A mic drop is the gesture of intentionally dropping one's microphone at the end of a performance or speech to signal triumph. Figuratively, it is an expression of triumph for a successful event and indicates a boastful attitude toward one's own performance.[1]
When laying down his magazine Then Swänska Argus at the end of 1734, Swedish journalist Olof von Dalin ended with the words "as I now throw my pen" (när jag nu kastar min penna), typeset in a slanted manner, as a display of actually throwing his pen. (Possibly this was copied from The Spectator by Addison and Steele or other magazines of the time.)
The gesture with a microphone became prevalent in the 1980s, when it was used by rappers and comedians.[2][better source needed] Performers from different groups can engage in confrontational performance styles — rappers may participate in rap battles; comedians may interact with a heckler in the audience — and dropping the microphone after a particularly effective line indicated complete confidence in the opponent's inability to come back with anything that would be worthy of a response. Johnny Rotten, lead singer of the British punk band the Sex Pistols performed a mic drop at the end of a concert at the Mafcentrum Maasbree, Netherlands, in December 1977.[3] Another early occurrence was Eddie Murphy in 1983 in his standup show Delirious.[2] He did it again in his 1988 film Coming to America after a musical performance of “The Greatest Love of All” when playing the character Randy Watson.
The gesture gained increased popularity from 2012.[2] US President Barack Obama performed a mic drop on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, which has been credited with popularising the meme.[2] Then at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 30, 2016, Obama ended his speech with the words "Obama out", then dropped a mic, evoking a speech by the then retiring NBAbasketball player Kobe Bryant, who had ended his speech with the words "mamba out" at the end of his last game on April 14, 2016.[4] In 2017, RM, the leader of boy band BTS, revealed that the track "Mic Drop" from their extended play Love Yourself: Her was inspired by Obama's speech.[5] A figurative use also features in a promotional video for the Invictus Games featuring Obama and the British Royal Family.[6]
Google introduced a "mic drop" feature to Gmail on April 1, 2016, as an April Fools' Day joke, allowing users to send a GIF of a Minion dropping a microphone as a reply to any email. If used, the feature also prevented the sender from seeing any subsequent replies that the recipient sent.[7] The feature was removed within hours after Google received complaints from some users, with some reporting that they lost their job as a result of accidentally using it.[8][9]