In October 2015, Drake released the music video for “Hotline Bling,” which featured him dancing awkwardly in a colored-block set designed by artist James Turrell. Two specific frames — Drake rejecting something with his hand up, then approving something with a smile — were quickly isolated and turned into the template for expressing preferences.
The format became one of the most durable image macros of the late 2010s. Drake “no” + Drake “yes” could represent any binary choice: pineapple on pizza, old media vs new media, Python 2 vs Python 3. It works because it captures a universally recognized human gesture: disapproval followed by approval. Drake himself has acknowledged the meme with good humor. He became the unintentional face of every opinion on the internet.
Leave a Reply