Kai Cenat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kai Cenat |
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![]() Cenat in 2024
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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
Born | Kai Carlo Cenat III December 16, 2001 Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
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Education | State University of New York at Morrisville (dropped out) | ||||||||||||||||
Occupation |
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Twitch information | |||||||||||||||||
Also known as | KC3 | ||||||||||||||||
Channel |
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Years active | 2021–present | ||||||||||||||||
Genre |
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Games | GTA Online | ||||||||||||||||
Followers | 15.8 million | ||||||||||||||||
Associated acts |
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Kai Carlo Cenat III (born December 16, 2001) is an American online streamer, YouTuber, and influencer. He is known for his funny live streams and videos. As of 2024, he is one of the most-followed streamers on Twitch. He also holds the record for the most subscribers on Twitch.
Contents
Early Life and School
Kai Cenat has three siblings. He has a younger brother named Kaleel, an older brother named Devonte, and a twin sister named Kaia.
Kai went to Frederick Douglass Academy for high school. He finished high school in 2019. After that, he started studying Business Administration at the State University of New York at Morrisville. However, he left college in 2020. It was hard for him to balance his schoolwork with making online content.
Kai Cenat's Career
Starting Out (2018–2021)
Kai Cenat uploaded his first YouTube video on January 13, 2018. At first, he made videos that included pranks and challenges. He later joined a YouTube group called AMP. Another YouTuber from The Bronx, Fanum, discovered him. Kai then started appearing regularly in AMP's videos.
In February 2021, Kai began streaming on Twitch. He moved from YouTube to Twitch. On Twitch, he played games and made reaction content.
Becoming Popular (2022)
In 2022, Kai Cenat started inviting famous guests onto his streams. These guests included Bobby Shmurda in April, Lil Baby in October, and 21 Savage in November. When 21 Savage was on his stream, Kai reached his highest number of viewers at that time. Over 283,000 people watched at once.
On May 8, Kai released his first song called "Bustdown Rollie Avalanche." He made this song with NLE Choppa. Kai also had a small acting part in the trailer for Polo G's song "Distraction" in June 2022.
In October, Kai was nominated for two awards at the 12th Streamy Awards. He was nominated for "Streamer of the Year" and "Breakout Streamer." He won the "Streamer of the Year" award in December.
Record-Breaking Mafiathon (2023)
On January 31, Kai Cenat started a special event called Mafiathon. This was a month-long "subathon." A subathon is when a streamer stays live for a very long time. The stream gets longer as more people subscribe. During Mafiathon, many guests joined him, like G Herbo, NLE Choppa, Skai Jackson, KSI, DDG, Rubi Rose, and Autumn Falls.
On February 16, he signed a deal with United Talent Agency. This agency helps manage his career. On February 28, he made history by becoming the most-subscribed Twitch streamer of all time. He reached over 306,000 subscribers at his peak. This record lasted until September 2024.
In March, reports showed that Kai was earning a lot of money from his sleep streams. These are streams where he sleeps while viewers watch. His sleeping broadcasts had over 5.6 million hours watched. On March 11, Kai won "Streamer of the Year" at the 2023 Streamer Awards.
In April, Kai was briefly suspended from Twitch. He returned soon after. Later that month, Rolling Stone magazine listed him as one of the 20 Most Influential Creators in 2023. In May, Kai announced a new show with IShowSpeed called the Kai 'N Speed Show. This show was only on Rumble. On August 27, Kai won "Streamer of the Year" again at the 13th Streamy Awards.
In September, Kai appeared in the music video for Offset's song "Fan" with Fanum. The next month, he directed his first music video for rapper a Boogie wit the Hoodie. On September 9, he played in the Sidemen charity soccer match in London. He played for the YouTube Allstars team. On September 26, Forbes magazine ranked him 44th on their Top Creators list. They estimated he earned about $4.7 million in 2023. On December 14, Nicki Minaj joined Kai's stream. This stream broke his previous viewership record, with over 348,000 people watching at the same time.
