We get it. You've just been so busy and practically have no time at all for anything these days. Even frivolous pop culture news need to be presented in bite-size portions because who can afford fIvE mInUtEs ReAdInG aN eNtIrE aRtIcLe? You're barely making it through this introduction.
To help you keep up with this fast-paced world and its fast-paced memes, take this summed-up recap of what the kids be talking about this past year. 2024 gave us a healthy serving of beefs, eloquent GenZ brain rot speak, an industry of body positivity turned Ozempic junkies, and cringe personified—Jojo Siwa. Beginning from the most recent, here are your unfortunate signs of the times. Thank you Beyoncé.
Well, this is not the first time we got thirsty for a killer. That's an editorial "we" where by "we" I mean you feral hoes simping over the murder suspect of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson. While many are charmed by the unibrow, it's the shooting then leaving on a bikeshare for me. Either way, from green hoodie to burgundy sweater, the dude is having so many moments, it wouldn't be a crime to call him a hit man (HA). Lately, he and fellow felon Diddy allegedly share prison space, and the attorneys for both are apparently spouses. Not sure what to do with that useless bit of information so until the verdict is out, Alexa, cue "Criminal" by Britney Spears.
Press tours seem to be the rage this year; from publicity dressing to just poor publicity [someone enlighten me on the whole Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni saga and why has it still not ended with them (double HA, I'm on a roll)]. This movie adaption of the hit musical has doled out viral moments thanks to its stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo being ultimate theatre school kids. At the peak of their overdone reactions comes this special interview where not only space but also fingers were held. Next time you see someone looking overwhelmed, hit them with that emotional support index clutch.
Of course this one began with eternal IT boy Timothée Chalamet. Possibly because this one was graced by the actor himself, the movement spread across the globe like wildfire. The most notable celebrity contests being new IT boy Paul Mescal, Jimmy O Yang and ol' rat boy Jeremey Allen White (get someone else to explain Hot Rodent Men to you, I can't be doing it all).
The Guardian sums it up best: "The moist, ungovernable hippo combines the aesthetic of a potato and the iron will of a toddler—and her name means ‘bouncy pork’." 10 July 2024 marked the day the human race was blessed the existence of true Brat Girl Moo Deng. The female pygmy hippo was born in a Thai zoo, and her international appeal is best explained by her sigma female energy (i.e. innate sass, for the dinosaurs that roam among us).
TikToker Jools Lebron gets the credit for this catchy phrase of how to be respectful yet "cutesy". Timely, considering how unhinged everyone appears these days. The irony is not lost on us that the person bestowing advice on proper feminine behaviour is someone who was assigned male at birth. Offended? Please, cancelling is so last season.
Another accidental meme queen is Vice President Kamala Harris, not just for not understanding how cloud tech works, but this infamous phrase that is now emblazoned on our minds: “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.” Which, again ironically, is wild without any context. Fun fact: The speech the line was taken from was actually from the year before. Talk about being unburdened by what has been (someone get the extinguisher YOUR GIRL'S ON FIRE).
A personal favourite because frankly, that level of audacity to believe in yourself is downright inspiring. To be so unapologetically terrible at a sport you're representing your country for that the Olympic committee officially deletes the new category is certainly worthy of worldwide attention. Okay, so the decision to remove breaking was supposedly made prior Rachael Gunn's stellar performance at the 2024 Paris games, but we wouldn't put it past them that the Australian breakdancer and her sick outfit convinced anyone who was on the fence. It only took this 37-year-old academic to show us that in life, delulu could just be the solulu.
Once again reinforcing that anyone can be famous in this social media hopped up era, Haliey Welch gained her misguided popularity via her fellatio advice in a street interview. The entrepreneurial young lady then went on to capitalise on her catchphrase with her own branded merch, podcast, and cryptocurrency, because are you really an Internet star if you didn't? $HAWK coin reportedly surged to USD490 million market capitalisation on the Solana blockchain, before plummeting 95 per cent within hours. Now who said meme coins weren't viable sources of income!
You gotta be living under a rock if you don't know about this feud. Your TLDR? Two rappers can't stand each other and put it in song. Diss tracks, if that sounds cooler. The over decade-long simmering beef and subtle shots fired finally culminated in a heated hip-hop exchange that not only gave us spectators memes aplenty, but lyrically poetic hit "Not Like Us".
