Twitter birds with 'Supa Hot Fire' reaction gif

Screengrab via Know Your Meme Remix by Jason Reed

The 29 most important tweets in Black Twitter history

It's hard to choose, but here they are.

 

W Jones

Internet Culture

Posted on Aug 7, 2017   Updated on May 22, 2021, 9:29 pm CDT

Come for the laughs, then stay for the discourse, the arguments, the origination of many popular memes, the objectively *problematic,* but, most importantly, the culture that drives the internet. Welcome to what the web has deemed Black Twitter. As Twitter evolved as a medium, a subculture emerged that felt more like a barbershop than a typical social network. It felt like home.

Whether it’s a discussion on the differences between “thick” and “fat,” the minimum amount that you need to spend on a date, LeBron James’ hairline, white privilege, or the gender war, every single day is a thrill ride. You can cry from laughing, have your entire perspective changed, and be extremely offended all within the same minute. There’s truly no place like it and though there are plenty of perfect tweets, here are 29 great ones.

1)

This list wouldn’t be a list without a tweet from Desus Nice. No one is better at synthesizing white people than Black Twitter, and here he highlights one of the truest facts on the planet: white people love dogs. A lot. Like put their actual human kid on a leash while wearing their dog in a baby Bjorn a lot.

But since you are now here…

Stay for knowing when to stay in your lane

2)

Remember when Jay-Z *allegedly* cheated on Beyoncé, got beat up in an elevator by Solange, inspired an album debut on HBO and a multi-million dollar worldwide tour as a result? We’re playing checkers and the Carters are playing Peruvian backgammon.

3)

https://twitter.com/fivefifths/status/764985647006220292

It goes without saying, but this dude has to quit track and might need to stop running altogether, because reaching the peak of your craft only to see yourself become a laughable meme is as disheartening as it gets.

4)

https://twitter.com/RealLifeKaz/statuses/375702216469790720

Don’t worry, Jay isn’t immune to these tweets either. Although it appears that he IS very immune to playing sports correctly.

Stay for the ridiculous and problematic

5)

Jokes aside, there is no denying that poor Muhammad here looks exactly like a honey bun. In fact, it has reached the point where you would even say that some honey buns look like Muhammad.

6)

https://twitter.com/paricalvia/status/496535577052086272?lang=en

You’ll find extremely talented individuals on Black Twitter in just about every field. However, that doesn’t always mean they’ll use their powers for good. Sometimes they’ll photoshop Tiger Woods and Jay-Z babies.

7)

Yea.

8)

Mero here managed to summarize the cultural impact of the Drake v. Meek Mill rap battle—a fight Meek lost harder than the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead—and effectively used the word “harangue” all in the same tweet. Also: Drake played a PowerPoint presentation of tweets he stole from Black Twitter to go at Meek during a concert. Black Twitter won a rap battle, you guys.

9)

If that sounds outrageous and completely made up, you wouldn’t be wrong to assume that. But it did. A man left his children on Christmas morning to drive his car for hours to fight a man in Temecula, California after getting in a Twitter argument over Kobe Bryant, only to find out that the man he wanted to fight was at his mother’s house in Arizona. Definitely not a Father of the Year nominee.

Stay for the politics

10)

Watching our country’s first black President pass the baton to Donald Trump was a tough pill to swallow for Black Twitter. We didn’t want Barry to go and it didn’t feel officially real until this moment.

11)

One of the more important tweets in Black Twitter history. When Barack Obama was in office, we didn’t want the experience to end after only four years—so we needed to run the numbers on the opposition. And, as it turned out, that motherfucker’s name was actually Mitt. An absolutely damning reason not to be president.

12)

Black Twitter did an amazing job capturing the best bromance in executive branch history. While the tweets and memes made us feel like we took their relationship for granted, it’s rare to see a president and vice president love and admire one another so much. They were homies, for real.

