Hear the Tape: the Cockpit Audio Behind the Resurgent 1738 Meme Phenomenon
Long before commercial pilots turned it into an airborne gag, "1738" was the calling card of Willie Junior Maxwell II, known professionally as Fetty Wap. Growing up in Paterson, New Jersey, Maxwell formed a close-knit crew and music collective alongside artists Monty (Montana Buckz) and P-Dice. They dubbed their group the Remy Boyz 1738.
The name was not an arbitrary street code or an area code. It paid homage to Rémy Martin 1738 Accord Royal, an intermediate luxury cognac positioned between the house's standard VSOP and its flagship XO bottles. In 1738, King Louis XV of France granted Rémy Martin an exclusive royal decree permitting the house to plant new vineyards despite a nationwide ban, a milestone the cognac producer commemorated on its gold-crested label.
For Fetty Wap and his inner circle, the bottle symbolized aspiration and distinction. In interviews during his 2015 chart ascent, Maxwell explained that the collective exclusively drank Rémy 1738 rather than entry-level spirits. The crew adopted the year as shorthand for personal loyalty, regional pride, and their shared hustle out of North Jersey. When Maxwell signed his breakthrough deal with 300 Entertainment, he made the ad-lib mandatory on every single track, using it as an audio watermark years before producers routinely stamped their beats.
