Jameel Arts Centre

In 2019, Rapper 2 Milly’s introduced the world to his signature dance Milly Rock. Months later, his choreography was stolen by the free-to-play videogame Fortnite, who sells the dance as a so-called e-mote called “Swipe It” for $1 each.

 

In 2020, Antoine Dodson recorded a news interview that would go viral. He lived in the Lincoln Park housing project and his sister had just been raped after a home invasion.  Later this would become the name of a song that would chart the Billboard Top 100, in a revenue-sharing co-credit with the Gregory Brothers.

 

When Sweet Brown animatedly recounted in a newscast the story of the fire that ravaged her housing project, it became the now-iconic catchphrase “Aint Nobody Got Time For That.” This too, was immortalized by song, and turned into t-shirts, baby bibs, and other absurd products.

 

However, it’s important to ask in encounters like this: who innovates? Who gets paid? – And how much?

 

Across film, installation, and textile, “Who Gets Paid for Digital Labor?” asks these questions to the audience directly.

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This work was commissioned by Jameel Arts Centre for the show Pace, Affirmations, & The Now, about online memes. The version shown here has been condensed and edited to fit 2-minutes.

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