WE WUZ KINGS

About

WE WUZKINGZ/KANGZ N SHIET is an expression originated on 4chan’s Politically Incorrect board /pol/, the phrasing is primarily used in mocking the Black Egyptian Hypothesis, a theory that is popular within certain groups of African Americans. The meme is now widely used on /pol/ and occasionally on white supremacist websites.

Background

The Black Egyptian Hypothesis^[1] is a theory claiming that Egypt was a Black Civilization, historically questioning the specific race of the Ancient Egyptian Civilization and affirming that there was a racially black majority. The theory is still contested among many historians. This hypothesis gained popularity among some African Americans during the Counter-Culture movement, and to this day the belief that Egyptian and other successful civilizations had a black majority is still believed by many.

In 1991, Reverend Al Sharpton was quoted in a speech at Kean College stating that"White folks was in caves while we were building empires…. We taught philosophy and astrology and mathematics before Socrates and those Greek homos ever got around to it."^[2]. Further reinforcing the theory that Blacks historically once had an advantage on White Europeans regarding Technological innovation and development.

Origin

The origins of this meme are widely believed to have been originated from /pol/ on 4chan, users who became increasingly critical of African Americans started using this phrase in order to mock stereotypes of Blacks who believe in said hypothesis. It is believed to have gained traction around late year 2015.

Spread

Encyclopedia Dramatica^[3] states that the phrase was originated at around November 2015. On November 21st 2015, a video called “we wuz kings and shit fam” was uploaded to Youtube.

The phrase became a common shitpost after Kendrick lamar’s album “To Pimp A Butterfly”,(which often compares black people to kings as with the track “King Kunta”) became Popular on 4chan.

External References