Tobit John "Tobi" Brown (born 8 April 1993), better known as TBJZL, is an English
YouTuber,
streamer
Streamer or streamers may refer to:
* a person who streams online on an internet platform like twitch or youtube
* Pennon, a small pointed flag
* Streamer, a kind of confetti consisting of strips of paper or other material
* Streamer, a common nam ...
and
Internet personality. He is also a member and co-founder of the British
YouTube group known as the
Sidemen A sideman is a musician who performs live with a band of which they are not a permanent member.
Sideman or Sidemen may also refer to:
* Sidemen, Bali, a district in the Karangasem Regency of Bali
* Sideman (bishop), a 10th-century Bishop of Cred ...
.
In 2019, Brown was listed as the 38th most influential online creator in the United Kingdom by ''
The Sunday Times''.
, his main YouTube channel has over 4.9 million subscribers and 524 million video views.
Brown has also released music
mononymously, and in 2020, he released his debut single "Destined for Greatness", which peaked at number 31 on the
UK Singles Chart and number 33 on the
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...
.
Early life
Tobit John Brown was born on 8 April 1993 in
Hackney,
London to a working-class family of Nigerian heritage.
Brown attended St. Dominic's Catholic Primary School from 1997 until 2004, and then attended
Bexley Grammar School
Bexley Grammar School is a co-educational grammar school with academy status in Welling, in the London Borough of Bexley, UK. It takes boys and girls aged 11–18 who have passed the eleven plus exam.
History
Founded in 1955, Bexley Grammar ...
, where he met future fellow Sidemen member
Josh Bradley
Joshua Bradley (born 4 September 1992), better known as Zerkaa and his stage name Josh Zerker, is an English YouTuber, streamer and Internet personality. He is also a co-founder and member of the British YouTube group known as the Sidemen. In ...
.
Brown later completed an honours degree in computing at
Coventry University.
Career
Brown joined
YouTube in 2011 while at university after he saw Bradley gaining traction on the platform and then decided to become a full-time
YouTuber after university.
He uploads
video game commentaries, most notably of the ''
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
'' and ''
NBA 2K'' video game series, as well as
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
challenges,
vlogs, and comedy style videos.
On 19 October 2013, Brown and four other British YouTubers formed the entertainment collective Ultimate Sidemen, later shortened to simply Sidemen. Since 2014, the group has consisted of seven British YouTubers:
Vikram Barn (Vikkstar123),
Joshua Bradley (Zerkaa), Harry Lewis (W2S), Simon Minter (Miniminter),
JJ Olatunji (KSI),
Ethan Payne (Behzinga), and Tobi Brown. The group produces online videos, most often consisting of challenges, sketches and video-game commentary, as well as selling exclusive Sidemen merchandise.
In June 2018, Brown founded a streetwear brand called ILLVZN with the official launch in February 2019. In May 2019, he collaborated with
New Era Cap to release a custom 9Fifty snapback. That September, he was listed as the 38th most influential online creator in the United Kingdom by ''
The Sunday Times''.
In December, he released "The Gift" with the rest of the Sidemen, reaching number 77 on the
UK Singles Chart.
Brown released his debut single, "Destined for Greatness", with his brother Manny featuring his sister Janellé on 7 February 2020. The song charted at number 31 on the UK Singles Chart, making it Brown's first UK top 40 single.
Elsewhere, "Destined for Greatness" debuted at number 18 in New Zealand and on the
Scottish Singles Chart,
and peaked at number 33 on the
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...
. He later featured in a
remix
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
of his fellow Sidemen member KSI's song "
Wake Up Call" by producer Yoshi with American rapper
Trippie Redd and British rapper
P Money, which was released on 6 March 2020. Brown featured on "This Year" by P Money and producer Silencer, which was released on 19 March 2021. Brown released his second single "Rhythm & Vibes", also with his brother Manny, on 20 August 2021.
In March 2022, he featured in rapper DTG's song "Just Do It".
Personal life
Brown is a supporter of
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...
and plays
Sunday league football
Sunday league football is a term used in Britain and Ireland to describe the amateur association football competitions which take place on Sunday rather than the more usual Saturday. The term pub league may also be used, owing to the number of ...
for Under The Radar FC, a team formed by his brother and fellow YouTuber Manny Brown.
He has spoken out on racism within football with
Sky Sports News.
Filmography
Discography
Singles
As lead artist
As a featured artist
Other charted songs
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
1993 births
Alumni of Coventry University
Black British male rappers
English male rappers
English male web series actors
English male writers
English people of Nigerian descent
Gaming YouTubers
Living people
Music YouTubers
People educated at Bexley Grammar School
Rappers from London
Twitch (service) streamers
Video game commentators
YouTube channels launched in 2011
YouTube vloggers
YouTubers from London
English male YouTubers