Yo has been a common informal greeting in English for decades, used in everyday speech, music and online chat long before short sound clips became popular. As a standalone audio button it spread through meme edits, gaming videos and social posts where a one word hello can start a scene, greet an audience or react to someone entering frame. Its staying power comes from how flexible the delivery feels, it can read as friendly, surprised, cocky or joking depending on the picture and timing placed around it in an edit.