# Weezer Weezer is a Los Angeles alternative rock band that stumbled into internet-meme status by openly playing with online jokes in their videos and, in 2018, by folding a viral fan campaign into their actual output. A 14-year-old fan's one-note Twitter crusade in December 2017 pushed the band to cover Toto's "Africa," kicking off a chain of events that produced the surprise 2019 covers release The Teal Album and even a Fortnite "Weezer Island." ## Origin The specific Weezer-as-meme pipeline opened in May 2008 with the "Pork and Beans" music video, directed as a tour through the 2007 to 2008 YouTube canon. Clips embedded references to Chocolate Rain, Chris Crocker's "Leave Britney Alone," and the All Your Base Are Belong to Us screenshot, among many others[2][3]. For a mainstream rock band on a major label, pulling meme figures into a single-take video was unusual at the time and read as a sincere wink to online audiences rather than a cash-in[2]. The modern meme centers on a different flashpoint. On December 5, 2017, Twitter user @weezerafrica, later identified by Vice as a 14-year-old music fan named Mary from the Cleveland area, tweeted at Rivers Cuomo: "it's about time you bless the rains down in africa," riffing on the chorus of Toto's 1982 hit[6]. Mary kept the account strictly on-topic, tweeting the same request at band members until drummer Patrick Wilson replied, "I laughed," which only pushed the campaign further[4]. Vice ran a profile of her in late 2017, framing the account as a serious, patient fan crusade with a very funny single purpose[4]. - **Platform:** YouTube (2008 Pork and Beans video) / Twitter (2017 Africa campaign viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown (band Weezer formed 1992; Africa campaign started by Twitter user @weezerafrica) - **Date:** 2008 ## Overview Weezer's meme status rests on an unusual record for a legacy rock band: instead of ignoring internet humor, they kept walking into it on purpose. The group formed in Los Angeles in 1992 and is fronted by singer-guitarist Rivers Cuomo, with Pat Wilson on drums, Scott Shriner on bass, and Brian Bell on guitar[1]. Their 2008 music video for "Pork and Beans" packed the frame with cameos from early-YouTube figures including Tay Zonday of Chocolate Rain and Chris Crocker, plus a nod to the All Your Base Are Belong to Us meme[2][3]. Eight years later, their 2016 "California Kids" video added a Damn Daniel reference[2]. That track record set up Weezer's defining meme moment. In late 2017 a 14-year-old fan from the Cleveland area, posting as @weezerafrica, started a single-topic Twitter campaign begging Rivers Cuomo to cover Toto's "Africa"[4]. The joke caught on because "Africa" had already been reclaimed as the internet's favorite song, and asking a sardonic 1990s power-pop band to cover it felt like a tailor-made online dare[4]. Weezer eventually said yes, and the whole arc, trolling misdirect included, became the shape of how fans still talk to the band on social media. The band is also an unusually online act in a less-flattering way. Weezer have a long history of fans publicly complaining about every new album, something Cuomo himself has pushed back on, telling detractors on Instagram that Weezer are going to keep sounding like Weezer[5]. That running fan-vs-band bit, the willingness to court memes, and the Africa saga are what people mean when they talk about "Weezer" as an internet meme rather than only as a band. ## How to Use Weezer isn't a template image; it's a running fan-interaction gag. The common move is to publicly tweet or reply at Weezer's official accounts asking them to cover a specific unrelated song, following the shape of @weezerafrica's 2017 campaign[4]. The format works because the band actually responds sometimes, so each request carries a non-zero chance of becoming an actual cover. Secondary usage includes memes about Weezer being "too online" for a legacy band, usually tied to Cuomo's documented Fortnite habit or the Teal Album tracklist[7]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Weezer? Weezer is a Los Angeles alternative rock band formed in 1992 that also became an internet meme through its repeated engagement with online culture, from meme-packed music videos to the viral @weezerafrica Toto cover campaign[1][4]. ### Where did Weezer come from? The band formed in Los Angeles in 1992 and debuted in 1994 with The Blue Album, which went quadruple platinum in the US[1]. Their meme reputation online started with the 2008 "Pork and Beans" video[2]. ### What does Weezer mean as a meme? Online, "Weezer" is shorthand for a legacy band that keeps saying yes to internet jokes, especially the 2017 fan campaign to make them cover Toto's "Africa," which they eventually did[4][2]. ### How do you use Weezer? The common usage is to publicly tweet at Weezer asking them to cover an unrelated song, mirroring @weezerafrica's single-topic campaign from December 2017[6]. ### Is Weezer still popular as a meme? The band is still active and the Africa-cover arc is treated as a classic music-internet moment, with the Teal Album and Fortnite Weezer Island cited in later retrospectives of the saga[8][7]. ### Who is @weezerafrica? Vice identified the account as a 14-year-old fan named Mary from the Cleveland area who tweeted at Rivers Cuomo exclusively asking him to cover Toto's "Africa"[4]. ### What is The Teal Album? Weezer (The Teal Album) is a covers record surprise-released on January 24, 2019, with the band's "Africa" cover as track one and additional takes on "Take On Me," "No Scrubs," and "Billie Jean"[8]. ### What is Weezer Island in Fortnite? Weezer Island was a Creative Mode zone launched on February 28, 2019, alongside Fortnite Season 8, built around a jukebox that only played Weezer songs including unreleased Black Album material[7]. ### What memes are in the Pork and Beans video? The 2008 "Pork and Beans" clip features cameos and references for Chocolate Rain, Chris Crocker, and All Your Base Are Belong to Us, among many others[3][2]. ### Did Weezer actually cover Africa? Yes. After the @weezerafrica campaign, Weezer first teased fans in May 2018 with a cover of Toto's "Rosanna," then released their actual "Africa" cover, which charted and later led off The Teal Album[2][8]. ## References 1. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weezer]() 2. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/weezer]() 3. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHQqqM5sr7g]() 4. [https://twitter.com/weezerafrica/status/938406456302489600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fweezerafrica%2Fstatus%2F938406456302489600]() 5. [https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/10/rivers-cuomo-responds-to-fans-critical-of-weezers-recent-output/]() 6. [https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/pazg3g/meet-the-hero-teen-determined-to-convince-weezer-to-cover-totos-africa]() 7. [https://www.polygon.com/fortnite/2019/2/28/18241658/fortnite-season-8-weezer-jukebox-music-island]() 8. [https://pitchfork.com/news/weezer-surprise-release-new-covers-record-the-teal-album-listen/]() 9. [https://x.com/i/status/1101416384293228545]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/weezer Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library