BBL Drake
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Related Explainer: Where Did All the 'BBL Drake' Memes Come From?
About
BBL Drake, also known as Brazilian Butt Lift Drake, refers to rumors and memes about rapper Drake having Brazillian butt lift surgery in early 2021 and how it changed him, making him more effeminate and more of a "baddie," as evidenced by various photos and videos of him. In particular, a mirror selfie of Drake and an Instagram Boomerang of him crouching over with his hands on his hips are often the subject of such memes. The trend became notably popular on TikTok in August 2021.
Origin
BBL Effect
There is a joke on TikTok about the "BBL Effect," which describes the changes, both physical and otherwise, that someone goes through after getting a Brazilian butt lift. This is usually depicted as the person wearing clothing that reveals their butt and acting with a newfound sense of self-importance (examples shown below, left and right).
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6961597869174328582
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6967754936713039110
BBL Drake
In October 2020, rapper Drake tore his ACL, allegedly while playing basketball with Steph Curry.[1] Drake posted an image to his Instagram Story showing himself lying in bed with a cast on his knee, captioned "New challenge unlocked."
In January 2021, Drake said he was delaying his album Certified Lover Boy to continue his recovery after knee surgery.[2] On January 20th, Twitter[3] user @lnbshr tweeted, "drake rn in the BBL recovery center" along with an image of someone laying in bed relaxing, gaining over 31,700 likes and 4,500 retweets in seven years (shown below).
On July 18th, TikToker[5] @official_pitbull2 posted a video starting with an Instagram Boomerang in which Drake puts his hands on his hips and shakes his head, followed by a selfie of Drake and Nicki Minaj, gaining over 2.1 million views in a month (shown below). The majority of the comments make jokes about Drake acting effeminate. The top comment, posted that day with over 40,000 likes, reads, "it's giving bbl🥺."
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6993893255423200517
On August 3rd, TikToker[6] @stanthosh posted a video compiling a number of effeminate videos and images of Drake, including a video of a man who resembles Drake walking down the street in drag, titled "BBL DRAKE AESTHETIC," gaining over 417,000 views in three weeks (shown below).
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6992082036349619461
Spread
On August 7th, 2021, TikToker[4] @makimaismymommy posted a video captioned "HES SO FRUITY I CANT" starting with the Boomerang, followed by a number of "fruity" images of Drake, including an image of him feeding a dog photoshopped to make his butt look bigger, gaining over 2.7 million views in just under three weeks (shown below). On August 9th, YouTuber[8] BiaXiDeNTJr uploaded a looping video of Drake's Boomerang.
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6986152436318735622
The original sound "I USED TO BE A LOVA BOY"[7] became notably filled with BBL Drake content throughout July and August 2021, including compilations of BBL Drake images and videos of TikTokers recreating Drake's BBL Boomerang (examples shown below, left and right).
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6997139676435926278
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6994912275400232197
Related Memes
Drake's Mirror Selfie
Drake's Mirror Selfie refers to a mirror selfie taken by Canadian recording artist Drake that was posted to his Instagram Story in which the rapper is wearing an oversized wool sweater and holding his hand up to his face, almost resembling a cat paw. The photo was mocked across social media in the days following its upload, resulting in a number of memes, with many users accusing Drake of being gay and being unable to deny supposed "gay allegations" after the photo.
Various Examples
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6996114283360685317
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6995673318758075654
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6993834664850902278
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6997115655543655685
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6996883308617485573
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6994451185348398341
Search Interest
External References
[1] Uproxx – Stephen curry drake
[2] Toronto Sun – Drake Stalls New Album
[3] Twitter – drake rn in the BBL recovery center
[4] TikTok – official_pitbull2
[5] TikTok – makimaismymommy
[6] TikTok – passionfruity
[7] TikTok – I USED TO BE A LOVA BOY original sound
[8] YouTube – Drake bbl boomerang | tiktok/stan twitter meme
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