*The “Keke” Challenge, also referred to with the alternate spelling “Kiki,” erupted on social media after Canadian artist Drake’s new album Scorpion dropped in June 2018. In the ultra-popular Scorpion track “In My Feelings,” Drake pines over a few mysterious women in his life, with one chorus variation crooning “Keke, do you love me?” As far as anyone can tell, the challenge started with comedian Shiggy posting short videos of himself dancing to the “Keke, do you love me” chorus line.
Other celebs caught on to the dance, which was originally posted under “#DoTheShiggy.” The car part of the trend seemed to stem from a “Shiggy” clip of American Footballer Odell Beckham Jr. doing the dance after jumping up from his stationary car. The strange magic of social media took it from there.
Who’s Doing the KiKi Challenge?
The vast majority of people completing this challenge are young, of course. Drivers aged 16-19 are already four times as likely to die in a car-related incident than drivers aged 25-69. Jumping out of a moving car doesn’t seem promising in lowering this statistic.
Let’s not forget about the teens and young adults behind the camera. Often they seem to be in the driver’s seat, moving the car at slow speed while also recording their passenger during the challenge. Even if the challenge is done at slow speeds, this is considered dangerous and distracted driving. Tasks like using a phone increase your risk of getting into a car crash by three times. The distraction of the phone and the challenge as a whole could result in the driver hitting another car, pedestrian, or a nearby animal or stationary object on the edge of someone’s yard.
Some challenge-takers are even attempting it on highways and bridges, prompting officials worldwide to issue their own official warnings against the challenge. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation, for example, had this sign set up on local highways and social media: “Buckle up, Keke. Stay in your car. Seat belts save lives.”
The KiKi Challenge Goes International
And yes, it’s not just the youth of the United States that have taken up the challenge from social media. Police in India, UAE, Spain, and Malaysia have all offered statements against the challenge amidst reports of local attempts.
There’s a trick to ‘successfully’ completing the challenge and making it look graceful: the speed of the car. When the car is going even a hair too quickly, it’s way too easy to faceplant as soon as your foot touches that pavement. Maybe you’ll get lucky and be on some springy asphalt that takes a bit of the blow, but when many roadways including about a third of U.S. interstate highways are made of concrete, you’re going to have some scrapes and bruises at a minimum. Concrete doesn’t have any give to it.
Even the WikiHow page for jumping out of a moving car (yes, it exists) warns that “jumping out of a moving car should not be taken lightly”, and any attempts will “almost certainly” end with some array of injuries. While no deaths have been reported as of yet, plenty of botched Kiki challenges have been showcased on social media that feature injuries or near-injuries. Knowing how memes easily escalate in the interest of garnering more attention, the Keke/Kiki stunts could easily escalate into dangerous territory.
Let’s be real: people don’t just do this “for the likes.” Good music and hilarious hashtags make us feel a sense of community. It’s fun and satisfying to participate in a dumb stunt that other people are participating in. We don’t know if the Kiki challenge will prove as dangerous as drivers and law enforcement fear.
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