He is one of the UK’s hottest YouTubers, who has gone on to become a multi-hyphenate entertainer, with a crossover career that has taken him from a dip in ice baths with Wim Hof and impressing Paul Hollywood on Celebrity Bake Off to the record music with grime royalty. But for Yung Filly, 26-year-old South Londonerthe big break came thanks to a rejection.
After filming short comedy skits and uploading them to social media as a teenager, he approached an online channel, Wall of Comedy, to see if one of his most popular videos, about a man being cheated on by his girlfriend, could be good for his Facebook page.
“I specifically remember the CEO saying, ‘This format isn’t going to work on the Facebook page, so we’re not going to post it,’” Filly says. “So I put it on mine and it got a million views in 24 hours.”
Proven otherwise, channel bosses hired Filly to lead their Asking Awkward Questions series and quiz audiences with hilarious results. It showcased Filly’s boundless energy, down-to-earth relatability and infectious booming laughter, which, all bundled together, made for unerring viral hits.
It catapulted him to internet fame (1.23 million YouTube subscribers plus 1.9 million followers on Instagram as it stands) and beyond: now he divides his time between appearing in online content, guesting on TV shows or presents, and tries to boost his burgeoning music career.
It’s that latter pursuit that has consumed most of Filly’s recent energy, and last week he released his most talked-about song ever, Day To Day, featuring Chip, one of the key players in grime and British rap of the past two decades.
“I was super excited because I’ve always listened to Chip, ever since I was young,” Filly says. “It was a real squeeze.”
Surreal as it may seem, it’s a position Filly seems to be proud of—and one that’s far removed from the one he was in as a youngster. Born in Colombia as Andres Felipé Barrientos, he left the country as a refugee and settled in the southeast with his family London† His most important memory from that time is one of “struggle”.
“I’m in such a good position in life, but I can’t help but think about how I used to live,” he says. “So I’d say that’s the one thing that stands out the most: how much my mother struggled, sacrificed, and what she went through.
“I had a great childhood, don’t get me wrong,” he adds. “Although I say I had a hard time, when you’re a kid and your mom gives you rice and ketchup for dinner, you don’t know any different.”
It’s an experience he now feels “humiliated” by, and Filly acknowledges that he has more than just that childhood support to be thankful for to his mother; she also gave him his sense of humor.
“I don’t even have to think about that,” he says when asked where his ability to make people laugh comes from. “It’s my family in general. My friends and my manager can guarantee that when it comes to a family gathering, I am the quietest. I’m not the man. If I’m not there, the party will still go on. My sister and my mother are the two most important people in the family.”
Still, his talent for comedy would emerge before he dropped out of high school, even if it followed his first love: grime.
“I started writing lyrics before I even made a video,” he says. Spurred on by watching “in awe” as his friends delivered their lyrics over dirty beats, Filly decided to write his own 16-bar verse. “The next time we went to hang out with the boys, I just sprayed mine. And I liked the response I got.”
It motivated him to continue writing music — by his own estimate, he probably has over 100 unreleased songs locked up on his laptop — but it kind of took a backseat as his video career took off. .
After Wall of Comedy, his face appeared all over YouTube, whether that was on the comedy dating show Does The Shoe Fit, hosted by shoe retailer Footasylum, or in soccer-related videos on the Pro:Direct Soccer account. And wherever he went, opinions followed, often in their millions.
It marked him as a key player in a new cohort of entertainers: young, digitally fluid Londoners who have a keen eye for a money-making brand deal, but who never lose a grip on the authenticity that made them so popular. Much of the appeal of Filly’s videos is in the interactions with his co-stars, such as the equally popular Chunkz, with whom a behind-the-scenes chemistry undeniably shines as he’s in front of the camera.
The two knew about each other’s work before they became friends, Filly says, but when they finally met in person, they instinctively embraced. “It was crazy. It was like we felt each other’s energy just looking at each other.”
They have become an unofficial double act, appearing in each other’s videos and even playing on the same team at Soccer Aid in 2020 (Filly, a promising footballer in his youth, ended up with a goal). This close-knit working style is a conscious choice, says Filly. “The great thing is that it all happened organically. I get so many messages from people like, ‘Ah, let’s do YouTube, let’s do tunes’ and… it’s just not really my vibe.”
Filly says he enjoys the immediacy of YouTube — “in the front room with my boys, camera on top of a shoebox, let’s go” — but he’s also eager to make more of a name for himself on mainstream TV, building on those performances on Bake Off and Freeze the Fear by Wim Hof, but would I also lie to you? and BBC Three’s Hot Property.
“I really want to be a TV host,” he says. “I want the equivalent of a Big Narstie Show or [The Lateish Show with] Mo Gilligan.” And if that means giving up a little bit of the autonomy he has on YouTube, then he’s “willing to do that.”
But for now, he’s set his eyes on music, chasing the ‘unreal’ feeling he got when he made his first-ever festival appearances earlier this summer, at Parklife in Manchester and elsewhere. He wouldn’t be the first youtuber to also make a successful leap in music. KSI, real name JJ Olatunji, generated billions of views with his online videos before dropping two albums, the latter topping the UK chart in 2021, and even selling out Wembley Arena earlier this year.
“He’s the GOAT [Greatest of All Time]’ says Filly. “KSI made it easier for people like me to get through.”
And that’s not all: Filly has his eye on acting, too. “I think I’m a bad boy actor, you know,” he says. “I have no idea what I’m doing, but I’m watching” [footage of him acting] back and I don’t cringe, so that’s how I know I’m half decent.”
To that end, he’s in the process of hiring an acting coach and organizing casting call auditions, which means we’ll be seeing him on cinema screens soon. And like his other ventures, Filly is confident in it. “Hopefully I can take it by storm, as I have with YouTube, TV and music, by the grace of God.”
Day To Day by Yung Filly with Chip is now available