Kanye West's "You Can't Tell Me Nothing"

About

You Can't Tell Me Nothing is a verse that comes from the Kanye West song "Can't Tell Me Nothing," originally released in 2007. The verse, having Kanye ask if the listener is saying something before scoffing and claiming that "you can't tell me nothing," saw usage in memes and skits on TikTok in early 2023, with TikTokers using it to make jokes about not listening to other people or others being hypocritical.

Origin

In 2007, musical artist and rapper Kanye West released his album Graduation, with the song "Can't Tell Me Nothing" appearing as the sixth track. The song found success on TikTok after it was uploaded by TikToker therealkanyemeatrider^[1] on April 14th, 2023. In the TikTok, a snippet from the official music video is shown with text overlaid on top that says "please stop kicking my newborn in the ribs," with the verse being used as the response back, earning over 585,000 likes in nine months (shown below).

Spread

The song and soundbite featuring the lyric quickly spread on TikTok with others using it for their own references and jokes that used the audio to disregard what someone is telling to them. For example, on April 28th, 2023, TikToker getwitnity^[2] uploaded a TikTok in which she talks about how her Passenger Prince is complaining when their job is to just look handsome in the car, leading to her saying that she can't be told anything, earning over 800,000 likes in 10 months (shown below).

The audio continued to see growth throughout the rest of 2023, with the most liked example being posted on October 10th, 2023, by TikToker kingsl6y^[3]. In the TikTok, the caption "when you check google during an argument and you're correct" is shown on top of different footage from the official music video for the song, earning over 2.3 million likes in three months (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References