Every so often the internet latches onto a phrase it can’t put down. Right now, for a growing number of Instagram and TikTok scrollers, that phrase is “what is this build.” The man behind it is Lil $kam, a producer, rapper and live streamer best known for his work with Lazer Dim 700, whose self-made meme has pulled in more than 10 million views across the two platforms.
The meme
The formula is simple, and that is part of why it works. Each clip pairs wild, hard-to-explain imagery with one of Lil $kam’s own beats, and the only text on screen is the caption: “what is this build.” There is no setup and no punchline, just the question hanging over the chaos. “Build” is a word gamers use for a character’s setup, so the caption lands with a deadpan, almost clinical tone that clashes with whatever is happening in the frame. GenZ NewZ first broke down the “what is this build” meme when the clips started taking off.
The soundtrack does a lot of the heavy lifting. Lil $kam’s beats are built around unique, heavy 808s that hit hard enough to make a short clip feel bigger than it is. You can see the format in action in the two Instagram reels embedded at the end of this article.
The producer behind the sound
Lil $kam is a New Jersey-based producer, according to his profile on X. The post pinned at the top of that profile is a collaboration that explains a lot about his sound: “Kachow!” by Lazer Dim 700, produced by Lil $kam.
That pairing makes sense. Lazer Dim 700 is an Atlanta-area rapper from Cordele, Georgia, who has become one of the most talked-about names in the underground thanks to a raw, distorted style. The Fader wrote that he raps over huge 808s and gurgling bass, and noted that he records much of his music on his phone. Pitchfork called him Atlanta’s most chaotic and fun new rapper, and his debut studio album, Keepin It Cloudy, arrived on December 18, 2024, as Wikipedia’s entry on the album documents. You can read more about his career in his Wikipedia biography. Lazer is also a regular on Twitch, which fits the streaming-heavy world Lil $kam works in too.
For a producer whose job is to make bass sound loud, abrasive and fun, working in that lane is a natural fit. The same energy shows up in the build memes.
A producer’s sense of humor
The meme didn’t arrive out of nowhere. Lil $kam’s feed has been full of the phrase, and in early October he was posting clips captioned in the same spirit, alongside producer-focused jokes. In one post he showed off his favorite 808, replying to a post from producer Tobin about how every beatmaker has one 808 they’ve leaned on far too many times. It’s the kind of in-joke that producers share with each other, and it hints at why the memes land: they are aimed at people who care about the sound as much as the image.
That is also what makes the format smart for an artist. Instead of asking people to listen to a track, the meme drops the beat into a clip people want to watch, then lets the algorithm do the rest. Every view is also a listen.
Why it’s spreading
The “what is this build” format asks almost nothing of the viewer. It is short, it is strange and it invites a reaction, whether that is a comment, a share or a remix. Memes like this thrive when the audience feels in on the joke, and the question in the caption makes everyone a participant. Add a beat that sounds like nothing else in the feed, and the result is a clip you recognize within a second. It is the same loop that powers half the stories on our Internet Famous desk: low effort to watch, high urge to pass along.
The numbers back that up. Ten million views across Instagram and TikTok is a huge audience for a producer working without a label push or a feature run, and it arrived because the clips are built to be reposted: a strange image, a heavy beat and a four-word question anyone can reuse. Each repost points back to the same sound, and the same name.
For Lil $kam, the 10 million views are more than a viral spike. They are proof that a producer can build an audience around his own sound and sense of humor, without waiting for a rapper’s release schedule.
Follow Lil $kam
To see where the meme goes next, keep an eye on his X account, where he posts his latest clips and beats, and watch the two reels embedded below.
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