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Deez Nuts
Featured Episode
About
Deez Nuts is the punchline of a setup joke that involves asking someone a vaguely phrased question to solicit a follow-up question in response, typically in the form of one of the five Ws, before yelling out the said phrase in an obnoxious manner. While originally introduced as a skit track on Dr. Dre's 1992 rap album Chronic, the joke saw a huge resurgence after it was featured in a short comedic sketch by internet comedian WelvenDaGreat on Instagram in early 2015.
Origin
On December 15th, 1992, West Coast rapper Dr. Dre released his debut studio album The Chronic, which featured a skit track titled "Deeez Nuuuts." In the song's intro portion, fellow rapper Warren G can be heard telling a "deez nuts" joke to a woman on the phone (shown below).
On September 21st, 2004, Urban Dictionary[4] user Dee Loc submitted an entry for "deez nuts."
On March 20th, 2015, Instagram user WelvenDaGreat[1] posted a video clip of himself speaking to a friend on the phone, in which he tells a joke that "deez nuts" arrived in the mail (shown below). In the first month, the video gained over 58,000 likes.
Spread
On March 24th, 2015, YouTuber Javalicius uploaded an extended version of WelvenDaGreat's video, garnering upwards of 490,000 views and 290 comments in the next three weeks (re-upload shown below).
On April 4th, the Mykleeproduction Instagram[3] feed posted an edited clip from the children's television series Blue's Clues with the "deez nuts" video added at the end (shown below).
On April 11th, Viner Khadi Don posted a scene from the 2002 superhero film Spider-Man with the "deez nuts" clip dubbed over the original audio (shown below, left). The same day, the Co Vines YouTube channel uploaded a compilation of notable "deez nuts" Vine remixes, accumulating more than 126,000 views and 70 comments in 48 hours (shown below, right).
2016 U.S Presidential Election
On July 28th, 2015, CBS News[12] reported that an independent named Deez Nuts filed a statement for candidacy with the Federal Election Commission in the 2016 Republican Presidential Primary.
On August 19th, the United States polling firm Public Policy Polling (PPP) released the results of a new survey on the primary candidates, which found that Donald Trump was leading in polls for the by 24%. Additionally, the firm revealed that Deez Nuts was polling at 9% in North Carolina, 8% in Minnesota and 7% in Iowa.[5] That day, the North Carolina news station ABC 11 tweeted[6] about the polling data, assuring readers they "were not hacked" (shown below).
In the first 24 hours, the tweet gained over 9,000 retweets and 4,400 favorites. That day, several news sites reported on the gag name's polling appearance, including The Week,[7] IBI Times,[8] The Daily Beast,[9] NY Mag[10] and The Daily Caller.[11]
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1] Instagram – welvendagreat (private account)
[2] Vine – #deeznuts (page unavailable)
[4] Urban Dictionary – deez nuts
[5] Public Policy Polling – Trump grows lead in NC; GOP leads most match ups
[6] Twitter – @ABC11_WTVD
[7] The Week – Internet meme Deez Nuts out polls Walker Florina and Huckabee in North Carolina
[8] IBI Times – Who Is Deez Nuts?
[9] The Daily Beast – Presidential Candidate Deez Nuts Does Not Exist
[10] NY Mag – Poll Numbers Improving for Presidential Candidate
[11] The Daily Caller – Deez Nuts Polling Close To Ten Percent In North Carolina
[12] CBS News – Deez Nuts is running for president
