About

Never Let Them Know Your Next Move refers to a series of image macros where users show their feet facing in opposite directions alongside the titular caption. It also refers to a trend on TikTok where users perform a series of comedically unpredictable actions under the guise of doing the predictable thing, using the phrase "never let 'em know your next move" in an on-screen caption. The trend began in March 2022 and became popularized the next month set to the song "Pimpin Ain’t Eazy" by Kodak Black.

Origin

On October 4th, 2018, Facebook^[5] page Kiss Me Quick posted an image of a man standing at a counter with his feet facing the opposite direction from each other with a Snapchat caption read, "Never let them know your next step," gaining over 430 reactions and 340 shares in just over three months (shown below). This is the earliest known upload of a meme to use the caption.

Spread

On January 3rd, 2019, Lil Nas X posted a meme to Twitter^[7] showing a double edged boot, captioned, "i can’t be letting niggas know my next move," gaining over 14,900 likes and 4,100 retweets in three years (shown below).

On October 21st, Twitter^[6] user @chaselyons posted a photo following the trend, gaining over 13,000 likes and 2,100 retweets in just over two years (shown below, left). On January 28th, 2022, Twitter^[8] user @cinemurdock posted a photo of Andrew Garfield with his feet in wonky directions using the caption, gaining over 104,000 likes and 5,300 retweets in three months (shown below, right).

TikTok Trend

On March 17th, 2022, TikToker^[1] @dezz_africa posted a video where a man in a car shakes hands with someone outside the car then drives off under the on-screen caption, "Never let 'em know your next move." He turns on his right blinker and then turns left (shown below). The video gained over 9.9 million views in just under a month.

The trend spread over the course of the month, becoming popularized in late March and early April 2022. On March 27th, TikToker^[2] @shelovedraud posted a video where he performs a variety of unpredictable actions, including putting bread in a peanut butter jar and walking into the wall and then going through a door backward, gaining over 12.8 million views in a week (shown below).

On March 29th, TikToker^[3] @jay2smooovv posted a version of the trend, gaining over 7.8 million views in six days (shown below, left). On April 3rd, Jake Paul posted a video to TikTok^[4] following the trend, gaining over 13 million views in a day (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References