"I'm An Island Boy" By Flyysoulja And Kodiyakredd / The Island Boys

About

"I'm An Island Boy" By Flyysoulja And Kodiyakredd or Island Boys refers to a viral freestyle rap video by Florida rappers and twin brothers Flyysoulja and Kodiyakredd, aka Frankie and Alex Venegas. The video features the two young men with wicks dreadlocks and tattoos freestyling in a hot tub in an R&B / hip-hop style about being an "island boy." It went viral in October 2021 as an example of the rappers representing the stereotypical Florida man. The freestyle received significant criticism, with many finding the lyrics hard to understand and the singing bad, however was also considered catchy by many. The Island Boys became consistent subjects of criticism and hate following the video, including having drinks thrown on them at a fight. Kodiyakredd has been accused of abusing his girlfriend. In July 2023, the Island Boys received backlash for incest-baiting by posting content kissing each other to promote their OnlyFans page.

Origin

Flyysoulja and Kodiyakredd are two twin rappers from Florida. Kodiyakredd used to go by Redd4x. They have released a number of singles and music videos. On October 7th, 2021, both rappers appeared on the No Jumper podcast where they talk about their rap careers, Kodak Black asking Kodiyakredd to change his name, taking drugs since they were 17 and having drug charges, going to jail and other topics. The video gained over 439,000 views in two weeks (shown below).

On October 13th, rapper Kodiyakredd posted a video to TikTok^[1] where he and twin brother Flyysoulja freestyle rap in a hot tub. The lyrics revolve around the hook "I'm an island boy" and "put my vest on, yeah." The video gained over 5.1 million views in a week (shown below).

Comments were largely negative. @bengalschrs commented, "they seriously think this is good music," gaining over 17,000 likes in a week. @nbk.ricky commented "can anyone give me the lyric subtitles," joking that the rappers are hard to understand, a repeated criticism in the comments.

Lyrics

Cuz I'm an island boy
And I've been trying to make it
Oh, I’m an island boy

Aye, Imma just island boy
Imma just island boy
I'm on that key west grind
You gonna keep that gun
I'll be just staring at the sun
Nah, because Imma fool gazing
I'm like "the pool where I'm staying"
They like "you want to be famous"
I'm trying to be the all time greatest
Imma look Florida boy
And get a real dumb topic
I'm like today I'm on the top again

I'm an island boy
I put my vest on, yeah
Like a wild grown man
Tryna make it to the top
I'm an island boy
I've been trying to make it

Hey seen it with a gang gang sign
You ain't just saying no 'caine
And through the storm, through the rain
Cuz we tryna hut em' like a lion
From another island boy
From the Caribbean
Que lo que lo que lo soy kawaii

I'm an island boy
I put my vest on, yeah

Spread

On October 14th, Twitter^[2] user @fbgwayno posted the video with the caption "Florida ain't a real place," gaining over 31,600 likes and 16,000 retweets in six days. On October 17th, Andy Milonakis Duetted the video on TikTok,^[3] mockingly singing along, gaining over 1.6 million views in three days (shown below).

On October 18th, YouTube's^[4] "H3 Podcast" reacted to the video in an episode of their podcast. They uploaded the clip to the H3 Podcast Clips channel on the 19th, gaining over 24,000 views in a day (shown below). That night, Love, a member of the H3 Podcast crew, went live with Kodiyakredd where the two made friendly banter and Kodiyakredd said he wanted to come on the show. The recording was posted to the /r/h3h3productios^[5] subreddit.

The song has been remixed a number of times. On October 18th, Instagram page imarkkeyz posted a remix of the song, gaining over 37,000 views in two days. Kodiyakredd posted a remix to TikTok on the same day, gaining over 185,000 views in the same span of time (shown below).

Jokes about being an "island boy" and about finding the song either catchy or terrible became popular on Twitter around the same time (examples shown below, left and right).

Island Boys Booed Off Stage At Club Liv

On November 25th, 2021, TikToker^[6] @izurp posted a video of the Island Boys getting booed while performing their viral hit on stage at Miami's Club Liv, gaining over 19 million views in a month (shown below). The video was reported on by the Daily Dot^[7] on November 27th.

Official Recording & Music Video

On December 3rd, 2021, Flyysoulja and Kodiyakredd posted a fully produced version of their viral hit, titled "I'm An Island Boy," along with a music video to their YouTube^[8] channel Big Bag Ent (shown below). The video gained over 4.8 million views in four weeks with a like-to-dislike ratio of over 94,000 to 96,000 as of December 29th, 2021.

