Who Really Coined 'Drive the Boat'? Fact-Checking the Feud Between Kodak Black and Megan Thee Stallion

Find an in-depth explanation about Who Really Coined 'Drive the Boat'? Fact-Checking the Feud Between Kodak Black and Megan Thee Stallion.

Megan did not just borrow a phrase; she built an interactive performance piece around it. Throughout the spring and summer of 2019, her backstage dressing rooms and VIP sections functioned as informal staging grounds for viral video clips.

The mechanics rarely changed: Megan gripped a bottle of D'USSÉ or Don Julio reposado, commanded the camera to zoom in, and instructed her subject to tilt their head backward. Celebrities lined up for the experience. Lizzo took the pour. Jordyn Woods, Trey Songz, and Casanova volunteered on camera. Each session ended with the participant coughing or smiling while Megan delivered her trademark laugh and vocal ad-libs.

The numbers behind this organic engagement were staggering. Unofficial compilations of Megan's "boat driving" sessions racked up over 45 million views across YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok between June and September 2019 alone. Bacardi-owned D'USSÉ, which had no formal contract with the rapper during the early wave of the trend, saw social sentiment metrics around the brand surge by an estimated 180% year-over-year. By giving the phrase an actionable challenge that fans could imitate at house parties, Megan effectively detached it from its regional origin and claimed its digital real estate.