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It’s 2022, and Usher is still the King of R&B. His performance last week on NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series speaks for itself. His performance was captivating. He displayed his range in fashion, effortlessly going from one note to the next.

Usher performed signature singles from different albums over the past 25 years. It was certainly a trip down memory lane of the singer’s classic discography, but perhaps, the most memorable thing about his performance was a four second clip that would take the social media world by storm.  It produced a mid-year candidate for meme of the year. 

On Twitter alone, one user’s meme of Usher has garnered over 50 million views and it’s been off to the races to this day. Twitter is great for running a good meme into the ground in a short period of time, but even a week later, new memes are being created from Usher’s performance. Here are a few that gained a lot of traction, and a couple of my personal favorites. 

Usher meme: “Not a request but a heads up”

Black Don’t Crack 

 Student loans? I think not. 

 Lactose intolerant, much?

She loves me so…

 Many talented artists have graced the corner of NPR’s Tiny Desk and had stellar performances. Usher’s is certainly in the top of the performances; those memes will probably not be going anywhere anytime soon, like Black people with onion and garlic powder on every dish. And I’m here for it.

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Eddie Washington grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, matriculating through Tulsa Public Schools. He graduated from The University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in Journalism. He was a contributing writer for the OU...