by Surely you’ve said “YOLO” before prior to doing something risky. The acronym (which stands for “you only live once” made popular by Drake on his 2011 song “The Motto”) is everywhere; shirts, hats, coffee mugs, etc. The lucrative merchandise with “YOLO” plastered on it is making someone rich…and Drizzy wants a piece of the pie.
The rapper/singer seems disappointed by the popularity of the acronym, and the fact that he’s not getting financially broke off from its popularity. He posted pics of various merchandise from Walgreen’s and Macy’s on Instagram, each with a caption that scolded the retailers for not including him in the royalty plan. “Walgreens . . . you gotta either chill or cut the cheque,” the Take Care rapper said with a photo of baseball caps with “Yolo” printed on the front. “Macy’s . . . same goes for you,” he captioned with a picture of a Charlie Brown t-shirt with the words “YOLO is my motto.”
According to Gawker’s Jordan Sargent, “there are over 100 YOLO trademark applications either live or dead in the United States,” and Drake isn’t even the creator of the acronym. Allegedly, a contestant from the 2003 reality show “The Average Joe, Adam Mesh, used the phrase while on the show, then soon after developed a YOLO clothing line. He addressed his sentiments about the phrase’s current use via Twitter: “When I created the word it was meant as inspiration to live life to the fullest. Disappointed in current use. I have moved on,” he stated.
If Drake isn’t the originator, should he get royalties from popularizing the phrase?
