It's About Drive, It's About Power — Dwayne Johnson in a black Strange Music tank top rapping on stage with red lighting behind him

It's About Drive, It's About Power

2021catchphraseclassic

Published October 29, 2026

It's About Drive, It's About Power, also known as The Rock's Rap Verse 'Face Off,' refers to Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's October 2021 rap debut on Tech N9ne's track 'Face Off,' notable for the absurdity of a wrestler-turned-actor snarling about Samoan roots and 'boots to asses.' Within a week of the music video, TikTokers were lip-dubbing the verse over gym montages, treadmill sprints and life-turnaround skits.

hip hop memes tiktok sound trends lip sync memes self improvement memes celebrity reaction memes

Overview

Johnson's verse sits inside the ASIN9NE album track 'Face Off,' where he trades bars with Strange Music signees King Iso and Joey Cool1. Meme edits usually isolate the moment Johnson snarls lines about drive, power and Samoan heritage, then set that audio over footage of someone 'getting it together': waking up at 5 a.m., sprinting on a treadmill, or confronting a personal problem2. Reactions split between genuine hype and ironic praise3.

The humor hinges on the mismatch between Johnson's family-film movie-star image and the aggressively delivered hip hop verse, which commenters flagged as either admirable or ridiculous3. On TikTok, the audio works like a motivational siren, with creators lip-dubbing the aggressive lines straight to camera or scoring workout and glow-up clips with it7.

Origin & Background

Platform
YouTube (song release) / TikTok (viral spread)
Creator
Dwayne Johnson and Tech N9ne; meme format originators unknown
Date
2021

On October 8, 2021, Tech N9ne released his twenty-third album ASIN9NE and uploaded a music video to YouTube for 'Face Off,' with Dwayne Johnson sharing verses alongside King Iso and Joey Cool1. Johnson had never released or appeared on a rap track before, making the song his hip hop debut2. His lyrics focus on strength and heritage, including the line 'boots to asses,' a callback to one of his wrestling catchphrases3. Genius lists the collaboration as the fourth single from the record2.

How It Spread

Reactions showed up almost immediately. On the same day as the song's release, YouTuber ImDontai filmed a response video that reached over 1.1 million views in a week9. On October 9, Twitter user @oscos shared the clip with the caption 'why tf is the rock rapping brah,' earning 195,000 likes, 23,000 retweets and 8.4 million views in a week4. Two days later, @beebinton tweeted that 'the rock rapping is literal proof we living in a simulation,' which gathered over 4,000 likes5.

TikTok adoption followed quickly. On October 14, @thechristianlara posted a skit about using the song to turn one's life around, which hit 3.8 million views in four days6. On October 16, @zamasu______ shared a clip of someone sprinting on a treadmill captioned 'Me after hearing Dwayne rap,' reaching 15 million views in two days7. A day later, @fakemichael posted a 'beast mode' edit set to the verse that gathered 6.8 million views in 24 hours8.

Timeline

2021-10-08

Tech N9ne releases ASIN9NE and uploads the 'Face Off' music video featuring Dwayne Johnson, King Iso and Joey Cool to YouTube.

2021-10-08

YouTuber ImDontai posts a reaction video to Johnson's verse that passes 1.1 million views within a week.

2021-10-09

Twitter user @oscos tweets 'why tf is the rock rapping brah' with the clip, earning 195,000 likes and 8.4 million views.

2021-10-11

@beebinton tweets that 'the rock rapping is literal proof we living in a simulation.'

2021-10-14

TikToker @thechristianlara posts a life-turnaround skit scored to the verse, reaching 3.8 million views in four days.

2021-10-16

@zamasu______ posts a treadmill clip captioned 'Me after hearing Dwayne rap,' hitting 15 million views in two days.

2021-10-17

@fakemichael posts a 'beast mode' TikTok set to the verse that collects 6.8 million views in 24 hours.

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How to Use This Meme

Typically, creators set the audio of Johnson's verse against footage of someone taking dramatic action, such as an early morning workout, a confrontation, or any transformation moment. Common conventions include lip-dubbing the aggressive lines directly to camera or using the verse as the soundtrack to gym and glow-up montages6.

Frequently Asked Questions