Earl Sweatshirt Claims Tyler, The Creator Is Responsible For Drake Lean Meme

BYGabriel Bras Nevares1.7K Views
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Mac Miller Performs In Concert - Los Angeles, CA
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - DECEMBER 05: (L-R) Rappers Tyler, the Creator, Earl Sweatshirt and Taco Bennett of Odd Future pose backstage at Mac Miller's performance at House of Blues Sunset Strip on December 5, 2013 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images)
Tyler is well-known as one of the funniest rappers to ever touch a mic; no wonder he also created a classic Drake meme.

Earl Sweatshirt and his frequent collaborator, the legendary producer The Alchemist, recently sat down for an episode of Complex's GOAT Talk series. In it, they discussed the best (and worst) rap trends, animals, candies, and a whole lot more. However, when asked what the best meme of all time is, the Odd Future affiliate actually got to chronicle some meme history with a very interesting but fitting revelation. If you weren't around back in the day, Drake memes used to take a very different and overly macho shape, unfairly clowning him for being soft. But Earl claimed that Tyler, The Creator created one of the first memes to blow up around the OVO star that weren't within this flawed framework.

"Tyler, The Creator started the Drake meme,” Earl Sweatshirt maintained on the program. “I was there. We seen the picture. I think Tyler cut it out, he put it on something, he put it up. By the morning, it was, like, [viral]." Of course, given that the IGOR creative is one of the funniest rappers to ever touch a mic, it's no surprise that he had a hand in one of the Internet's favorite comedy pastimes.

Earl Sweatshirt Teaches Meme History About Drake & Tyler, The Creator On GOAT Talk

Furthermore, we wonder if Drake had any sort of significant reaction to this revelation. After all, he and Tyler, The Creator have a pretty interesting relationship, one that's mostly behind the scenes but has popped out every once in a while. Most infamously, Tyler brought Drizzy out as a special guest at his Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival in 2019, and fans appeared to boo him offstage because they were expecting Frank Ocean. The Hawthorne native mentioned the large payout he had for Drake on "LUMBERJACK," and they have plenty of overlap as far as their inner circles and industry associates these days.

In addition, the 6 God posted himself wearing an IGOR chain on his IG Story last year, so clearly there's still some love there. Many fans might not think there's much reason for them to associate, since they are in such different lanes. But such is the unitary and community-building power of memes. For more news and the latest updates on Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler, The Creator, and Drake, stick around on HNHH.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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