The UK underground as a collective movement has breached containment this year and reached heights which were before unimaginable. This momentum had previously been built up by artists such as Fakemink, Fimiguerrero and Lancey Foux, each beginning to get global recognition. However, it has recently been taken to the next level by one of the most exciting and mysterious conspiracies the music world has seen in a long time: Esdeekid is secretly Timotheé Chalamet. Far-fetched doesn’t begin to cover it. Finally after months of speculation, we have our answer, in the form of a remix. Where Charli XCX and Lorde worked it out on the remix last year during ‘BRAT’ summer, the two have finally revealed their separate identities with the ‘Marty Supreme’ actor dropping a verse on the viral track ‘4 Raws’ from Esdeekid’s hit debut album ‘Rebel’.
We all know it was too good to be true, too unthinkable and preposterous. Esdeekid is a scouser, very proudly and loudly despite the masked appearance. Timotheé is one of the biggest actors in the world right now, born in New York to American-French parents. This was the real seduction of the mystery; if it was real, the payoff would have been enormous. Because it felt impossible, people wanted it to be true, and that unlikeliness is what pulled everyone in.
Esdeekid’s rise in popularity and fame has been short but nothing short of meteoric. Releasing his first music under this name in May of 2024, he began his career with a run of singles starting with his own take on Rae Sremmurd’s wildly popular ‘Black Beatles’ from 2016. Since then, he has released his debut album ‘Rebel’ featuring many tracks alongside frequent collaborator Rico Ace, which achieved numbers never-before-seen in the UK underground culture. At the time of writing, the smash hit ‘Phantom’ sits at 121 million streams on Spotify. Esdeekid himself holds 13 million monthly listeners, rising from 10 million only a month ago.
Timothee Chalamet has reached a point where he no longer needs introduction. After appearing Interstellar in 2014 as Matthew McConaughey’s son, he broke out fully in 2017 starring in Call Me By Your Name, a performance which earnt him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor at just 22. From there he has gone from strength to strength, with a focus on his committed acting style. He certainly doesn’t claim to be a method actor, but has shown a love of committing to roles: learning languages, developing an incredible singing voice, picking up instruments and recently becoming a pro-level table tennis player for Marty Supreme. The commitment to the promotion of this movie has been incredible, with its merchandise being the hottest streetwear at the moment, Chalamet’s bodyguards with oversized table-tennis ball heads, and even an appearance with internet star Druski
The rumours began only just over a month ago as a mix of genuine curiosity and absurdist internet humor. The two do share a similar facial makeup (from what we can tell past Esdeekid’s omnipresent masking) and have a similar fashion sense - a penchant for Alexander McQueen scarves and layers on layers on layers. With Chalamet having been spotted at Fakemink’s concert in London, things all started to add up quickly. With these rumours rising from internet culture to real life news, recent interviewers have begun to question Chalamet on the subject. When asked on British radio station Heart FM, he said with a smile, “I got no comment on that… Two words: All will be revealed in due time.” Despite his lack of ability to count words, this added fuel to the growing fire.
Not wanting to disappoint fans on either side with a half-hearted reveal of the perhaps sad truth, Chalamet and Esdeekid have come together on the ‘4 Raws’ remix to turn this massive online tornado of rumour into a cemented cultural moment. It is unknown whether the version will reach streaming services at the moment, the pair dropped it only on Instagram in a style reminiscent of the paramount of mysteriousness and non-chalance, Playboi Carti. Much like his run of singles leading up to ‘I AM MUSIC’ earlier this year, the song had a boisterous video of the two dripped out and masked up. It matches the vibe of the song perfectly and serves as further proof of the definite difference between the two.
It must be said, Timothee, or Lil Timmy Tim as he has been known in the rap game, had a pretty solid verse. In his recent awards speech, Chalamet rejected the usual modesty that actors are expected to perform. He spoke openly about ambition, about putting years of work into a role, and about wanting to be one of the greats not just in acting but in the world. That refusal to downplay effort mirrors something central to the underground right now. Artists like Esdeekid are driven, deliberate, and fully committed to their vision.
This is one of the most ambitious and ludicrous moments in the UK rap scene ever, not just the underground, and it feels like a turning point. Rarely has a single track combined mystery, celebrity, and internet culture in a way that makes the whole world watch. Some are still not convinced and maybe they shouldn’t be. Is it a clever editing trick, another layer to the conspiracy? AI can be very difficult to tell these days. I am happy to conclude this saga here, with the release of a track both the punchline to a huge internet in-joke and, believe it or not, a genuinely good listen.
