How Drake’s Toronto Patois Inspired This Weekend’s Best Meme

The best Drake memes are the ones that sprout up organically. Since Drake became aware that his existence is an internet goldmine, OVO has embraced viral culture to market the artist: it seems clear that the cover of Views was designed in the hopes that some enterprising youth would place the rapper on the diner from Seinfeld. It gave us some good chuckles, but we tend to laugh the longest when there's no hint of influence from Oliver and company.

Which is why we appreciate the fact that the above seemingly meme-proof photo, taken just before Drake hosted and performed on Saturday Night Live, has gone viral with musings on what Drake could be writing. Many saw the picture as an opportunity to roast the rapper's calculated talent for code-switching into patois. But Sharine Taylor a.k.a. @shharine, a Twitter user from Toronto who shared an especially funny meme, thinks it connects the Caribbean diaspora through humor.

"Folks from Toronto get it because of Drake's connection [to the city]," Sharine told us of her tweet over email. "Those in Jamaica or the Caribbean, people of Jamaican descent, and [people that] participate in or listen to dancehall get it because of song title reference."

"Drake's patois reminds me of Toronto's version, which is basically a combination of English and Patois words," she continued. "'Bad Man Forward, Bad Man Pull Up' is a song and dance move that Ding Dong made back in 2006. So [I think my] meme is sensitive Drake meets 'Trust Issues' Drake meets 'why-can't-I-figure-out-the-badman?'"

But if the memes have taught us anything, it's that you don't have to be from Toronto or Jamaica to tease Drake. Check out some of our favorites below.