Who else could make domesticity look so simultaneously fun and creepy than Nara Smith? The 22-year-old model and mother of three is making husband Lucky Blue Smith relevant again with her uncanny ability to bake everything that exists on this planet from scratch. Almost enough to make us forget that he has a daughter with Stormi Bree named Gravity. Anyway. Nara Smith, who claims to have wedded at 18, is nearly single-handedly putting all career women to shame with her accidental anti-feminist content. Now, is it too much to ask for a TikTok of the dishes being washed in the same style though?
Trump Rally Shooting Memes Are Trending
The Paris 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony, In Memes
If Kendrick Lamar and Drake Settled Beef Like Charli XCX And Lorde
I can barely remember the reason behind Drake's rap beef with Pusha T the last time I did that meme review (I actually still don't, and can't be bothered to). So imagine my reaction when I discovered that this feud with Kendrick Lamar allegedly goes back to 12 years ago (K. Dot's Control, 2012).
According to most fans, subtle disses have been ongoing since, but shit hit the fan at Drizzy's First Person Shooter, featuring J. Cole. Specifically the latter's line:
“Love when they argue the hardest MC / Is it K. Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me? / We the big three, like we started a league.”
Call me an idiot because I don't see how that's disrespect, but rap tings I guess. To which, Kendrick Lamar responded on Future and Metro Boomin's Like That:
"Motherf— the big three, n—, it's just big me"
It's funny that J. Cole has since left the chat (essentially putting out a diss track; subsequently repenting and removing it), while Drake just kept going.
First it was Push Ups, and Taylor Made Freestyle. Like a tennis match, Kendrick responds with Euphoria and 6:16 in LA. Drake returns with Family Matters, receiving Meet the Grahams WITHIN THE HOUR. And later, Not Like Us.
Drake drops The Heart Part 6, only for Metro Boomin to step in and release BBL DRIZZY, a free beat for fans to pretty much DIY their own Drake diss track.
Drake: Kendrick Lamar beats his wife and one of his kids' baby daddy is his manager
Kendrick Lamar: Drake is an absent father, hiding a daughter, a pedophile and a sex trafficker. Oh, and has disloyal friends
The internet is rightfully making the most of this trending moment, and we're just here to appreciate it all. These are the best reactions. Enjoy.
WHAT WENT DOWN, BASICALLY
GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE THE EARTH SAYS HELLO
THE WISEST MAN IN THIS
LOSE THE BATTLE, WIN THE WAR
OR MAYBE
IT'S JUST NOT A GOOD DAY TO BE ON DRAKE'S SIDE
SURPRISE, SURPRISE
A TRUE INSPIRATION
FOR REAL THO
OOF
TRU
ANOTHER REASON TO STAN K.DOT
ME TOO, TBH
FANS TAKE THINGS INTO THEIR HANDS
GUESS THE VERDICT WAS OUT A LONG TIME AGO
Early this month, we saw one of the nation's senators interrogating our fellow countrymen, TikTok CEO Shouzi Chew, on his citizenship. You know, because it's apparently still the '90s where the Western world thinks Singapore is a part of China. Last week, President Joe Biden joined TikTok. A somewhat timely move after resurfacing age issues.
This week, we've got Former (and potentially next!) President Donald Trump with the most random sneaker drop. This comes hot on the heels of some pretty gangster remarks the Republican made about US' NATO allies at a campaign rally. Oh, and literally a day after he was ordered to pay more than USD355 million in a civil fraud case (basically, he and his entourage are accused of inflating certain property and asset values).
The all-gold kicks, which the business mogul/TV personality/politician/criminal(??) announced at Sneaker Con Philadelphia over the weekend, come emblazoned with a 'T', '45' and of course, the American flag. Also sporting a red sole, which essentially makes it you know, Louboutins for men. At USD399 a pop, the only thing we think is missing is probably a bald eagle on the tongue.
The preorders have already sold out. The highest bid for a signed pair went for USD9,000 (to Roman Sharf, who the media mislabeled as a Russian Oligarch CEO, but that's a whole other story).
Interestingly, the website states that these products are not designed, manufactured, distributed by Trump. Rather, simply using his "name, image and likeness under a license agreement". Besides having like-branded cologne amongst the strange inventory, the fine print also spells that the items only ship out months later.
What a way to remind us that you're running for a reelection.
As award season steadily marches on with the 66th Grammy Awards, the entertainment fodder for us mere mortals watching from home only piles up. Taylor Swift makes history with most Album of the Year wins (four) (still, yawn), Miley Cyrus and Billie Eilish lead with 'Flowers' and 'What Was I Made For' respectively, and Skrillex gets recognised for Best Dance/Electronic Recording (wait, dude's still around?).
Apart from those headlines, here are some key moments that the Internet's been buzzing about.
