The Key and Peele handshake meme has taken over the internet. Here are some of the best hits.

Comedy Central/YouTube

Key & Peele’s handshake meme is taking over the internet

The classic sketch makes an epic comeback.

 

Ana Valens

Internet Culture

Posted on Oct 3, 2018   Updated on May 21, 2021, 5:04 am CDT

Now more than ever, Americans are oddly nostalgic for the Obama administration, and one meme featuring the president is going wild across the internet. That’s right, we’re talking about the Key & Peele Obama meet-and-greet skit.

A couple years back, Key & Peele did a sketch satirizing “code-switching,” or “the practice of shifting the languages you use or the way you express yourself in your conversations,” as NPR describes it. In this case, the skit casts Jordan Peele as President Obama as he goes about meeting Black and white Americans who just attended a presidential address. Obama shakes white Americans’ hands and cordially tells them that it’s nice to meet them, but when he comes across any Black people in the room, he hugs them, pounds fists, “tucks it in,” or quips how he “started from the bottom, now we’re here.”

“Never forget about that,” Obama tells one Black man after bumping fists. “‘Cause that’s all we got.”

Meanwhile, Obama has to fend off white people who either think they can hug him or awkwardly watch as he meets other Black people in the room. Check out the full clip below.

Of course, Key & Peele’s sketch has been out for a couple years now, but its premise is incredibly exploitable: Anyone with basic video editing skills can superimpose words onto its characters, which means dozens of memes have popped up in the past few days around the sketch. Instead of focusing specifically on code-switching or jokes about Obama, the meme version ranks shows, albums, and video games by choosing which installments stand out among the rest.

Case in point, Complex shared one meme that superimposed Kanye West albums onto the sketch, with Obama kissing a baby version of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, shaking hands with Kids See Ghost, and walking past Ye.

Another version features Jay-Z albums.

https://twitter.com/thedotwav/status/1045405591567360004

Lady Gaga has her own handshake meme too.

Then there’s a meme for NBA players.

There’s one ranking animes too. We’re ecstatic about the Yu Yu Hakusho shoutout.

Oh, and there’s plenty of Key & Peele memes about video games. Like this one ranking Sonic games.

Another one focuses on fighting games, from Street Fighter IV Ultra to Super Smash Bros.

One of the most popular memes by far ranks the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

https://twitter.com/matte_bIack/status/1043555936399282176

Then there’s this one that hits a little too close to home.

At least there’s always Cartoon Network cartoons for when we’re down.

By the way, the “tucking it in there” joke references another Key and Peele sketch all about snapbacks. At this rate, it won’t be long until that skit gets its own meme, too.

READ MORE

H/T Mashable


Know your memes. Introducing 2 GIRLS 1 PODCAST:

2 GIRLS 1 PODCAST
The Daily Dot (Licensed)

Alli Goldberg and Jen Jamula (two actors who perform bizarre internet content on stage) have hilarious and humanizing conversations with Bronies, top Reddit mods, professional ticklers, video game archaeologists, dating app engineers, adult babies, cuddling specialists, vampires, Jedi, living dolls, and more.

Here’s an episode you might enjoy:

Or subscribe to 2 GIRLS 1 PODCAST in your favorite podcast app.


Share this article
*First Published: Oct 3, 2018, 9:55 am CDT