If you’ve spent any time around a teenager or kid lately you’ve probably heard them yell “SIX-SEVEN,” in a loud, characterized voice. It’s unquestionably the biggest, dumbest, most confusing meme of the year for anyone born before 2010.
The weirdest part of this meme is that most kids can’t even explain why they like saying “SIX-SEVEN,” or what it actually means. My 8-year-old daughter had absolutely no idea, other than to remark “you’re not allowed to say it,” out of fear of embarrassment. I went down the meme rabbit hole to find out how the heck 6-7 became a meme, and discovered that LaMelo Ball has a lot to do with it.
The genesis of the meme come from the song “Doot Doot,” released by rapper Skrilla in December of 2024.
In the lyrics Skrilla says the term “6-7” numerous times, which is largely accepted to be a reference to 67th street in Chicago, which has a reputation inside the city for being dangerous. The song wasn’t a hit at first, not really. Like the rest of Skrilla’s catalog it failed to make the charts — that was until February, when a TikTok edit was made of LaMelo Ball highlights, referencing his height, and then kicking in with Skrilla’s song.
The video went viral, which naturally led to copycats. Before long TikTok was being flooded with LaMelo highlights, all set to “Doot Doot,” all accentuating the 6-7 line.
Now we had the meme established inside basketball TikTok, but it needed a spark to go mega viral and become part of meme culture at large. That happened when a new video popped up at an AAU basketball game with the now-infamous “67 Kid” referencing the meme during a game.
Yes, it’s just a kid yelling “6-7,” but that was enough. 67 Kid became a meme in his own right, with Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha internet culture making a whole bizarre backstory behind him, claiming he was a ghost, making stylized edits of the 67 Kid, and largely laughing at him for how cringe the clip was. The original 67 Kid and various spinoffs have garnered millions of views on TikTok, elevating it into being one of the hottest memes of the year.
Finally it came full circle, back to LaMelo Ball. Ball appeared on the stream of the ultra-popular Kai Cenat, and when asked how tall he was he responded “6-7” in the meme voice, cementing him as being in on the joke.
Now kids everywhere are yelling SIX -SEVEN, without having any idea where it came from or what it means. Both the idea of it being 67th street in Chicago OR LaMelo Ball’s height are totally lost on the vast majority of kids repeating the meme. They just like saying it.
Brace yourself for when the NBA season starts this year. Any time LaMelo is introduced as 6-7 it’s going to be a thing — a big, dumb, weird thing.
