BFFR (Be Fucking For Real)

About

Be Fucking For Real, also known as Be Fucking Fr or BFFR, is an African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) slang term using 'fr' or 'for real' that was popularized in mainstream internet lingo in 2022. The catchphrase is a mild admonishment, akin to saying "Are you FR." The term has been used in AAVE for several years but was popularized on TikTok and Twitter due to a remix of a soundbite from rapper Slump6s in mid-2022.

Origin

The term "Be Fucking For Real" has existed as AAVE slang for several years, with Twitter users being known to use the phrase as far back as 2013. On November 11th, 2013, Twitter user @Kiss_DahCook^[8] posted a tweet that read, "be fucking fr." The tweet, which is the earliest known use, gathered no likes and no retweets (seen below).

On April 16th, 2022, TikToker^[1] @whoislrae posted a screen-recording of an Instagram^[2] Live hosted by rapper Slump6s. The Live contained a clip of the rapper saying, "Be fucking for real" The TikTok gathered 7,000 likes and 40,000 plays in nearly four months (seen below, left). The clip of the rapper saying the phrase was also remixed into a TikTok sound by TikToker^[3] @heyromaji and uploaded on April 12th, gathering over 700,000 plays and 130,000 likes in nearly four months (seen below, right).

Many TikTok users also credit TikToker^[4] @Khyahnextdoor for popularizing the phrase by commenting with it under other users' videos. On July 2nd, TikToker^[5] @deyluvjay_ posted a video expressing their amusement at her comments, gathering over 700,000 views and 300,000 likes in over a month (seen below).

Spread

On April 14th, 2022, TikToker^[6] @liloalith posted a TikTok using the sound to respond to people that say "everyone hates me and I don't know why :(." The upload gathered over 100,000 views and 46,000 likes in nearly five months (see below).

On August 23rd, 2022, British Twitter^[7] user @ivorianbabex posted a tweet that read, "‘be fucking fr’ gotta be the best phrase to come out of 2022." The tweet gathered over 160,000 likes and 20,000 retweets, as well as responses from American Twitter users being surprised at how late the slang term had reached the U.K.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References