Island Boys Storm Off Of Impaulsive

On December 14th, 2021, the Island Boys appeared on Logan Paul's IMPAULSIVE podcast. Around the 26:00 mark, George says to them, “I think, God forbid if it doesn’t go in your guys' direction, for real, I think you guys take all of your jewelry assets and invest in something. So you guys will never ever be broke again." The island boys take offense to this and storm off, threatening George multiple times by saying they're "thuggin'" (shown below). Jake Paul later said he would have "smacked the shit" out of them if he was there.^[10]

Booed At Jake Paul Fight

On December 19th, 2021, the Island Boys attended the Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley fight where they were booed and had drinks thrown at them (shown below). The two talked to TMZ^[9] about the incident, claiming they "don't understand" all the hate while also stating they're not "out to clout chase," they're just trying to make it.

Inclusion In Anthony Fantano's "Worst Songs Of The Year" List

On December 19th, 2021, music critic Anthony Fantano, aka TheNeedleDrop, placed the official recording of "I'm An Island Boy" on his "Worst Songs of the Year" list in the number four spot, particularly criticizing the mixing and mastering of the track (shown below).

Third island Boy

On March 20th, 2022, the TikTok^[19] account islandboysbts posted a video of the Island Boys working out in a gym, paired with text overlay reading, "Island boys daily routine" (shown below, left). The video received roughly 676,600 plays and 20,800 likes over the course of four days. In the video, a third man can be seen who resembled both Island Boys, sporting blonde wicks and being roughly the same height. His presence inspired users like TikToker boffums to comment, "They keep spawning." The next day, on March 21st, Flyysouljah replied to boffums' comment in a video^[20] featuring the newest Island Boy, earning roughly 485,000 plays and 15,500 likes in three days (shown below, right).

Later on March 21st, Flyysouljah posted another video^[21] with the mystery Island Boy, singing a new rendition of the Island Boy Freestyle that replaced the main lyric with, "We got third Island Boy." The video (shown below, left) received roughly 9.5 million plays and 433,500 likes in three days. On March 22nd, they posted a follow-up^[22] to their updated freestyle, earning roughly, 3.5 million plays and 130,500 likes in two days (shown below, right). The third Island Boy is aspiring rapper Trillo OG, who can be found on TikTok^[23] and Instagram.^[24]

Island Boys' Cameo

On October 22nd, 2021, Cameo announced the addition of the Island Boys to the service via TikTok,^[11] allowing people to hire the two for personalized messages (shown below). In the video, they sing a custom version of "I'm An Island Boy" about how they're "Cameo boys." As of January 2022, the Island Boys charge roughly $130 USD for a personal Cameo and roughly $600 USD for a business-use Cameo.^[12]

On November 22nd, Twitter^[13] user @rbxbex posted an Island Boys Cameo they commissioned to resign from their job, featuring the boys saying he wants to quit because he's an "island boy" and singing a version of the song about him quitting (shown below). The video gained over 4,400 likes in two months. On December 14th, the user was then offered a job at Cameo.^[14]

so i hired the island boys to quit my job for me lmao pic.twitter.com/LvCJJPu9Db

— coffin fit (@rbxbex) November 22, 2021

Shoutout To Ghislaine Maxwell

On January 8th, 2022, TikToker^[15] @tomoarmstrong, known for videos where he gets people on Cameo to say absurd things, posted a video where the Island Boys send Ghislaine Maxwell well-wishes from Jeffrey Epstein, making several jokes about how he's dead, gaining over 280,000 views in just under three weeks (shown below). Some also noted that the boys seem to be unaware of who they're talking about.

Marine Sergeant's Apology / Island Boys Promote Army Recruitment

On January 18th, 2022, Twitter^[16] user @blameaspartame posted, "some Marine sergeant paid the Island Boys for a Cameo asking his superiors not to kick him out of the military for a DUI," along with a video of the boys singing a song about how, although "Sergeant Vasquez" has a DUI, he shouldn't be kicked out because he's an "island boy" before going on to list the reasons he shouldn't be kicked out in song (shown below). The post gained over 31,000 likes and 3,500 retweets in a week.^[17]

some Marine sergeant paid the Island Boys for a Cameo asking his superiors not to kick him out of the military for a DUI pic.twitter.com/wOLHvA1W1R

— Jøël SOB STORIES ‘FAIR SHAKES’ LP OUT MARCH 15 (@blameaspartame) January 18, 2022

On January 20th, TikToker^[18] @texasrecruiter posted a video of the Island Boys recruiting for the Army, giving a shoutout to "Staff Sergeant Tamez" and announcing a $50,000 giveaway for signing up (shown below). The video gained over 46,000 views in five days.

