#EgoChallenge Encourages People to Embrace Flaws

In a call to action, 19-year-old Jane Oranika began a trendy Twitter hashtag that challenged other users to rap over the instrumental to Beyonce’s hit-single, “Ego.” There was, however, one simple condition: Reclaim your insecurities and your flaws.

can we do an #EgoChallenge? like rap about our flaws n shit? lol I wanna do it

— ✖️ (@oranicuhh) January 30, 2017

“Can we do an #EgoChallenge? Like rap about our flaws n sh*t? Lol I wanna do it,” tweeted Oranika, who goes by the online alias @oranicuhh. Her message went up at 4:26 p.m. on Jan. 30.
No one took her seriously at first.

I was serious. lol

— ✖️ (@oranicuhh) January 30, 2017

She tweeted several times more to increase validity before dropping the first rendition of what would go viral as the #EgoChallenge.

The beat drops.

“Yeah I got a gap but I still get y’all to bite / Yeah I’m chubby but I think it helps to keep my pockets tight,” Oranika says, laying her words over Queen Bey’s production.

I wanna start the #EgoChallenge ☺️ we all have flaws and it’s better to brag about them to be insecure. y’all should join in ✨ pic.twitter.com/ZJhEpRFHgg

— ✖️ (@oranicuhh) January 30, 2017

Soon, the retweets come rolling in, and eventually people even start dropping their own videos.

“People tend to focus on my physical appearance more than my words, so I wanted to address it,” she told BuzzFeed News. “If we vocalize and normalize our differences, we can get past them and grow together.”

Women, men, families and even celebrities are joining in on the fun. Danielle Brooks, who plays Taystee Jefferson from “Orange Is the New Black,” rapper-singer-songwriter TK Wonder and Tamera Mowry-Housley, a host from “The Real,” are among the more prominent participants.

“We all have flaws, and it’s better to brag about them [than] to be insecure,'” Oranika says. “Y’all should join in!”