AboutWhat does the meme depict?

The 'Yo Dawg' or 'Sup Dawg' meme features an image macro series based on portrait photos of American hip hop artist Alvin Nathaniel Joiner, better known by his stage name Xzibit. Each meme includes humorous captions formatted as "Yo Dawg, I herd you like (noun X), so I put an (noun X) in your (noun Y) so you can (verb Z) while you (verb Z)." This format is known for its recursive humor, where the content within the meme references itself in a loop, making it a staple in internet meme culture.

OriginWho did it first?

The 'Yo Dawg' meme first emerged on 4chan in early 2007 and gained renewed popularity in late 2008 across platforms like Reddit, Tumblr, and social networking sites. The meme's recursive style is similar to the "strange loops" concept from Douglas Hofstadter's book Gödel, Escher, Bach. The photograph of Xzibit used in these memes originated from promotional material for the 2006 sports drama film 'Gridiron Gang,' where he portrayed a character named Malcolm Moore. Xzibit, initially a rapper from Los Angeles, later became widely recognized as the host of the MTV show Pimp My Ride, which aired from 2004 to 2007.^[1]

Origin: 2007