Khaby Lame becomes the most popular personality on the TikTok social network: 142.4 million subscribers. He unleashes the tabloids, excites critics. The world press ignites for the man who calls himself Khaby Lame. The New York Times dedicated a whole column to him. Now he’s the new Boss. Let’s hope it doesn’t go to his head! We’re not gonna complain about it.
Of all the instagrammers, tiktokeurs and youtubeurs on the planet, Khaby Lame is the influencer that has the most followers. On such an ultra-competitive platform, it is the new image of this global star system. To tell you the truth, he doesn’t intend to stop on such a good path, especially with that look of fire and that devastating smile.
Born Khabane Lame in the 2000s, his family, Senegalese immigrants, landed in Chivasso, Turin, Italy. With a residence permit, it does not lead wide. The family lives on. The young Khabane chain the odd jobs. In short, he uses the system to make ends meet: masonry, plumbing, diving,… Between two jobs, he posts short amateur sketches, comic enough overall. The great particularity of his videos, they are silent.
A meteoric rise.
It was not until the coronavirus and the lockdown that the young man rose to prominence: his fame crossed the Atlantic. Something bad is good, it will be said. With the pandemic, activities are at a standstill. Blade is chomdu; he discovers Tik Tok. This is the unexpected vein. He starts posting his silent, hilarious videos; in any case, there is nothing better to do. It’s the spark in the powder keg: it explodes. It’s success. All major brands aspire to only one thing: to enlist him, to enlist him under their banner. In December 2020, he poses for an Italian brand. Two years later, the Hugo Boss brand makes him his face. Pepsi recruits him for a large advertising campaign. He no longer lives in Chivasso, he went up to Milan. Skyrocketing.
In May 2022, he was invited to the Cannes Film Festival as a juror in the section dedicated to tiktokers. He shares the bill with established stars. He has the status of his dream: to look like Will Smith and Eddie Murphy, to become an actor. He takes English and comedy classes.
Khaby Lame: a director of the calibre of Charly Chaplin
Khaby Lame’s silent, caricatural and comical videos unleash the laughter of many Internet users and secretly infuriate them with a poignant emotion. Thanks to the finesse of his observations, the different readings that we can make of his face, he immediately provokes laughter. It is impossible to resist the comic of his sketches, “bouncing back on reflection as he mingles a human quality”. He conquered the world with his humour.
The recipe for success: the pantomimic
Khaby Lame is a keen observer of our hypermodern society which, like a maniac, does not tire of buying more than it needs. He has the flair of a DEA cop; he collects, here and there, fugitive clues, in fact short humorous videos. His sketches are essentially a pantomime; only facial expressions and expressive mimic.
