Eman Kellam (born 27 November 1997) is a Nigerian-British media personality. He presents the webshows "British Slang With Eman Kellam" & "Eman Kellam & Friends".
Personal life
Olaniyan was born and raised in South London, to parents of Nigerian origin. He attended Forest Hill School, and then The BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology where he studied Broadcasting and Digital Communications. Youth politics & engagement In October 2013, Olaniyan was elected as the Young Mayor for the London Borough of Lewisham, representing young people across the borough.
Olaniyan’s manifesto focused on improving youth opportunities, expanding access to apprenticeships, enhancing sports facilities, promoting inclusion and using social media to connect the council with young residents. During his first term, he managed a £30,000 youth budget which funded performing-arts showcases and youth-led community projects.
In 2015, Olaniyan was re-elected securing 1,883 first-preference votes and 863 second-preference votes giving a total of 2,746 votes.
His second term prioritised youth safety, mental health and employment opportunities. Olaniyan and his youth advisors introduced a system of small community grants that allowed youth groups to bid for funding and he worked with local police, faith organisations and charities to deliver violence-prevention and wellbeing programmes.
Career YouTube Olaniyan started creating content on his YouTube channel "EmansBlogs" in 2012. He created video blogs in his kitchen. In 2014 he uploaded his most viewed video, "Pranking My African Dad", in which at 16 years old he pranked his father by telling him he had impregnated a 14-year-old girl.
This video has amassed over 9.5 million views on YouTube, 13.3 million views on Instagram and 9.6 million views on Facebook (as of September 2026) and has been widely reposted and discussed across various platforms including WorldStarHipHop and Bossip.
"Pranking My African Dad" has been widely quoted and referenced across African comedy, music and film in the years since its release with lines from the video being used as running jokes online. In a 2025 interview, Olaniyan described the video's ongoing cultural presence including it's use in memes, songs and film quotes as "an honour", while he pushed back on the suggestion that is has served as a "blueprint" for African comedy content. French Montana collaboration On 5 November 2016, French Montana released his album MC4 on the Apple Music show OVO Sound Radio. The show was curated by Noah "40" Shebib and Oliver El-Khatib who founded OVO Sound radio with Drake.
Olaniyan and his father featured on the show via an intro skit on French Montana’s MC4 album entitled "Check Come". The skit was taken from Olaniyan's "Pranking My African Dad" video.
Lifebabble, CBBC and BBC "Own It"
In January 2016, he appeared on the CBBC Channel on Lifebabble.
In February 2018 Olaniyan appeared on the same channel 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. 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.
British Slang With Eman Kellam Series Olaniyan produced the YouTube series British Slang With Eman Kellam, in which he would ask predominantly American actors to interpret slang commonly used by young people in the United Kingdom, often referred to as Multicultural London English (MLE) influenced by Caribbean and African linguistics. The series concluded on 24 November 2022.
Celebrity guests included Gabrielle Union, Denzel Washington, Childish Gambino, Regina Hall, Keke Palmer, Daniel Kaluuya and Issa Rae.https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaSgmlsYiNCToEuI8QcsutavrWZoX7Ttihttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaSgmlsYiNCToEuI8QcsutavrWZoX7Tti
+ 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
Eman Kellam & Friends
On 14 December 2024, after a 2 year hiatus, Olaniyan premiered a spinoff of his show "British Slang With Eman Kellam" on Tiktok & Instagram in which he hosts a chat with Hollywood actors & directors discussing film and culture released in short form snippets.
Episode 1 featured Aaron Pierre & Kelvin Harrison Jr. and was well received across social media.https://www.tiktok.com/@emankellam/video/7447948586286927137
+ ''Eman Kellam & Friends - Episode List''' Episode Number Guest/s featured in Episode Release Date 1 Aaron Pierre & Kelvin Harrison Jr. 14 December 2024 2 Wunmi Mosaku 15 April 20253 Michael B Jordan & Miles Caton 16 April 2025 4 Brendan Fraser & Hikari 25 December 2025 5 Michael Patrick King 27 March 2026 6 Spike Fearn & Angourie Rice 19 May 2026 7 Kane Parsons 25 May 2026 8 Letitia Wright & Bashy 19 August 2026
Music career 2021 Olaniyan released his secret debut EP "For The Summer" on 10 June 2021.
Filmography Film Year Title RoleNotes 2014 Will You Kill Me Now? TobyShort 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 2025 Gone Clear Verbaliser Short Film
Television Year Title RoleNotes 2014 Right This Minute Himself1 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 HimselfSeries 9 2020 Monday Night Football HimselfGuest Appearance 2022 Unapologetic with Zeze Millz & Yinka Bokinni HimselfSeries 2, Episode 1 2023 ITVx's Tell Me Everything You Know About Himself3 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)
References
External links