JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville-born hip-hop singer-songwriter YK Osiris captured attention in his home city over the weekend after a video showed a fan caught in a violent confrontation with Jacksonville police while trying to take a picture with the artist. The fan was later identified as Dea'ira Alston, but who is YK Osiris?
Here's what you need to know about the multi-platinum-selling artist.
1. YK Osiris does not condone JSO's actions in the video.
The video shows Osiris, 21, smiling as he walks over to a crowd of excited fans after his concert Saturday at the VyStar Veteran Memorial Arena. One fan, Alston, tries to get close to Osiris to take a picture. That's when JSO officers appeared to grab Alston, with one officer holding her by her hair and striking her before escorting Alston out.
Osiris could be heard yelling "No! She's good!" and telling officers to leave Alston alone. Later, the singer told First Coast News he did not think the situation should have escalated.
"I feel very sorry for the woman who went through that because all she wanted was a picture, and I was about to give her that and she was good with me," he said. "So the police -- I don't know what happened, why it went so crazy, why it went like that, but I just feel like it shouldn't have went that far."
Alston is facing two charges of battery on a law enforcement officer and one charge of resisting an officer with violence, though a JSO officer told First Coast News Alston's alleged acts of violence were not caught in the video.
RELATED: Video of Jacksonville deputy punching, detaining fan at YK Osiris concert being reviewed by police
2. He is signed to Def Jam Recordings.
In 2019, when he was just shy of 20 years old, YK Osiris, whose real name is Osiris Williams, signed to the same music label as Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Nas, 2Chains and many more chart-topping artists. Through Def Jam Recordings, Osiris released his single "Worth It," which went double platinum and has more than 73 million views on YouTube.
The single was part of his album "The Golden Child" which also has the gold-selling single "Valentine." "Valentine" has more than 11 million views on YouTube.
3. He has a "love-hate relationship" with Jacksonville.
Osiris grew up in Jacksonville but now lives in Atlanta, according to his Def Jam bio. The bio says the singer has a love-hate relationship with his home city due to what he says is a lack of resources for up-and-coming artists.
"We don’t have a lot of resources,” he says. “We don’t have the biggest studios. We don’t have the biggest DJs. We had to make it on our own. I made it, and I got out of it.”
Growing up YK Osiris was influenced by a variety of iconic musicians spanning multiple genres. According to Def Jam, his influences range from old-school RnB artists like James Brown, the Temptations, as well as pop singers like Bruno Mars and today's hip-hop chart-topping rappers like Young Thug and Future. His biggest influence, though, is the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson.
“There is no other Michael Jackson,” he said. “He’s a legend. He’s an icon. He’s different. That’s what it is about me. I’m different. I am just not any singer.”
4. Like most Gen-Z musicians, it was YK Osiris' popularity on Facebook and Instagram that put him in the national spotlight.
Osiris started his journey into the music industry by uploading videos of himself singing on Facebook and Instagram when he was 14-years-old, according to Def Jam.
“I knew my voice was very powerful and you can relate to it,” he said in his bio. “You be like, ‘Damn, I could feel him. I could feel his pain.’ What he went through. My veins be popping out. You can just see me and my expression.”
He then used social media to connect with fans and still holds frequent Instagram Live sessions to answer fan questions, tease new music and grow his audience.
5. He is spotlighted in the 2019 XXL Freshman Class as an artist to watch.
To include YK Osiris in XXL magazine's 2019 Freshman Class means that he is expected to be a big name in the hip-hop industry.
The XXL Freshman Class is a feature known for highlighting underground or upcoming artists projected to be game-changers. Notable XXL Freshman alumni include Chance the Rapper, Wiz Khalifa, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, 21 Savage and Future.
In his interview with the magazine, YK Osiris explained why he was a perfect fit for the feature, priding himself on his versatility.
"This is XXL Freshman and it is hip-hop, but I fit in it because I got swag, you know?" he said. "I’m not just no singer. I got swag, I got the drip [and] I got the looks. I fit in ’cause I’m versatile. I’m different. It’s important that they shine a light on singers because we have a story, too. We have pain. We for the culture. We go all around the world."
His freestyle and freshman cypher with XXL can be seen below.