The internet has officially a meme about rapper MIKE into a real-life spectacle.
Around March 25th, 2025, TikToker @evaniano posted a clip of himself and his friends playing chess in the front row of a MIKE concert in France during the rapper's Showbiz tour.
The stunt was a direct reference to a prominent meme in MIKE's fanbase — an image of a chess tournament overlaid with the text "MIKE moshpit," playfully suggesting the artist’s introspective, lyrically dense rap attracts a more "intellectual" crowd.
But what started as an inside joke online quickly became a real-life annoyance when the chessboard came out in the front row, mid-performance.
The video, later reposted to Reddit and X (formerly Twitter), drew near-universal backlash. Critics compared it to other infamous concert antics like propeller hats to Death Grips concerts, where fans prioritize gimmicks over actually engaging with the music.
X user @Hang10Higgins summed up the frustration and said, "This kinda performative behavior is at every show nowadays, almost always from young white people. Last few shows I've seen costumes, people recording with a 3DS, and phones held up with Minions memes. Gen Z is having their epic bacon moment." The post racked up over 17,000 likes in just a day.
Others called out what they perceived as disrespect to the artist himself. MIKE, a rapper known for his deeply personal lyrics about Black identity and mental health, seemed like an odd target for a chess-themed bit.
"Them folks playin’ chess while bro up there rappin’ about the Black experience #ImNoticing," wrote X user @odivse yesterday, whose tweet amassed 75,000 likes in less than 24 hours.
Even music critic Anthony Fantano weighed in, bluntly stating, "If you go to a performance, show some respect and pay attention to the artist you paid to see. That’s it. That’s all you gotta do."
The backlash highlights growing fatigue with "main character syndrome" at live shows where viral stunts and meme references overshadow the actual performance, and MIKE fans have made it clear: Nobody came to the concert to see your chess match.