4lifers

4lifers or 4L is a term that was coined by rapper and record producer Lucki. In a TikTok that went viral, the artist asks his friends “what we is, what we is?” And all of Lucki’s friends reply at the same time with “4lifers after which Lucki giggles franticly.

Since then the slang term began trending online and many others have used it since. An entire challenge emerged on TikTok where creators use the same sound to make funny TikTok sketches referring to different relationships in their lives.

Some have referred to this as the “4lifers” challenge. Viral challenges like this are quite popular on TikTok.

What’s the Meaning of 4lifers?

In its original context, 4lifers refer to someone’s close circle of friends or the person’s crew. It has a positive meaning. Someone might use it to describe the love of their life or a deep, lifelong friendship.

It means, we will be together for life. In this sense, 4lifers stands for a lifelong bond that cannot be broken. Another way to translate the slang term is by saying: “We are homies for life” or “We are in this together forever”.

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However, as the TikTok sound of Lucki went viral, other creators began using it in funny contexts. The 4lifers challenge consists of people taking Lucki’s sound and making funny faces, using it in conjunction with other clips and jokingly referring to relationships.

The 4lifers giggle has a sort of psychopathic and obsessive undertone, making it perfect to refer to an obsession or clinging to someone who doesn’t reciprocate those feelings.

Think of a stalker who is obsessively in love with someone. Only that this “someone” doesn’t feel the same way and is freaked out.

The 4Lifers Dance Challenge

Other variations of the 4lifers meme emerged with music at the end. In one variation of the 4lifers TikTok challenge, people dance in different ways to the sound.

The 4lifers meme is mostly used in these two contexts: Making fun of an unreciprocated love, affection or obsession with someone. And the second context is in the form of showcasing funny dance moves, which has little to do with the original meaning of the term 4lifers.

Here is a YouTube compilation of the 4lifers TikTok dance challenge.

The Emergence of the 4Lifers ‘“Twin” Tattoo

Additionally to the meme spreading on TikTok in the form of challenges, another trend emerged. People have been getting the same or complementary tattoos to express a lifelong bond or relationship for a long time.

But more recently, some people got an actual tattoo saying “4lifers” on their wrists. This is a way for a group of friends, or two individuals, to remind themselves of their bond.

Even if not the exact term “4lifers” is used in the tattoos, but an identical symbol or word, some people call this a 4lifers tattoo. It deserves this name because it’s a special tattoo you get with a special person or group of people that you want to feel connected to forever, so much that you’re willing to prove it by getting inked on your skin.

4Lifers Wallpaper

As with many memes, other things pop up around the viral trend. In the case of 4lifers, some people created wallpapers and backgrounds for smart phones or computers to remind you of that special bond you have with that special person or group of people.

However, the 4 lifers wallpaper trend never got as popular as the original TikTok challenges.

Although quite a few people still search for wallpaper related to the meme online, very few search results are returned on Google, YouTube and even TikTok. This might also be an indicator that the meme is reaching the end of its lifetime.

As with most viral trends and memes, they are usually short lived. Remember the ALS ice bucket challenge? If you’re old enough, you might. It was a massive viral movement on Facebook and YouTube back in the day. Yet, not many people still remember it and the challenge is over.

Online Shops and Brands Using the Meme

Internet personality Druski, who has almost 5 million followers on Instagram, released a clothing brand called 4lifers. The brand sells t-shirts and other merchandise with the famous words, sometimes in conjunction of the brand’s logo which depicts a hand with two crossed fingers.

Druski’s merch brand has its own dedicated Instagram page.

New merch is released directly on social media although there is also a site called 4lifersworld.com. The site got around 1,100 views in August 2022 and 6,900 views in September 2022 according to SimilarWeb.

Other Term for 4Lifers and Current State of the Meme

If you’re looking for another term for 4lifers, or you don’t like the original one, you could use something like “Besties forever”, “Homies forever”, “Best friends forever”, “Blood brothers or something similar.

A quick search on Google Trends shows that the term “4lifers” peaked in May 2021 during the pandemic. This is when the meme spread like wildfire. The term continued trending until September of the same year and has been pretty flat since October 2021.



However, the meme isn’t dead. There are still a good number of people searching for it every month with a recent surge in October 2022.

Summary

The term and meme 4lifers came to life through a video that went viral and took the internet by storm. It quickly emerged and turned into multiple TikTok challenges that went viral. Interest in the meme peaked in May of 2021 but as of today, there are still thousands of people researching the meme, getting tattoos and even buying merchandise related to the meme.

This one seems to be harder to “kill” than other memes and viral trends online. Whether and how the meme will make a comeback, or slowly be forgotten as newer and more exciting trends emerge is unclear. But one thing is for sure: Our attention spans are short. Sometime can emerge and take the world by storm in a matter of weeks and months only to be forgotten shortly after.

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