About

The DK Rap or Donkey Kong Rap is a song from the Nintendo 64 video game Donkey Kong 64 which has gained an ironic following because of many of its lyrics that have appeared in several memes and parodies.

Origin

The song debuted in Donkey Kong 64 which was originally released for the Nintendo 64 on November 22nd, 1999. The song plays in the introductory cinematic of the game and describes the five playable Kongs: Donkey Kong, Tiny Kong, Lanky Kong, Diddy Kong, and Chunky Kong. It was written by game composer Grant Kirkhope and was performed by George Andreas and Chris Sutherland. At the time of its release, the song had received a mixed to negative reception with people considering it one of the worst songs in gaming history.^[1]

Spread

Lankyposting (HE)

Lankyposting, also known as HE, refers to the practice of posting images of Lanky Kong, a character from the 1999 video game Donkey Kong 64. The practice itself began as a way of satirizing fan hype for potential playable characters in the Super Smash Brothers series by requesting that the supporting character should be included on the roster of the fourth installment. On August 14th, 2014 a 4chan user coined the term "Lankyposting" in a thread about the video game character. On September 6th, Tumblr user nicocw posted a photoshopped image of Lanky Kong in front of an inspirational quote background reciting his verse in the "Donkey Kong Rap," which gained over 4,500 notes in three weeks (shown below).

Coconut Gun

The Coconut Gun is a weapon used by Donkey Kong in the game, which is described in the rap saying, "His coconut gun can fire in spurts. If he shoots ya, it's gonna hurt!" The line was named the fourth worst game line ever in the January 2002 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly. The line has become popularized by YouTuber SiIvaGunner who posted a video called "DK Rap (Unused Version)" which specifically parodies the line.

YouTuber SGNRyan posted a video in which every noun in the rap is replaced by the word "coconut gun." Another YouTuber, Snooplax uploaded a video in which every model from the rap is replaced with a different model from the game.

brentalfloss Parody

In 2018, music channel brentalfloss released a parody of the DK Rap titled "DK RAP 2018 ("Where Are They Now?")" which depicts the Kongs after the events of Donkey Kong 64. One of the memorable lines of the video, "And then there's Chunky, he's dead," showing the character Chunky Kong dead.

#ExpandSong

In January of 2019, a hashtag on Twitter called "#ExpandSong"^[2] due to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate only having a shortened version of the song that featured the verses for Donkey Kong, Tiny Kong, and Diddy Kong and lacks the verses for Lanky Kong, Chunky Kong, and Cranky Kong. Fans started a campaign by spreading the hashtag to get the song in its entirety released in Smash.

Search Interest

External References