Eekum Bokum Meme
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Eekum Bokum
About
Eekum Bokum is a phrase associated with Banjo-Kazooie character Mumbo Jumbo, as it plays when the player picks up a Mumbo token. In 2020, the phrase became a popular meme thanks to a Let’s Play stream of the game by Hololive Vtuber Inugame Korone, during which, she seemed amused by the phrase and repeated it throughout the stream. This led to a series of fan animations and memes of Korone saying «Eekum Bookum.»
Origin
«Eekum Bokum» is stated when a character picks up a Mumbo token in the 1998 video game Banjo-Kazooie. [1] On August 25th, 2020, Hololive Vtuber Inugame Korone played the game during a live-stream and was amused by the sound clip, repeating it whenever it played during the game [2] (compilation clip shown below).
Spread
On August 28th, 2020, YouTuber 2ManySnacks posted an animation in which Korone and the Mumbo coin repeated «Eekum Bokum.» The video gained over 3 million views in a little over two weeks (shown below).
This led to a multitude of parody edits featuring various characters saying the line. For example, YouTuber BENBROS Jr. posted a Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure parody which gained over 65,000 views in just over 12 hours (shown below, left). User Weeb Grievous posted a Hello There edit that gained over 133,000 views (shown below, right).
The video also led to a surge in parody image macros in the Hololive fandom. For example, /r/hololive member Mstwanted13 [3] posted a Money Printer Go Brr edit of the moment, gaining over 4,800 points (shown below, left). User JRafaelRA [4] posted a Drakeposting parody with the phrase, gaining over 2,800 points (shown below, right).
Everyone seems to hate this ‘Eekum Bokum’ meme
Some are even calling it the worst meme of 2020.
Published Sep 21, 2020 Updated Sep 21, 2020, 3:05 pm CDT
Anyone who played the 1998 Nintendo 64 game Banjo-Kazooie (or its handful of sequels) may remember the character Mumbo Jumbo, a shaman who was able to use her magic powers to transform the titular characters into various creatures. And now we have both the game and character to thank for an evidently annoying “Eekum Bokum” meme making its way around the internet.
Before a player in the game is able to transform, they must first collect a number of so-called Mumbo Tokens, which exclaim “Eekum Bokum!” when obtained.
It was during an Aug. 25 live stream of Banjo-Kazooie that Hololive Vtuber Inugami Korone became delighted with the expression, repeating it whenever it was said onscreen. The live stream was subsequently edited into a YouTube compilation of every time it was repeated during the game, and quickly went viral.
A few days after the original live stream, YouTuber 2ManySnacks likewise created the above animation of Korone and the Mumbo Token saying “Eekum Bokum.” The video has since been viewed over five million times in just three weeks. It has also inspired numerous parodies including characters from Banjo-Kazooie as well as characters from various other games.
Some of the mashups got particularly creative, such as using a Speak & Spell or the 1968 banger “Hooked on a Feeling.”
But not everyone loves “Eekum Bokum,” which became a meme as it made its way to Twitter.
“OK, can we all agree that this is the worst meme of 2020?” tweeted one user, which received over 8,000 likes in two days. “If I see this Eekum Bokum bitch one more time … someone’s losing their fingers,” added another in a retweet. Others responded similarly.
— Lucas 🙂 (18 Days till birthday) Commissions Open (@Linux_Lucas) September 16, 2020
At least the artist doesn’t seem to mind having come up with apparently the most hated meme of 2020. Though some may feel bad for the OG creator, one user pointed out that they actually seem to be enjoying the attention.
Everyone always says how they feel so bad for the artist whenever Eekum Bokum is brought up but the actual artist loves it. pic.twitter.com/8KIYV7eV45
As the saying goes, one man’s Eekum Bokum is another man’s treasure.
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Stacey Ritzen
Stacey Ritzen is a reporter and editor based in West Philadelphia with over 10 years’ experience covering pop culture, web culture, entertainment, and news. You can follow her on Twitter @staceyritzen.
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