“Six-Seven” Phenomenon Sweeps Social Media, Named a Sign of the Times
NEW YORK – A seemingly meaningless phrase, “six-seven,” has exploded into a global social media trend, racking up over 2 million posts and even earning the Oxford English Dictionary’s “Word of the Year” designation for its associated term, “brain rot.” The nonsensical phrase has become a widespread signal of belonging and a vehicle for online amusement, despite its origins remaining intentionally vague.
The trend’s roots trace back to the 2023 song ”Doot Doot (6 7)” by Philadelphia rapper With Skrill. While theories abound – ranging from references to the rapper’s hometown’s 67th Street to police code 10-67 for reporting a death – Skrill himself has stated he deliberately assigned no specific meaning to the phrase, fostering its organic spread. “I don’t want to define it, that’s why it continues to spread,” he told The Wall Street Journal.
The “qualitative leap” in the trend’s popularity occurred in December 2023, when basketball player Taylen Kinney used “six-seven” to rate a drink in a video, together inventing a hand gesture to represent balancing options. Kinney’s subsequent TikTok videos featuring the phrase and gesture gave the slang a physical component.
Further momentum built in march 2024 with NBA player LaMelo Ball, who, at 6’7″ tall, was nicknamed “Six-seven.” The phenomenon truly took off when a spectator at an amateur basketball game shouted “Six-Seven” from the stands, quickly becoming known online as “Mason” - an archetype of someone relentlessly uttering nonsense.
The phrase has since been widely used as a soundtrack for NBA highlights and evolved beyond simple judgment into an affirmation of group identity. linguists have noted the trend as an example of “brain rot,” defined as mental or intellectual deterioration caused by excessive consumption of trivial online content.