Kodyakkredd Arrest

On May 6th, 2023, Kodiyakredd was arrested on domestic violence charges in Palm Beach, Florida.^[25] A TikTok released the next day confirmed that he had been released.^[26] Recent TikToks from his account had featured him and his girlfriend pushing back against fans who argued their relationship wasn't real and he was controlling (seen below). The video below left, in which Kodiyakkredd and his girlfriend Mina push back against a commenter who argued "She don't love u period she wants the paper" received almost 230,000 views on TikTok on April 29th, 2023, while the one (seen below right) in which he and Mina pushed back against someone who said he was controlling her, earned almost 200,000 views on May 4th, 2023.^[27][28]

Epstein Island Photo Conspiracy Theory

The Island Boys Epstein Island Photo is an AI-generated image of Jeffrey Epstein posing on the beach of Epstein Island with four boys. In May 2023, a conspiracy theory spread online claiming that two of the children were The Island Boys, with some speculating that their viral song "Island Boy" was inspired by the incident.

Island Boys Kissing / Incest Baiting

In April 2023, Island Boy Flyysoulja started promoting his and his brother's OnlyFans page via the Twitter^[29] account @islandboyflyy by posting photos of the two modeling alongside suggestive captions. On June 4th, @islandboyflyy posted a photo to Twitter^[30] in which he and his brother nearly touch tongues, garnering over 17,700 likes in a month (shown below, left), posting another photo to Twitter^[31] in which Redd kisses his cheek on June 5th (shown below, right). Each post includes a link to their OnlyFans page.

Throughout the 2020s, a common joke in the Island Boys' TikTok comments was to ask them if they'd kiss, to which they responded once calling it "weird."^[32] On June 6th, 2023, the boys responded to a commenter on TikTok^[33] asking about their kissing images on Twitter to which they denied ever kissing, garnering over 552,000 views in a month (shown below). On June 8th, UNILAD^[40] published an article about the boys "incest baiting."

On June 12th, 2023, they posted another kissing image to Twitter,^[34] garnering over 7,700 likes in a month, followed by another on June 15th,^[35] garnering over 15,000 likes in the same span of time. On June 16th, they posted a video of them kissing to Twitter,^[36] garnering over 29,000 likes in a similar span of time. On July 9th, @flyysouljah posted a video to TikTok^[41] in which he comes close to kissing Redd, garnering over 1.5 million views in 10 days (shown below).

On July 12th, they posted a video of them kissing deeply to Twitter,^[37] garnering over 22,800 likes in six days and gaining viral spread online. They also posted a video to the @flyysoulja TikTok page in which they say "who cares" about kissing and then kiss in public, garnering over 2.5 million views in a week (shown below, left). That day, a clip of Terri Joe talking with Flyysoulja on TikTok LIVE and joking about him kissing his brother began to go viral on TikTok^[39] (shown below, right).

On July 14th, 2023, the boys spoke to TMZ^[38] where Flyysoulja said he has "no sexual feelings" towards his brother, making it okay, saying he'd do it again and it wasn't the first time. He said they're both straight males and kissing doesn't count as a sexual act.

Flyysouljah Purportedly Comes Out As Gay

On July 30th, 2023, a video of Flyysouljah taken from one of his TikTok Live streams began spreading online where Flyysoulja seemingly comes out as bi-sexual or gay, saying he's a "top and never a bottom" and "I like men and it is what it is." He then smiles wide at the camera. It is unclear if Flyysouljah is joking or not. The post was shared by the @nojumper Twitter^[42] page that day, garnering over 16,000 likes in two days (shown below).

Flyy Soulja of the Island Boys comes out the closet pic.twitter.com/TlGPdK6e4H

— No Jumper (@nojumper) July 31, 2023

Speculation about the sexuality of the Island Boys first came into question online as early as June 30th, 2022 when their former manager appeared on No Jumper and claimed to have seen the twins standing in the bathroom together with their pants down (shown below).

Flyysouljah Flashes Adin Ross

On August August 1st, 2023, The Island Boys called into Adin Ross' Kick livestream.^[44] During the call, Adin Ross called Flyysouljah out for using a racial slur. The boys both argued with Ross, threatening him, then hung up. Flyysouljah called back, threatened to sexually assault Ross, then flashed his genitals at the streamer. The event was reported by Dexerto^[43] on August 2nd (censored screenshot shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References