Viral

Nathaniel B meme creator finally explains meaning after it goes viral on TikTok

Nathaniel B meme creator finally explains meaning after it goes viral on TikTok
Instagram rolls back TikTok-style updates after user backlash
The National

The creator of TikTok's viral catchphrase "Nathaniel B" has, at last, explained its meaning.

The 2020 footage shows a group of students in a rap battle. One of them, dressed in an orange shirt and neon headband, says: "That s*** was trash. You can’t handle me. Hold up, ain’t you, Nathaniel B?"

The phrase soon went viral, which raised the same question for millions of people: Who is Nathaniel B?

Two years later, things have finally been cleared up. Prince Maj (@princemaj3) on TikTok explained that the viral clip started when he and his teammates had a day off practice between his freshman and sophomore year.

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@princemaj3

#duet with @27bplz408v91njkw3uo #27bplz408v91njkw3uo #nathanielb #viral

Their coach had organised a fun day for the team, including a freestyle rap battle.

"I get in the circle right," he explained in his TikTok storytime clip that has racked up almost a million views. "Before I even said the Nathaniel B line, we said like three or four lines."

"The dude I was battling, I knew him personally so I knew his whole family.

"And so, I was about to flame him and call him his little brother, Nathaniel B."

He explained how he added "B" to flow with the rest of his line: "You can't handle me."


@princemaj3

#nathanielb


"The rise of Nathaniel B," one fellow TikToker said, while another joked: "One of the greatest mysterious finally solved."

A third confused user added: "Bro explained how it went down and it still don’t make sense."

Many more users were dumbfounded that, he himself, wasn't the famed Nathaniel B.

The 18-year-old aspiring rapper and TikToker will be dropping his new EP on all streaming platforms on Friday 5 August.

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