From Rumour To Reality: How EsDeeKid & Timothée Chalamet turned '4 Raws' into a cultural moment!

For months, the internet had been running with one of the most bizarre, and entertaining, rumours in recent music memory.

"Is Liverpool rapper EsDeeKid actually Timothée Chalamet?" - What began as tongue-in-cheek speculation quickly snowballed into full-blown online folklore, fuelled by EsDeeKid’s anonymity, rapid rise and the sheer absurdity of the theory itself. Rather than ignoring the noise, the conversation reached its natural climax when EsDeeKid and Timothée Chalamet leaned directly into the chaos.

The American-French actor appeared in, and contributed vocals to, the '4 Raws' remix music video, officially silencing the debate by turning rumour into reality. But, it wasn’t just a cameo - it was a calculated cultural moment that blurred the lines between internet myth, music virality and cinematic rollout.

The collaboration was a viral win, but for two very different reasons. For EsDeeKid, it’s been nothing short of career-defining. Already bubbling within the UK underground, the '4 Raws' moment catapulted him into a new stratosphere. In the aftermath of the remix, EsDeeKid surged to become the 10th most-streamed rapper on Spotify globally, pulling in more daily streams than established heavyweights including Michael Jackson, NBA YoungBoy and Post Malone.

The remix itself generated over 115 million views within 24 hours across Instagram and X, cementing EsDeeKid as one of the most disruptive breakout artists of the year. What’s striking is how little of this feels manufactured. The moment didn’t arrive through traditional industry pathways, but through internet culture doing what it does best - exaggerating, speculating, and ultimately amplifying something authentic.

For Timothée Chalamet, the remix serves a different, but equally powerful, purpose. Already one of the most recognisable actors of his generation, Chalamet’s appearance on '4 Raws' wasn’t about musical credibility as much as cultural fluency. By acknowledging the rumour and participating in the joke, he positioned himself as an artist fully aware of the internet’s language, and willing to play within it.

The timing is no coincidence. Chalamet is currently preparing to break records with his upcoming film Marty Supreme, which has already secured the fastest-selling pre-sales ever for an A24 release. The remix feeds directly into that momentum, keeping him embedded in youth culture conversations while extending his reach beyond cinema audiences.

In an era where the lines between music, film and internet culture are increasingly blurred, this collaboration stands as a case study in how virality can mean very different things, and still work perfectly for everyone involved.