I have chosen to write about the “Imma let you finish”
meme, which was popularized by an interaction between rapper Kanye West, and
country singer Taylor Swift at an MTV Video Music Awards ceremony in 2009. I
still remember watching this ceremony and can recall how it all went down. As
Swift was up on stage receiving and award for “video of the year” West who was
a couple of feet away from the stage decided to make his way up there and in
the middle of Swift’s speech interrupted her. His interruption speech went
something like this, “Imma let you finish but I think Beyonce had one of the
best videos this year.” As a close friend of Beyonce, West seem a bit hurt that
she did not receive the award instead of Swift with her all too popular “Single
Ladies” music video. After he interrupted Swift he gave the microphone back to
Swift who had a look of confusion on her face and the entire encounter seemed
really awkward. And just like that
moments after the show was over memes began to surface on the web poking fun of
the interaction between the two artists.
I believe
the memes and videos of the original interaction became popular because the
interaction in general was just so unexpected. Several people mocked Kanye for
months and were shocked that he could be so rude, not for the first time because
he had been on media for doing similar rants since the start of his career but
because people were surprised that he could to it to the “all American girl,”
Taylor Swift. Overall, I believe that the memes became popular instantly and
although the interaction was talked about all over the media for months, it
still very much remains in the holy grail of memes and maybe even in the history
records of our generations pop culture. Memes like the ones seen above make fun
of the interaction and several were photo shopped of West interrupting other
notable celebrities, politicians, and simply making memes where Kanye put his
“two cents” in any subject imagined possible.
Works Cited
"Imma Let You Finish But." Imma Let You
Finish But. N.p., 06 Dec. 2009. Web.
"Must Have Coffee." : I'm Really Happy for You. N.p., 2009.
Web.
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