Stay for celebs keeping it a little too real

13)

A perk of Twitter is the access it gives you to celebrities, athletes, and essentially anyone deemed “important.” That also means it gives you a glimpse into their personality and, well, it gets interesting.

14)

In this series of “you haven’t deleted this shit yet?” we have hot-take extraordinaire and professional ESPN arguer Stephen A. Smith in a one-sided online battle against a presumed dating site that can best be described as PREPOSTEROUS.

15)

This was the first major “I was hacked” to happen on Twitter and it sparked the greatest bad excuse in internet history.  What should have been a lesson instead gave us the ultimate fail-safe for any errant dick or boob pics.

Stay for the hashtags

16)

https://twitter.com/Kxngjuan/status/669165357236625408

This hashtag brought us all together through our different but all too similar experiences with our families on Thanksgiving. Because all of us have a story involving THAT auntie, uncle, or cousin.

17)

A unifying hashtag that connected all of our common experiences, #GrowingUpBlack was a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Who’s to say T-Pain didn’t become inspired to make “Buy U a Drank” after crooning into a box fan.

18)

https://twitter.com/MoneyMakers_Ent/status/654763269547147264

CVS-brand Terio didn’t know he’d become famous the day he got caught looking like a deer in the headlights, but that’s why it’s one of the great moments in Black Twitter history. Magic can happen at any given moment in any given Popeyes line.

19)

If you’ve been in trouble, this is probably extremely triggering. The “go over there” punishment usually boiled down to an upset parent sending you into a random corner near a door. These springy things got us through some tough times.

20)

Jadakiss’ “Why” came out 13 years ago, but we still can’t seem to figure out: Why Halle have to let a white man pop her to get an Oscar? Why Denzel have to be crooked before he took it?

Still searching for answers…

But, most importantly, stay for the relatable

21)

Anxiety doesn’t even begin to describe the anxiety-inducing effects of this tweet. With that said, this might be the only time this meme has ever appeared on Twitter. A unicorn meme, if you will.

22)

https://twitter.com/jola_jade/status/797461928411009024

Birthing the iconic “Evil Kermit” meme is a feat on its own, but the sheer trillness (trill = combination of true and real) of this tweet makes it stand alone on its own. Scream, argue, and sever relationships first. Ask questions last.

23)

Taking time for yourself is also a big tenet of Black Twitter. Every day, the timeline reminds you that there is no better cheerleader than yourself. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like. A fresh cut is like acquiring a star in Super Mario. You’re invincible for a short amount of time. Your jokes hit harder, your breath smells a little better, and you might snag a compliment here and there. Relish it.

24)

One of the best Twitter subplots is Kawhi Leonard’s hatred of basketball. Sure, he’s an MVP candidate, but does that look like a man that actually likes basketball? Black Twitter also moonlights as an unaccredited sports psychologist.

25)

A friendly reminder to quit while you are ahead. If you feel like you’re doing a little too well in your day-to-day, just remember that the blue shell of life is careening towards you at all times.

26)

This is probably one of the hardest hitting tweets in existence. It’s since been deleted, but it always needs to be seen every once in awhile to keep you grounded. You may have traumatic moments in your life, but none of them compare to missing a “you up?” text during late night hours.

27)

Arguably the most disrespectful tweet of all time and a timeless auto-RT whenever it comes across the TL. One of the main themes of Black Twitter is the constant gender war. Each day both sides are jockeying for position in a Game of Thrones-type battle where tons of people die horrific online deaths.

28)

https://twitter.com/fivefifths/status/648500679187808256

#DuragHistoryWeek is an official holiday (the NYSE is a hater for not recognizing it as such) within Black Twitter.

And finally, stay for the all too real

29)

Think about everything you’ve done over the last few years. There were some solid accomplishments in there, I’m sure. Now come to the realization that you didn’t do as much as Gucci Mane did while he was in jail. Amazing that we survived Ebola.

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*First Published: Aug 7, 2017, 8:00 am CDT