Eddie Munson screaming, Yung Gravy rapping, and Kim Kardashian judging soundtracked TikTok FYPs this week. Let’s get into it.
This is music!
The final two episodes of Stranger Things Season 4 dropped July 1 and amidst the outlandish theories, thirst for the cast, and love for “Master of Puppets” by Metallica, Eddie’s outburst in the second to last episode has emerged as the viral moment of Volume 2.
Mild Spoilers ahead.
The gang is gathered in Eddie’s motorhome when Vecna, the supervillain of the season, possesses Nancy. The only way to save her is to play Nancy’s favorite song. It’s a high-stress situation and Robin is frantically searching Eddie’s room for a song to rescue Nancy from Vecna’s clutches. TikTokkers singled out the moment in the scene where Eddie asks, “What are you looking for?” to which Robin exasperatedly replies, “Madonna, Blondie, Bowie, Beatles, music. We need music!” Eddie screams back, “This is music!” The soundbite was originally posted on the platform by @mrvl.lu and has soundtracked over 72,000 TikToks.
Creators are unsurprisingly using the sound to defend their more questionable favorite pieces of music. While Eddie yells, “This is music,” the TikTokker reveals their absurd song or album of choice. For example, @yeslydimate posted a video arguing that “Don’t Stop Believin’ (Glee Cast Version)” is music and I can’t help but agree. Another creator @elijahnelson highlighted “Freak the Freak Out (feat. Victoria Justice) by the Victorious Cast.”
Credit: TikTok / elijahnelson
Credit: TikTok / yesklydimate
If the concept feels familiar, it’s because there have been many iterations of the trend. For example, Twitter users love to use the screenshot of Bong Joon-ho saying, “To me, that’s cinema” to share their eclectic taste in film.
Damn Gravy you so vicious
Yung Gravy has inexplicably stolen the white rapper TikTok won’t shut up about crown from Jack Harlow. The 26-year-old is just some guy who makes satirical music, but TikTok caught wind of his single “Betty (Get Money)” and its accompanying music video featuring Yung Gravy dancing in a white fur coat. My FYP has subjected me to this clip a truly haunting number of times. As perusal, TikTok is most fond of a very specific snippet of the song, “I be dirty dancin’, now they yellin’ ‘Gravy, slazy’ / Damn, Gravy, you so vicious (ooh) / You so clean, so delicious / How come you ain’t got no misses?”
Credit: TikTok / yunggravy
The clip has been used in over 100,000 videos and while it doesn’t correspond to a particular trend, it has become the go-to song used by fan editors taking advantage of the new swiping photo feature on the app. There are horny “Betty (Get Money)” edits of everyone from Stranger Things stars Joe Keery and David Harbour to actress Hailee Steinfeld and actor Justin H. Min.
Ew this is so cringe. Guilty.
A soundbite of a sketch from when Kim Kardashian hosted SNL back in Oct. 2021 has been making its rounds on TikTok. The clip is from a sketch called, “The People’s Court” where Kardashian presides as judge over Kardashian family disputes. TikTok has honed in on Kardashian saying, “Ew this is so cringe. Guilty.” Kardashian’s delivery is flat and affectless.
The sound was first posted on TikTok in Dec. 2021 by @quaktheestallion, but it recently gained popularity and has now been used in over 95,000 videos. TikTokkers are posting videos of “cringey” things that they are guilty of partaking in. Being cringe has become Gen Z’s greatest fear and it’s fun to see creators embracing their cringe. For example, @trevorryanhughes posted a video captioned, “i think i’m the last person who still (sometimes) eats subway sandwiches. but why is it so embarrassing to carry this bag on the street rn.”
Credit: TikTok / trevorryanhughes