Why Did Eminem Try To Rhyme 'Orange' With 'Bornana'? The Meme Explained

Eminem proposed that he could do the unthinkable over a decade ago, by going on 60 Minutes and saying on the record that he can rhyme anything, even the word "orange." Orange is perhaps the only word with no existing perfect rhyme in the English language, but Eminem tried nonetheless.

Nearly a decade later, he put his efforts into a song, where he rapped the memorable bar, "I can make orange rhyme with banana (yeah) bornana." Here's how the internet reacted to bornana.

When Did Eminem First Say 'Bornana'?

To trace a timeline back to Eminem's infamous "bornana" bar, we must first revisit his October 10th, 2010 60 Minutes interview. The rapper spends a significant part of the interview speaking to how there are a lot of words that rhyme with orange, in spite of what many people may think (seen below).

Over a decade later, he dropped a song called "Tone Deaf," where he raps, "I can make orange rhyme with banana (yeah) bornana." The perplexing bar was reiterated in a lyrics video posted in March 2021, showing a cartoon Eminem sitting on a bench as an orange and a banana fly by.

Why Did Eminem Say That?

No one knows.

How Did Internet Users React To 'Bornana'?

People didn't really notice the Eminem "bornana" line until September 2021, with credit for the first viral post about it going to Instagram page @mensallectuals, who posted a Genius lyric card featuring the lyrics.

YouTubers @kringefest and @JakeTheSnake200 posted videos using the line in January 2023, gathering over 100,000 and over a million likes respectively.

Also in January 2023, Instagram user matthew.niverse posted a When I'm In A Competition video meme using @kringefest's video, gaining over 147,000 views in two months.

What Are Some More Bornana Memes?

For the full history of Bornana, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.