Continued Success and Mafiathon 2 (2024–Present)
On February 8, Kai Cenat announced a big partnership with Nike during a livestream. He became the first streamer to sign a deal with the famous sports company. Later, on February 17, Kai won "Streamer of the Year" and "Best Just Chatting Streamer" at the February 2024 Streamer Awards.
On June 2, Kai and his group AMP teamed up with Beta Squad, a British YouTube group. They held a charity soccer match in London. The event raised money for The Water Project. The game ended in a 6–6 tie. On July 13, Kai appeared in a MrBeast video called "50 YouTubers Fight for $1,000,000." In August, Rolling Stone magazine listed Kai as the number 1 most influential creator of 2024. In October, McDonald's announced they were working with Kai to promote their chicken Big Macs in the US. Later that month, Forbes ranked him 24th on its Top Creators list. They estimated he earned about $8.5 million in 2024.
On November 1, Kai started his second month-long subathon, called Mafiathon 2. He announced that 20% of the money from subscriptions would go towards building a school in Nigeria. A day after the subathon began, Kai was briefly banned on Twitch for 6 minutes. On November 11, Kai became the most-subscribed Twitch streamer again, with 337,000 subscribers. On November 30, Mafiathon 2 ended with a record-breaking 728,535 subscribers. This more than doubled the previous record.
In December 2024, Kai Cenat won several awards at The Streamer Awards. He won Best Just Chatting Streamer, Best Marathon Stream, and Best Streamed Collab for a sleepover stream he did with Kevin Hart and Druski.
Cultural Impact
Kai Cenat has helped popularize certain words. For example, Rizz was named the word of the year for 2023 by Oxford University Press. Another word, Gyat, was also nominated for Word of The Year.
Personal Life
Kai Cenat is Catholic.
Awards and Nominations
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominated Work | Result | Ref. |
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2022 | 12th Streamy Awards | Streamer of the Year | Himself | Won | |
Breakout Streamer | Nominated | ||||
The Streamer Awards | Streamer of the Year | Won | |||
2023 | The Esports Awards | Nominated | |||
13th Streamy Awards | Won | ||||
Just Chatting | Won | ||||
The Streamer Awards | Streamer of the Year | Won | |||
Best Just Chatting Streamer | Won | ||||
Best Streamed Event | 7 Days In | Nominated | |||
2024 | Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Gamer | Himself | Won | |
The Streamer Awards | Best Streamed Collab | Sleepover Stream with Kevin Hart & Druski | Won | ||
Best Marathon Stream | Mafiathon 2 | Won | |||
Best Just Chatting Streamer | Himself | Won | |||
Gamer of the Year | Nominated | ||||
Streamer of the Year | Nominated |
Listicles
Publisher | Year | Listicle | Result | Ref. |
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Forbes | 2023 | Top Creators | 44th | |
2024 | 24th | |||
Rolling Stone | 2023 | 20 Most Influential Creators | Placed | |
2024 | 25 Most Influential Creators | 1st |
Discography
Singles
Title | Year | Album |
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"Bustdown Rollie Avalanche" (featuring NLE Choppa) |
2022 | non-album single |
"Dogs" (with IShowSpeed) |
2023 | non-album single |
Guest Appearances
Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
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"The End of the Road Begins – Intro" | 2023 | N/A | Fast X (Official Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2023 | Good Burger 2 | Disgruntled Customer | Guest appearance |
Music Videos
Year | Title | Artist(s) | Role |
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2020 | "Shoot" | Adot | Himself |
2022 | "Distraction" | Polo G | |
"Just Wanna Rock" | Lil Uzi Vert | ||
"Plenty" | FaZe Kaysan feat. Nardo Wick, G Herbo, Babyface Ray & BIG30 | ||
2023 | "Fan" | Offset |
See Also
- List of most-subscribed Twitch channels
- List of most-followed Twitch channels
- List of YouTubers