While accepting the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, Jay-Z had a couple of notes to raise about the system in an overall humorous speech.
“I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won Album of the Year," he said of his wife Beyoncé, who looked on in the audience with an expression two notches down from a Chrissy Teigen meme, "So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work. Think about that. The most Grammys. Never won Album of the Year. That doesn’t work.”
The rapper/producer went on to deliver some hard truths about the nominations, but also acknowledged that music is subjective. It's giving "Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you", but he might just have a point. Last year, Beyoncé became the most awarded artist in Grammy history with only one win in a Big Four category and Renaissance was snubbed. Altogether, the power couple have each been nominated six times for Album of the Year but never took it home.
Never knew we needed a Grammy for audiobooks, but here we are. As host Trevor Noah points out, “They’re really hard to twerk to, but they’re still great.”
Another notable new category would be Best African Music Performance, which 22-year-old South African singer Tyla made history for winning. With the number of times we heard/saw 'Water' in 2023, this makes sense.
We don't know why but let's just roll with it.
Less of a weird thing and more of a good one, the singer-songwriter gave a rare live performance of her timeless classic alongside Luke Combs in a duet rendition (you may have heard the latter's cover). The hit first won Chapman Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1989.
Shortly after winning Best Rap Album (Michael), Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance, (Scientists and Engineers featuring Andre 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane), Killer Mike was booked for “misdemeanor battery”. The 48-year-old rapper was escorted out in handcuffs after an alleged physical altercation backstage. Way to celebrate a win.
It's been four years but I don't think anyone can forget how the Tesla Cybertruck had its windows smashed during its concept reveal. Twice. It was a glorious moment for the Meme-ternet. Complete with the perfect quote, "Oh my f—ing God, well. Maybe that was a little too hard."
Fast forward to last Thursday; where the same man, Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen, repeats the throw, albeit with visibly less gusto and a much softer weapon of choice. Surprise, surprise. Unlike in 2019, the window prevailed.
So why does the vehicle, produced two years behind schedule and at almost double the initial projected price, have its performance as the main source of scrutiny? Why, with a body like that, a face like that, would how it maneuvers the road become the fixation of its creation?
One could argue it's precisely because of the price point. The top-shelf of the three announced models (Cyberbeast) goes at est. USD 99,990. The lowest rear-wheel drive variant is only available in 2025, which could only mean prices are liable to inflate. So it's fair to want to know if function matches form.
We won't get into the full specs of the plug-powered wagon when all that information can easily be found on its main site. One highlighted aspect—miles per charge (since we're talking about an American vehicle currently only available in the US)—is not exactly outdoing the market competition at 250 for the base model.
Though it supposedly excelled at well, being a truck. Being pelted by bullets. It was also cool to see the (strategically shot) premium model beating a Porsche 911 while towing another Porsche 911.
Early reviewers have also praised its smooth drive, thanks to the variable steering ratio. Basically, with features like the same turning radius as a Model S at low speed while being comparably much larger; virtually allowing big turns in one hand movement, the truck handles more like a sedan.
But c'mon. With fancy interface graphics, minimalistic touch-screen operations, toggles like "cheetah mode", can we all admit acquiring the Tesla Cybertruck or anything in its vein is obviously like scoring the latest hype collaboration—more about how it looks on you.
When a vehicle looks like the dream car of a man child if he had the money and resources to construct it (oh wait), it's safe to say buyers are not making the purchase because they need it for practical reasons. One tagline even says "Built for ANY PLANET", as opposed to "terrain". Very on-brand for the Mars-obsessed SpaceX founder, who has mentioned Blade Runner when discussing the truck's distinct appearance.
Equipped with clean aesthetics and sleek user experience, it's akin to what Apple did with phones and computers: Change the game when you show that good design is not a pipe dream. That it is possible to fashion a truck in the image of a Bond car (the submarine-esque Lotus Esprit), an iconic luxury automobile (Lamborghini Countach), and—dare we believe—a stealth aircraft (Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk).
If the engineering team had to live through the massive headache that is to mold notoriously difficult stainless steel into a viable exoskeleton amongst many other challenges, should consumers' biggest concern really be how it moves?
We're talking about a company that turned a public embarrassment into a means for profit. Yes, Tesla sold decals of its broken-glass window, specially designed to fit the truck's odd window dimensions (major plus points if the stickers were accurate to 2019's greatest hits, pun intended).
Perhaps it's because we're not the ones forking out all that cash. We can afford to be a bit more blasé about the capabilities as a spectator. But let's be real on what a vehicle like this—and should any ever come to own one—really exists for: Being a damn statement.
