JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground

HTML

<ul>
    <li>Lorem ipsum</li>
    <li>dolor sit amet</li>
    <li>consectetur</li>
    <li>adipisicing elit</li>
    <li>sed do eiusmod</li>
    <li>tempor incididunt</li>
    <li>ut labore</li>
    <li>dolore magna aliqua</li>
</ul>

CSS

ul {
    background-color: #EEE;
    text-align: center;
    max-width: 600px;
    margin: 0 auto;
    padding: 1em;
}

ul:first-line {
    background-color: #FFF;
}

ul:first-line > li {
    background-color: #000;
    color: #CCC;
}

ul > li {
    display: inline-block;
    background-color: #CCC;
    margin: 0.25em;
    padding: 0.25em;
}