“YOLO” Hitmaker Steps Up: “A Lot Of People Didn’t Know”

A couple weeks after Kendrick Lamar and The Lonely Island had "Saturday Night Live" fans cracking up over their "YOLO" performance, the song's producer has revealed himself.

Producer Needlz acknowledged his production skills and spoke on the segment’s aftermath.

“I’m definitely thankful for it and a lot of people didn’t know I produced it,” says Needlz. “Overall, for me, it just kind of broadens my scope, coming from doing real hard stuff to R&B stuff to Pop stuff to now. This kind of stuff has been dope for me. It’s something I want to get more into as far as the Pop side of things.” (HHDX)

In late January, Lamar and L.I. performed their “YOLO” spoof for the entire world to see.

Last night Adam Levine, Andy Samberg, and Kendrick Lamar starred in the best digital short on”Saturday Night Live” since the hilarious Justin Timberlake “D*** in a Box” short. I know — you doubt me. Go ahead and watch it because this is an instant classic if I’ve ever seen one. It’s called “YOLO” — which stands for You Only Live Once — and I’ve watched it five times already because every time I watch it I catch some other little hilarious clip I missed the time before. I think Levine is trying to move in on Timberlake’s territory and you know … I think he’s got a shot. You see what I mean? Instant classic. And Samberg’s Lonely Planet team (that’s the name of his production company) is ready for the onslaught of attention. They’ve got half a dozen t-shirts for sale with different sayings from the short. (The Stir)

In late December, reports surfaced claiming “Y.O.L.O.’s” usage actually dates back to the 1700’s.

Drake, you need to calm down. You didn’t trademark YOLO. In fact, you weren’t even the first person to say it! The U.S. Trademark database actually shows several earlier attempts to use YOLO commercially. A company selling T-shirts, tank tops, hats, and sweatshirts filed an application in 1993 to obtain a trademark for YOLO. That filing was abandoned a year later, but other companies filed for trademarks or service marks incorporating YOLO and “You Only Live Once” for products like artificial suntanning, sportswear, and driver safety pamphlets, among others. But the acronym and the meaning behind it actually has a long history before the ’90s, dating all the way back to the 1700s, meaning no one alive today can claim the blame credit for it. While the exact wording changes a bit (with some incarnations employing “we” instead of “you,” or rearranging the order of the words themselves), the meaning is the same throughout history. Let’s take a look back at all the instances we could find of YOLO throughout the years. (NY Post)

Around the Christmas holiday, Drizzy called out a few notable retailers for selling merchandise bearing the catchphrase.

It’s true — you only do live once, and in this lifetime, Drake wants a check for all that YOLO merchandise. The Canadian teardrop shed the holiday spirit on Christmas Eve in favor of a capitalist one, uploading two photos to Instagram of YOLO clothing and demanding that someone cut him a check. The photos were taken in a Walgreens and a Macy’s, meaning that Drake is either a cheap and lazy Christmas shopper like the rest of us or he has a roving team of YOLO spies policing drug and department stores across the country (stop snitching!). (Gawker)

Check out the “YOLO” spoof video: