WE WUZ KINGS

About

“WE WUZ KINGZ”, also iterated as “KANGZ N SHIET”, is an expression primarily used by users of 4chan’s /pol/ (politically incorrect) board to poke fun at those who adhere to the Black Egyptian Hypothesis, an often disputed theory which postulates that Ancient Egypt was a Black civilization and that some of the most notable royal figures from the Dynastic era were of African ethnicity, including Tutankhamen, Cleopatra and Pharaoh Khafra, who is generally believed to be the face depicted on The Great Sphinx of Giza. In addition to its widespread usage on /pol/, the phrase has been also adopted by detractors of Pan-Africanism on other discussion forums, including white supremacist and nationalist websites.

Origin

The phrase is believed to have been coined on 4chan’s /pol/ (politically incorrect) board sometime around late 2015 by users who began assuming an increasingly skeptical and critical stance towards the new wave of African American civil rights protests surrounding a series of racially charged police brutality controversies, most notably the #blacklivesmatter movement and civil unrest in Baltimore.

Background

The Black Egyptian Hypothesis^[1] is a theory claiming that Ancient Egypt was a Black Civilization, thereby questioning the ethnicity of the Ancient Egyptian population and affirming that the civilization was comprised of a black majority. Upon its introduction during the first half of the 20th century, the theory quickly gained support among several leading African American scholars and became a popular subject of academic studies for historians, though it has been since largely marginalized as inconclusive or anachronistic by most scholars.

Spread

According to Encyclopedia Dramatica,^[3] the phrase was anonymously coined on 4chan sometime around November 2015, which subsequently spread to YouTube with the upload of a video titled “We wuz kings and shit fam” on November 21st (shown below).

The phrase continued to gain momentum through its frequent usage on /pol/, which in turn spawned many iterations driven by shitposting and vertical posting. As a result of the trend, a sizable collection of satirical images featuring made-up facts regarding the ethnic background of White European historical figures subsequently emerged online. Furthermore, the satirical meme has been also used to critique hip hop and rap albums that champion the theme of black pride, most notably Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly and Vince Staple’s Summer ’06, both of which contain numerous lyrical references that portray black people as ancient royalties.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References