About

"Fuck Yo Couch" is a catchphrase used to convey complete irreverence for another individual or a group. According to Urban Dictionary's definition, the expression can be seen as a superlative insult in comparison to "fuck you," as it not only signifies disrespect to the person but also his or her possessions and property.

Origin

The phrase was first uttered by the comedian Dave Chappelle playing as the character of Rick James, who shows complete disrespect to the party host Charlie Murphy by soiling their white leather couch with his boots. The original sketch aired February 11th, 2004 on Chappelle's Show.^[1] The sketch, entitled "Rick James: Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories," was co-written by Dave Chappelle and Charlie Murphy, who plays himself in the sketch.

Spread

Shortly after the broadcast of the skit, many users on YTMND^[7] began still images of Chapelle dressed as Rick James with the caption "fuck yo couch," while others uploaded videos of themselves violating their own furniture under similar titles. The first YTMND titled "Fuck Yo Couch"^[6] was uploaded by user calypso on April 29th, 2004. On Facebook^[8], there are over a dozen fan pages and communities dedicated to the phrase.

The expression was added to Urban Dictionary^[2] in October 2004, which is defined as:

1. More disrespectful than 'fuck you' because it means disrespect to you, your property, and your crib. 2. Can simply mean that you don't give a damn about someones couch.

In January 2007, DJSuckapunch uploaded the first remix to YouTube which gained over four million views before being removed from the site. In October 2007, the line was referenced on the show The Boondocks^[3] in the episode "Stinkmeaner Strikes Back."

IRL Graffiti

In real life, the phrase has been commonly used as a graffiti tag on abandoned couches and sofa furnitures, photographs of which can be found on Flickr.^[5]

In Popular Music

The line was mentioned in North Carolina-based rap group Little Brother's 2007 single "Say it Again."

When clothes fit strange
I'm playin' Rick James
"Fuck yo' couch nigga!"
I'm comin' out with a bang

The clip was also sampled for the 2009 single "Fuck Yo Couch" by rapper Champ Bailey.^[4]

The same line was mentioned again in Eminem's 2010 song "Session One" featuring Slaughterhouse.

I pull it out and flip your partner upside-down like ya’ll are a couple 69ing
It’s like Rick James is shooting up your house, nigga….fuck your couch nigga!

Image Macros

Videos

There are a number of remixes and mashups centered around the expression on YouTube, though many of them have been since removed from the site due to third-party takedown requests. Some of the more notable instances includes a baby re-enacting the scene, which has over 300,000 views, and Tom Cruise hopping on a couch on the set of Oprah, which has over 112,000 views.

Search Interest

The phrase began to trend in the summer of 2005, more than a year after the sketch originally aired.

External References