About
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.
Origin
On January 10th, 2007, YouTuber ChangeDeGuerra uploaded the “Donkey Kong Rap” taken from the opening of the 1999 Nintendo 64 platform game Donkey Kong 64. During the rap, each character from the game is introduced with several verses describing their attributes and his abilities, often starting with the word “He,” including the orangutan Lanky Kong (shown below).
He has no style, he has no grace.
This Kong has a funny face.
He can handstand when he needs to,
And stretch his arms out, just for you.
Inflate himself just like a balloon.
This crazy Kong just digs this tune!
Spread
On December 26th, 2010, Roblox[8] user hipeep created a Lanky Kong badge, which featured lyrics from the “Donkey Kong Rap” in the description.
On March 28th, 2012, League of Legends Forums[10] member MrFinigen created a thread titled “He Has No Style” about Lanky Kong. On February 16th, 2013, GameFAQS Forums[9] member MalucciMD submitted a post titled “Anyone think Lanky Kong would be a fun playable character?”, to which user Hejiru replied “But he has no style.” On August 5th, 2014, the original poster (OP) of a Super Smash Brothers general discussion topic on the /vg/[1] (Video Game Generals) board on 4chan jokingly included Lanky Kong as one of the officially announced newcomers in spite of no such announcement taking place.[1] Following the thread’s creation, some users began to ironically support the notion that Lanky Kong should be a playable character. On August 8th, a post dedicated to Lanky Kong was created by “I Will Namefag Until Lanky Is Confirmed,” which contained the lyric “He has no style” from the “Donkey Kong Rap.”[2]
On August 14th, a 4chan[3] user coined the term “Lankyposting” in a thread about the video game character. On September 6th, Tumblr[7] 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).
On September 8th, Redditor HEHASNO launched the /r/HEmeme[4] subreddit for examples of Lanky Kong photoshops. a subreddit for Lankyposting was created.[4] On September 19th, the /HE/ 8chan[5] board was established for posts related to the meme.
Notable Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1]4chan Archive – /ssbg/: Lanky Kong Newcomer Edition
[2]4chan Archive – HE HAS NO STYLE
[3]4chan Archive – ‘I don’t want lankyposting to become a thing.’
[8]Roblox – Lanky Kong
[9]GameFAQS – Anyone think Lanky Kong would be a fun playable character?
[10]League of Legends – He Has No Style