Can We Get Much Higher? The Dual-Life Of Kanye West's Iconic Lyric—From 'Dark Fantasy' To Viral Meme

The phrase "Can we get much higher?" is more than just a lyric; it is a cultural touchstone that embodies ambition, peak performance, and the eternal question of what comes after success. As of December 17, 2025, this powerful chant has taken on a fascinating dual existence, originally serving as the soaring, gospel-infused core of one of the 21st century's most acclaimed hip-hop albums, and recently exploding into a viral internet phenomenon.

This article dives deep into the two worlds of this iconic line, exploring its profound musical context on Kanye West's 2010 masterpiece, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (MBDTF), and tracing its unexpected, massive resurgence as the soundtrack to a bizarrely popular meme that has captivated millions across social media platforms like TikTok and Reddit.

Kanye West (Ye): Profile and Biography

The man behind the music, Kanye Omari West, officially known as Ye, is one of the most influential and controversial figures in modern music and culture. His profile is defined by groundbreaking artistic output, entrepreneurial ventures, and a consistent ability to generate global conversation.

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• Full Name: Kanye Omari West (now legally known as Ye)
• Date of Birth: June 8, 1977
• Place of Birth: Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
• Primary Roles: Rapper, Record Producer, Songwriter, Fashion Designer, Entrepreneur
• Notable Albums: The College Dropout (2004), Late Registration (2005), Graduation (2007), 808s & Heartbreak (2008), My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), Yeezus (2013), The Life of Pablo (2016)
• Major Awards: One of the most Grammy-awarded artists of all time.
• Fashion Ventures: Yeezy (in partnership with Adidas, and now independently)

The Genesis: 'Dark Fantasy' and the MBDTF Masterpiece

The lyric "Can we get much higher?" is the central, repeated chant in "Dark Fantasy," the opening track of Kanye West's fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (MBDTF), released in November 2010. The album is widely considered a magnum opus, a sprawling, maximalist response to the public backlash West had received following the infamous 2009 MTV VMA incident with Taylor Swift.

The Song's Production and Sonic Ambition

The production of "Dark Fantasy" is a legendary example of Kanye's maximalist style. The track begins with a dramatic, almost cinematic spoken-word intro delivered by Nicki Minaj, setting a grandiose, fairytale-like tone. The iconic, soaring vocal sample that delivers the "Can we get much higher?" line is an interpolation of the chorus from "In High Places," a 1983 song by Mike Oldfield featuring vocals by Jon Anderson of the band Yes.

The beat itself is a massive, booming soundscape, co-produced by Kanye West, RZA (of Wu-Tang Clan fame), and No I.D. This all-star collaboration resulted in a track that perfectly blends gospel, soul, and hard-hitting hip-hop drums, creating a sense of epic scale that defines the entire album.

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Lyrical and Topical Authority

Lyrically, "Dark Fantasy" serves as a thematic overture for MBDTF. The song is a complex, self-aware meditation on fame, excess, and the quest for artistic and personal redemption. The question, "Can we get much higher?", is not a simple query about drug use, but a deeper, existential one about his career and legacy.

• Ambition and Peak: It asks if he can surpass the monumental success he has already achieved with albums like Late Registration and Graduation. Is there a "higher" level of artistic or commercial success to reach?
• Controversy and Redemption: The line is an inquiry into whether he can rise above the personal and public controversies that plagued him in the preceding years. Can he achieve a higher moral or public standing?
• Thematic Entities: The song introduces MBDTF's core themes of decadence, celebrity isolation, and the struggle between ego and self-doubt, which are explored further on tracks like "Runaway," "Monster," and "Devil In A New Dress."

The Second Life: From Hip-Hop Anthem to Viral Meme

In a bizarre and uniquely modern twist, the powerful anthem of ambition from a 2010 album has found a massive, unexpected second life as a viral internet meme, primarily associated with the anime and manga series One Piece. This phenomenon has introduced the lyric to a new generation of listeners who may not be familiar with the original song.

The 'One Piece Is Real' Connection

The meme, which gained significant traction on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, centers around a famous scene from the One Piece anime where the character Whitebeard (Edward Newgate) confirms the existence of the legendary treasure, the One Piece, with the line, "The One Piece is real!"

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The meme format typically involves:

1. A dramatic, often low-quality clip of the Whitebeard scene.
2. The sound cutting to the soaring, triumphant chant: "Can we get much higher?"
3. The phrase "The One Piece is Real" being spammed in comments or appearing on screen.

This bizarre mashup—a legendary anime character's final words paired with a Kanye West lyric—created a moment of peak internet absurdity and joy. It’s a perfect example of how modern internet culture often repurposes and recontextualizes older media for comedic and emotional effect, blending high art (MBDTF) with mass-market entertainment (One Piece).

Topical Authority and LSI Entities in the Meme's Orbit

The meme's success has inadvertently boosted the topical authority of the song and album, connecting it to a host of new entities:

• The One Piece Is Real: The foundational phrase of the meme.
• Whitebeard (Edward Newgate): The character whose scene is used.
• Patrick Fabian: The actor best known for playing Howard Hamlin in Better Call Saul, whose likeness is sometimes edited into the meme for an extra layer of absurdity.
• TikTok and Reddit: The primary platforms where the meme proliferated.
• Meme Culture: The broader context of how music is sampled and recontextualized online.

The Enduring Legacy: Higher Than Ever

The enduring power of the question "Can we get much higher?" is its universality. It speaks to the human condition of striving for the next level, whether that level is personal, artistic, or even spiritual. For Kanye West, it was a question about his place in the world after a period of intense public scrutiny; for the listener, it's an anthem of relentless ambition.

The lyric’s unique journey—from the dense, high-art production of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, featuring collaborators like Nicki Minaj and RZA, to its current status as a viral meme soundtracking a scene from One Piece—solidifies its status as a true cultural phenomenon. It demonstrates that great art, even when repurposed for internet humor, never truly fades. It simply finds a new, and perhaps even "higher," way to resonate with the masses. The answer to the question, "Can we get much higher?" seems to be a resounding yes, as the lyric continues to climb the peaks of music history and internet lore.