DJ Khaled's 'Life is Roblox' refers to a viral clip of DJ Khaled driving a golf cart and backing over a curb, nearly getting stuck, then driving toward the camera while saying, “In life, there’s roadblocks. Don't let nothing stop you, 'cause we ain't stopping."
The video appeared as a reel on DJ Khaled’s Instagram account on January 2nd, 2023, going viral over the ensuing months through edits where he’s misquoted as having said “life is Roblox.”
The 2023 video was preceded by another Instagram post in 2017, in which a similar phrase was uttered and has since also been misquoted as Khaled saying, “in life, you have Roblox.” In July 2023, a sound remixing a slowed-down version of the quote combined with audio of “Kiss of Life” by Sade was featured in a series of Pinkcore TikTok edits in which a person transforms into a Roblox character and runs away from the camera.
In short, DJ Khaled’s subpar diction may have led to his most enduring legacy. This thing is like Internet Bigfoot - born of myth and legend.
For complete context, Roblox is an online platform in which users can create and play their own games. Typically, the characters used are block-shaped (“blox shaped”?). It looks a little something like this:
The phrase in this context seems to have been interpreted as a rallying call for embracing life’s possibilities.
Between DJ Khaled’s jet ski and golf card video, some were inspired to make Roblox-related memes and videos, such as the below from YouTuber, GAMEING ING.
However, once the golf cart video appeared, the momentum picked up. Five days after the initial Instagram posting, TikTokker @anadazztv posted the video, captioning it with "DJ Khaled speaking facts," while misquoting Khaled with "Life is Roblox." The TikTok attracted over 6.4 million views in the next six months.
@anadazztv ♬ original sound - ???????????????????????? ☆
The “life is Roblox” phenomenon evolved from there. On January 24th, 2023, Reddit user u/AhumanWithButter posted a screenshot of their Roblox chat, which was filled with users sending the false DJ Khaled quote, to /r/GoCommitDie.
A couple of months later in March, YouTuber SytherSake brought back the 2017 jet ski clip in a new edit, which gained 340k views over the next four months.
Then in May, an animation recreating the video in Roblox was posted by YouTuber Critical Chum.
At the end of that same month, @dzej_mro_zi posted a TikTok that featured an edit of the golf cart clip, adding a clip of what can only be described as a DJ Khaled unintentional body double twerking in a pool. Why? The internet! The clip garnered over 16 million views in two months. Why? The internet!
@dzej_mro_zi GOD DID????????????‼️ #djkhaled ♬ I'm Geekin (Slowed Down) - DDG
But life was just beginning for our meme protagonist, for another transformation was underway…
Are you familiar with Pinkcore? If you’re not a current gamer, you can be forgiven for reading that word with a slacked jaw and blank stare.
According to Urban Dictionary, Pinkcore “is usually gameplay interlaced with adjacent memes or images that may reflect how the player felt or is only meant to add on to the hilarity of the clip.” This brings us to July 9, 2023, when @trahadrom3000 posted a TikTok of a Pinkcore edit, beginning with a child lip dubbing to a slowed-down version of the original “life is Roblox” audio remixed with Sade’s “Kiss of Life.”
The child then walks away and transforms into a Roblox character. The video gathered over 2.4 million views in nine days.
@trahadrom3000 #edit #pinkcore #djkhaled #roblox #fakeall #fyp ♬ оригинальный звук - drainer
The sound from that video was used over one thousand times in the ensuing days, including in other Pinkcore edits. Often, the videos would feature footage of Khaled, with most of them emulating the original “child running away and turning into a Roblox character” trend.
A prime example of this was @ethan_brando TikTok below, which received a million views in two days.
@ethan_brando Life is roblox ;) #fyp #gymtok #pinkcore #roblox #robloxedit #lifeisroblox #djkhaled ♬ оригинальный звук - drainer
DJ Khaled has never publicly commented on the meme.
@mellonadde It just gets worse and worse ???? #roblox #robloxedit #edit #ttd3 #djkhaled #lifeisroblox #quotes #audio #trend #viral ♬ original sound - Melonade
@c_marquez_ Hope this inspires you ???????????????????? #fyp #roblox #lifeisroblox #djkhaled #edit #robloxfyp #trending ♬ оригинальный звук - drainer
@honeymarku5 Replying to @The Village Trader Roblox collab with @SoniaChhatlani on YT!???? @Roblox #roblox #lifeisroblox #djkhaled ♬ оригинальный звук - drainer
ANOTHA ONE! (...sorry.)
@uslv_taro "life is Roblox"???? @roblox #roblox #lifeisroblox #djkhaled #khaled #meme #emote #npc #robloxfyp #fyp ♬ оригинальный звук - drainer
@ballinncaat43 life.. is roblox ???? ||#fyp #pinkcore #roblox #djkhaled #trend #trending ♬ оригинальный звук - drainer
@hbisx life is roblox #corecore #djkhaled #lifeisroblox #roblox #edit #fyp ♬ som original - gean
@ethan_brando Since you guys liked the fist one so much heres another ;)#fyp #gymtok #pinkcore #roblox #robloxedit #lifeisroblox #djkhaled ♬ оригинальный звук - drainer
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The post DJ Khaled ‘Life is Roblox’ – A Guide appeared first on The Daily Dot.
