About

I Am a Bit Concerned About This Recent Stock Market Fiasco or Splendid refers to an exploitable image macro of two Black men with upside-down hats intelligently discussing the stock market and finances, humorously contrasting their gangster appearance. While the exact origin of the image is unknown, it first appeared online around 2008 in similar memes featuring eloquent conversations between the two about various topics, many of the jokes being racially charged.

Origin

The exact origin of the image is unknown. The earliest labeled version of the image appears to have been uploaded to Photobucket^[2] on July 5th, 2008, according to a Tineye^[1] search, and shows a conversation between the two men where the one on the left says "Hey nigga, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" and the man on the right responds "Yes, I think so bro." Both then say "Chicken!" — referencing the racist stereotype about Black people liking chicken (shown below). The page has not been archived. The context of the unedited photograph is also unknown.

One of the earliest live links to a version of the meme was uploaded to eBaum's World^[3] on October 15th, 2008, and features an intelligent conversation between the two, named Tyrese and Jaykwon, about the way they're wearing their hats and how they need to test them in a wind tunnel to see if they'll work to help them escape from their crimes faster (shown below).

The "Splendid" variation of the meme, which features the man on the left, William, saying he's concerned about the stock market fiasco, and the man on the right, Thomas, telling him not to worry, with them both saying "splendid" in the last bubble was uploaded online as early as March 30th, 2010, with the earliest available upload being to JoyReactor^[4] on that date (shown below).

Spread

The image became a popular exploitable throughout the 2010s leading into the 2020s, particularly the "splendid" variants. The memes also became less about the race of the two speakers and more about stocks and financial conversations. On January 15th, 2019, Redditor TheGoosest posted a version of the meme referencing the non-existent cryptocurrency Jahcoin, gaining over 500 upvotes in two years (shown below). On February 18th, Redditor engimen posted the original "splendid" meme to /r/comedyheaven,^[5] gaining over 18,000 upvotes in two years.

The meme was reposted by Instagram^[6] user grapejuiceboys in October 2020, gaining over 83,000 likes in a year. On January 27th, 2021, Instagram^[7] user salad.snake posted the splendid meme, gaining over 74,000 likes in nine months. On October 21st, Instagram^[8] user alpha.coach posted a version of the meme where one asks to see an image of corn from a 2010 Colgate commercial related to the Gangster Broccoli meme, gaining over 24,500 likes in six days (shown below).

Various Examples

Template

Search Interest

External References