I need some help in understanding one of music’s biggest conundrums, and I need help immediately. The subject is Lil B.
Lil B (also known as “Based God” — please read the urban dictionary definition here) is a 23 year old rapper coming out of Berkely, CA, and he has an unbelievable amount of hype surrounding his every move. He was ranked one of XXL Magazine’s Top 10 Freshmen of the Year, has a bunch of YouTube videos well over a million views, and was even given a shout out at the gathering outside of the White House after Bin Laden was killed.
Now that you have a little background information, please attempt to listen to the song below:
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Bill Clinton (swag), fuckin all these women (swag),
I’m Bill Clinton (swag), fuckin all these women (swag),
I’m Bill Clinton (swag), fuckin all these women (swag),
I’m Bill Clinton (swag), fuckin all these women (swag),
White House, White House, White House, White House (swag),
White House, White House (swag), White House, White House (swag)
Am I missing anything? Is it not complete nonsense? Alright maybe he was just a little off that day — let’s try another track. Please take a listen to the song below:
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…anyone? Please. I need something. Did he not just substitute Bill Clinton with Ellen Degeneres?
The New York Times has declared him “a folk hero of the rap counterculture”, and Vice Magazine has stated he’s “the most revolutionary MC of the last 15 years”. I shit you not. I gotta give him one more shot — one more chance for me to understand why he’s an underground phenomenon…
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IT MAKES NO SENSE. This is EXACTLY like the South Park episode, “The Tale Of Scrotie McBoogerballs”, where Butters writes a horrendously vulgar book with the sole intention of getting it banned, and it’s hailed as a literary masterpiece.
Without the excessive vomiting, Lil B is the exact same thing. I don’t mean to hate on the guy, I really don’t. It’s awesome that he’s blowing up like this. I just think “the most revolutionary MC of the last 15 years” is complete blasphemy.
Comment away. I need assistance with this one.
Lil B is about promoting a based attitude or a great sense of positive energy. He’s simply having fun with a lot of his music and although that doesn’t make him immune to critique, one needs to not just take his music at face value and call it “stupid” or just gibberish. He’s got some real songs out there that I’d love to show you. I saw him live recently and his show was like a healing. He kept speaking about positive energy and the need to love one another and I really felt how genuine he was and I have used what he has said in my life for the better. Not sure if I answered the question you had, but I for one love the basedgod!
Thanks Ron, that’s exactly what I’m looking for. Any chance you can hit me with some of his real songs that you’re into? You’re clearly not the only one who feels this way…he’s selling out shows across the country.
I have to say, it’s one thing to say his songs are funny and ironic, but another to praise him as one of the best new rappers, this seems like a) a massive, Durantula sized stretch/overstatement, or B) a sign that there is a huge lack of emerging talent in the rap scene, which I don’t believe.
I would love to hear some of his “real” stuff too, some redemption would be good. Trying to derive any sort of meaning from any of his youtube songs is kind of like searching for a nun in a whorehouse. I feel like I’ll have an aneurism if i hear (swag) one more time.
Lil b is literally one of the worse rappers i have ever heard. His ignorant ass is the reason why people hate rap and i really cant blame him. He’s even worse than shawty low.
http://whiiite.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/the-hood-internet-real-you-lil-b-vs-gold-panda/
Plug plug.
Any notoriety and/or success Lil B has had can only be explained by some sort of massive Illuminati-esque conspiracy. How can he even be considered an artist? He vaguely slurs the names of celebrities over awful beats. I’d love to hear what any legitimate rappers have to say about this character. I know I’m going to regret writing this because at this point, acknowledging him in any way is an insult to real musicians.
haha i see you on that Scott. i’m still willing to give him a chance if i can hear what people think is his “best material”…but yeah, as of now, just not appealing to me whatsoever.
Here’s a couple of his ‘real’ songs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=corY-FZAZog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LUzyUX9sMM
Not surprisingly, they only have about ten percent of the views his ‘swag’ material has, but that’s because there are a lot of idiots out there who only need to hear a young black man saying “swag” to spend their money. And lil b knows this, so why not exploit it?
Having said that, I don’t think he deserves to be on ANY top ten lists, but he’s got some good production.
And if all that ‘swag’ crap really IS a commentary on the state of rap music today, maybe he is a bit of a genius.
People on this site need to do some research.
What most people don’t understand is that he’s not trying to be like everyone else. He’s challenging the status quo in the rap game right now. You might think all of his rhymes are garbage and a little off beat but find another person that freestyles EVERY song. It’s all about a concious flow of thought onto the mic. Some are funny in a stupid way (Ellen DeGeneres, Wonton Soup etc.) while some are more serious. Lil B doesn’t give a damn what you think about him, he’s just doing what he does and having fun with it. And you say he’s killing rap music? What about Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka, both artists are borderline retarded. Lil B might sound like a dumb idiot but to be honest, he’s more in touch with reality than most people. Hate it or love it, Lil B will forever remain swagged out. Thank you Based God