Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely

Submission 11,253

Part of a series on Opium (Record Label). [View Related Entries]

About

Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely are hip-hop artists and rappers from Atlanta, Georgia who've gone viral on TikTok and in memes on Twitter and Reddit in relation to each other. Both are signed to Playboi Carti's record label Opium and are known in memes for their fans perceiving them as ugly but juxtaposed by their fans' devotion to their music. Both came up in 2021 and received poor reviews from music reviewer Anthony Fantano whose divorce papers were leaked soon after, causing speculation that their fanbases were the perpetrators, however, this is currently unconfirmed. Other notable memes include Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely's haircut video, the phrase "This is so Destroy Lonely core," Ken Carson's "Goomba" allegations, Ken Carson's smile, Ken Carson's "Don't be a judger Bro" video and TikToker stunnasef's "Ken Carson! You forgot to come to the Yale Party!" videos.

Background

Ken Carson

Ken Carson, also known as Kenyatta Lee Frazier Jr., was born on April 11th, 2000 in Atlanta, Georgia as per Genius.^[1] He drew inspiration from Barbie's boyfriend Ken for his stage name "Ken Carson." He first made music professionally after signing to 808Mafia in 2015, before moving to Playboi Carti's music label "Opium" in 2019. The artist went on to release his first two EPs, Boy Barbie and Teen X, in the year 2020. His debut album Project X was released in 2021, and he was signed to Interscope Records after several tracks from his new work went viral on TikTok.

Destroy Lonely

Destroy Lonely, also known as Bobby Sandimanie III, was born on July 30th, 2001 in Atlanta Georgia as per Genius.^[2] He credits his stage name to his trouble with "destructive" drug use in high school and his "lonely" home-schooled upbringing. The artist began making music at an early age, taking inspiration from his father and rapper I-20. He started uploading his music to Soundcloud in late 2015 and signed onto Playboi Carti's label Opium in 2021.

Ken Carson Is Ugly / Goomba Allegations

On December 19th, 2020, Redditor cashewkid made a post to /r/playboicarti^[3] that likened Ken Carson to a Goomba from the Nintendo Super Mario franchise. The post earned over 280 upvotes in a year and a half (shown below).

On February 12th, 2022, Redditor itspeteer uploaded screenshots of Ken Carson's Instagram stories to /r/playboicarti^[4] in which Ken Carson showed contempt about the humorous comparison. Redditor itspeteer captioned the screenshots, "Ken Carson speaks about being called 'Goomba,'" and over the course of seven months, it received roughly 3,700 upvotes (shown below).

Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely Haircut Video

On September 4th, 2022, TikToker^[6] xaff_cutz posted a video of Ken Carson's and Destroy Lonely's new haircuts, where Ken is seen smiling mischievously and flipping his hair back. The video gained roughly 1.3 million plays and 170,000 likes in 20 days (shown below, left). In the months that followed, parodies of the haircut video surfaced on TikTok. For instance, on November 26th, 2022, TikToker^[5] wockyslush040 posted a video that used a vintage, couch pillow with tassels to represent Ken Carson flipping back his dreads, earning roughly 342,400 likes in one month (shown below, right).

This Is So Destroy Lonely Core

Destroy Lonely became associated with a dark emo or goth aesthetic through his fashion choices, prompting fans to call places, photos or items that seem to fit his style "Destroy Lonely Core." On August 21st, 2022, TikToker^[8] calithekid_ posted a video of a cathedral with text overlay reading, "Guys this is so Destroy Lonely Maison Mihara Ken Carson Maison Margiela Opium Alyx All Black Is The Perfect Attire Rick Owens Vetements Jordan 4 Black Cat Destroy Lonely Reference." The post gained roughly 50,000 plays and 9,000 likes in nearly one month (shown below).

Anthony Fantano's Bad Reviews / Divorce Paper Leak

On July 12th, 2022, YouTube music reviewer Anthony Fantano posted a review for Ken Carson's album X, ultimately giving it a "0/10." Over the course of two months, the video received roughly 281,400 views (shown below, left). About a month later, on August 16th, 2022, Fantano posted a review for Destroy Lonely's album No Stylist, giving it a "1/10." In one month, the video received roughly 192,700 views (shown below, right).

On August 20th, 2022, the Twitter^[7] account wholelottanews tweeted information that the Anthony Fantano's divorce papers were leaked from angry fans of both artists. The tweet received roughly 6,100 likes in one month (shown below). Despite the virality and hypothesis, the allegation has not yet been confirmed.