Byeah

About

Byeah is a catchphrase said by streamer Jerma985 in his 2013-2014 Grand Theft Auto IV videos while roleplaying as biker NPCs that became a meme within the streamer's community and spread beyond in the early 2020s. The word has been used as a nickname for the biker NPCs in the game, with Byeahs humorously defined as "large, rotund sub-species of humans." Both the phrase and the characters saw a resurgence in memes in the early 2020s.

Origin

On May 3rd, 2013, YouTuber^[1] STAR_, also known as Ster, posted a Grand Theft Auto IV video titled "My GTA:IV Experience" which featured YouTuber and streamer Jerma985, his frequent collaborator at the time. In the first part of the video, an obese bearded biker NPC makes an appearance, with Jerma voicing the character. In the skit, the word "byeah," likely a version of the affirmation "yeah," is used. The video (shown below) received over 970,000 views in 10 years.

You know, I just don't know why I ate that donut, byeah.

The biker NPC and the word became a running gag in Jerma985's Grand Theft Auto IV series, appearing in multiple Grand Theft Auto IV uploaded both by Jerma985 and by STAR_. For example, on August 11th, 2013, Jerma985 uploaded^[2] the video titled "GTA4 Multiplayer: Fat Guys and the Dance Party [w/ STAR_]" in which he roleplayed as the character. The video (shown below, left) gained over 430,000 views in 10 years. On November 8th, 2013, Jerma985 uploaded^[3] a video that started with a skit in which multiple "byeah" NPCs hold a meeting. The video received over 1.1 million views (shown below, right), with the clip of the skit reuploaded on YouTube and other sites multiple times in the following years.

- Alright, so, welcome everybody to the meeting of the Byeahs. As you know, we do this meetings every single month to make sure we agree on things, so let's just get started! Cheesburgers?
- Byeah.
- Hot dogs?
- Byeah.
- Donuts?
- Byeah.
- Bar fighting?
- Byeah.
- Bug collections?
- Byeah.

Spread

On March 25th, 2014, Tumblr^[4] user orangeharrison posted a GIF from the "Byeahs Meeting" video that gained over 100,000 likes and reblogs on Tumblr in nine years (shown below).

The meme did not see further spread online for several years. On May 16th, 2020, iFunny^[5] user Vulpesio posted a viral video of bikers lining up at a lemonade stand with "byeah" and other related sounds from Jerma's videos edited in. The post (shown below) gained over 6,300 smiles in three years.

The meme was reposted multiple times on iFunny,^[6] Instagram^[7] and Reddit. On May 24th, 2020, an unknown iFunny user changed their username to "Byeah," posting the clip of the Byeah meeting on a monthly basis since then.^[8] For example, a post of the clip made by the user on September 1st, 2020, was featured and gained over 24,500 smiles on the app (shown below).^[9]

In the early 2020s, multiple memes featuring and referencing Byeah were posted on iFunny, Reddit, Tumblr and other sites. For example, on April 29th, 2021, Tumblr^[10] user hogmaildotclom posted a He Thinks He Is Christian meme that gained over 7,000 likes and reblogs in two years (shown below, left). On October 5th, 2021, Redditor Blinkence posted a Byeah Wojak that garnered over 2,300 upvotes in the /r/jerma985^[11] subreddit in two years (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References