9-12 year olds. Covering a range of topics that would relate to children growing up in the digital age. Own It launched nationally on Tuesday 7 February 2018.[11] He then made several guest presenting appearances on the channel along with featuring in other CBBC shows.

YouTube Black Voices

In January 2021 YouTube announced the international list of creators of the inaugural YouTube Black Voices Class of 2021, of which Olaniyan was a UK class member .

Some members of the class of 2021 were also featured in the September 2021 issue of British Vogue in which Olaniyan was also included. Quote from British Vogue feature "As YouTube expands its diverse community, the Class of 2021 are the new figureheads in the making to follow. Prepare to watch those featured here go stratospheric".

TikTok's "One's To Watch"

In October 2024 TikTok announced their list of "Creators To Watch" for Black History Month 2024 in which Olaniyan was listed as one of eight. [12]

Quote from TikTok "From history and fashion, to food and comedy, #BlackTikTok encompasses the diversity and trendsetting creativity of Black culture on TikTok, and demonstrates how Black creators continue to influence mainstream culture and shape industries.

Take a look at some of the talented Ones To Watch this October, who are using their creativity to celebrate, honour and shape Black culture and history."

British Slang With Celebrities Series

Olaniyan is also known for his "British Slang With Eman Kellam" series on his YouTube channel. In which he asks predominantly American actors to try and figure out the meaning of a slang word commonly used by youth in the United Kingdom. Celebrity guests who have featured include Gabrielle Union, Denzel Washington, Childish Gambino, Regina Hall, Keke Palmer, Daniel Kaluuya and Golden Globe Award nominated actress and creator of HBO's Insecure, Issa Rae.

British Slang With Eman Kellam - Episode List
Episode Number Guest/s featured in Episode Release Date
1 Unge 1 July 2015
2 Ben Hardy, Tye Sheridan, and Alexandra Shipp 24 May 2016
3 Dave Franco 8 August 2016
4 Nathan Zed 24 August 2016
5 RJ Cyler, Dacre Montgomery, and Ludi Lin 16 March 2017
6 Becky G and Naomi Scott 23 March 2017
7 Kaya Scodelario and Brenton Thwaites 24 May 2017
8 Demetrius Shipp Jr. 30 June 2017
9 Cara Delevingne and Dane DeHaan 25 July 2017
10 Gabrielle Union and Ajiona Alexus 6 May 2018
11 Childish Gambino and Phoebe Waller-Bridge 19 May 2018
12 Denzel Washington 11 August 2018
13 Shameik Moore 9 December 2018
14 John Cena 13 December 2018
15 Zachary Levi 22 March 2019
16 Regina Hall, Issa Rae, and Marsai Martin 7 April 2019
17 Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith 2 February 2020
18 Keke Palmer 19 June 2022
19 Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer 8 August 2022
20 Gabrielle Union and Jaboukie Young-White 24 November 2022

Music career

2021

Olaniyan released his secret debut EP "For The Summer" on 10 June 2021. Speaking via Instagram he said "I remember going on tour with Lotto Boyzz in 2017 and seeing how much they loved making music. I was only hosting for them back then, but seeing the passion really inspired me to want to take music seriously. It's been a long time coming. Music is one of the things I love the most."

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2014 Will You Kill Me Now? Toby Short Film
2017 Action Point Shorts (uncredited) Feature Film
2021 Music, Trial & Trauma: The Movie Producer Short Film
2024 The Sidemen Story (Himself) Cameo Appearance Documentary

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2014 Right This Minute [13] Himself 1 episode
2015 The Xperiment Himself 1 episode
2016 - 2018 Lifebabble Himself 26 episodes
2017 Inglorious Pranksters Himself 1 episode
2018 BBC "Own It" Himself Team Own It Member
2018 CBBC Channel Himself Guest appearances
2019 All Over the Place Himself Series 9
2020 Monday Night Football Himself Guest Appearance
2022 Unapologetic with Zeze Millz & Yinka Bokinni Himself Series 2, Episode 1
2023 ITVx's Tell Me Everything You Know About Himself 3 Episodes

Discography

Extended plays

Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
For The Summer
  • Released: 10 June 2021
  • Label: Independent
  • Format: Streaming, digital download
 -

Songwriting credits

Year Title Artist Role Album
2016 "Check Come" French Montana Writer MC4 (album) [10]

References

  1. ^ a b "About EmanKellam". YouTube.
  2. ^ Chandler, Mark (18 October 2013). "Forest Hill's Emmanuel Olaniyan, 15, becomes Young Mayor of Lewisham". News Shopper. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  3. ^ "Inside The BRIT School, Croydon's very own fame academy | Croydon Advertiser". www.croydonadvertiser.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014.
  4. ^ "EmanKellam". YouTube. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  5. ^ PRANKING MY AFRICAN DAD | @EmanKellam. EmanKellam. 15 February 2014. Archived from the original on 25 October 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "LOOOL: African Father Was Ready To Beat The Shxt Out Of His Son During This Prank! You Will H'end Up In Mcdonass". WorldStarHipHop. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  7. ^ "African Dad Prank: Son Says He Got A 14-Yr-Old White Girl Pregnant "Aabo Wa… Oh, My Days Jesus!" [Video]". Bossip. 16 February 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Lifebabble - CBBC - BBC". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Lifebabble (TV Series 2016– )". Retrieved 7 October 2017 – via IMDb.
  10. ^ a b Richardson, Nikita (5 November 2016). "French Montana Features "Pranking My African Dad" Video On MC4". The Fader. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Own It - A place to help you boss your life online - Own It - BBC".
  12. ^ https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-gb/celebrating-black-history-month-on-tiktok-uk
  13. ^ "Pregnancy Prank Pushes Dad Over the Edge". rightthisminute.com. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2017.