"Wake Up Call" is a song by British YouTuber and rapper KSI, featuring American rapper and singer Trippie Redd. It was released on 31 January 2020 through RBC Records. It is the second single from KSI's debut studio albumDissimulation. The song charted at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart.
Promotion and release
On 14 January 2020, KSI exclusively revealed during an interview with Vice that he would soon be releasing a new single which will "feature a huge name in American rap". On 25 January 2020, KSI posted the song's cover art to his social media pages, revealing the song's title as "Wake Up Call" and the featured artist as Trippie Redd, and confirmed that the song would be released in the next week. The song was made available for pre-order on the same day. "Wake Up Call" was released worldwide for digital download and streaming via all platforms on 31 January 2020 through American independent record label RBC Records, under BMG Rights Management. Shortly after the release of "Wake Up Call", KSI started a TikTok video challenge called the "#WakeUpCallChallenge" to promote the song. Videos using the hashtag have accumulated over 150 million views.
Live performance
On 13 March 2020, KSI performed the song live during BBC One's Sport Relief 2020, which was his first ever televised live music performance.
Critical reception
R. Dominiq of HotNewHipHop said, "Trippie Redd kicks off the track delivering the song's chorus in his renowned melodic delivery while KSI kicks off the first verse in a controlled flow that fits into the pocket of the instrumentation perfectly". GRM Daily said, "dominated by a bouncy instrumental, “Wake Up Call” is a playful offering from KSI which he uses to flex, accompanied by Trippie’s energetic hook".
Commercial performance
"Wake Up Call" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 11, making it KSI's third UK top 40 single. The song dropped to number 28 and number 38 over the following two weeks, before dropping out of the top 40 and spending a further six weeks in the top 100. "Wake Up Call" is currently KSI's third-highest-charting single in the UK to date. The song spent a total of four weeks on the UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart, peaking at number 7. "Wake Up Call" also charted at number 85 on the BillboardCanadian Hot 100 and at number 92 on the ARIAAustralian Singles Chart. KSI reacted to the commercial success of "Wake Up Call" at the time on Twitter, saying that it "is actually insane" and "the support has been amazing".
Music video
The song's music video was filmed in Hollywood, Los Angeles in January 2020 and was uploaded to KSI's YouTube channel on 31 January 2020, the same day as the release of the song. It has 14 million views. The video is directed by American director Nayip Ramos and stars both artists. The video is a comedymusical film which parodies the Austin Powers film series and features "behind-the-scenes footage, scene explanations, outtakes and closing credits". A behind-the-scenes video of the filming of the music video was uploaded to KSI's YouTube channel on 21 February 2020.
A remix of the song by producer Yoshi, which replaces KSI's two original verses with a new verse by KSI and two new verses by British grime MC P Money and British YouTuber and KSI's fellow Sidemen member Tobi Brown, was released on 6 March 2020, five weeks after the release of the original song. An audio visualiser video for the remix was uploaded to KSI's YouTube channel and it has 4 million views.
