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Mulling over this week\u2019s column, I polled my multigenerational family in our group chat, which includes three Gen Zs, asking if I should write about the 6-7 meme. The options I gave were:<\/p>\n
In the lifespan of TikTok, this is rather ancient news. Tweens and teens \u2013 not only those in the US, but also in Australia, Singapore, Vietnam and anywhere youths access social media \u2013 have been chorusing \u201cSIX SE-ven\u201d maybe 6 or 7 zillion times in the past year.<\/p>\n
You, dear non-Gen-Alpha reader, may, however, have only heard about it 6 or 7 days ago \u2013 when \u201c67\u201d (also written \u201c6-7\u201d, \u201c6, 7\u201d, \u201c6 7\u201d, and pronounced \u201csix seven\u201d) was declared 2025\u2019s word of the year by Dictionary.com.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s so special about this sequence of once innocuous numbers?<\/p>\n
The meme\u2019s roots trace back to Philadelphia rapper Skrilla\u2019s 2024 song \u201cDoot Doot (6 7)\u201d. There, his repeated incantation of \u201csix seven\u201d has been suggested to be a reference to 67th Street in Chicago, with a reputation for being dangerous, or to the 10-67 police code, often used to report a death.<\/p>\n
The phrase was heard in a December 2024 video of Kentucky five-star basketball recruit, Taylen Kinney, where he ranked his drink, using hand gestures, weighing the rating \u201csix, six, seven\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201c6-7\u201d was also swiftly picked up by other content creators, using the song especially with basketball sports edits, with particular reference to the National Basketball Association\u2019s LaMelo Ball, said to move like he is 6\u20192\u201d (188cm) but is actually 6\u20197\u201d. The 67 Kid<\/em> video in March 2025 was also a key moment in the trend\u2019s spread.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n