Lil B: The Most Influential Rapper That Everyone Forgot About
Lil B created a religion where he is God — the newest generation of rappers are his disciples — and we are his followers. Like Christ, the Based God was hated and misunderstood by the masses with only the small “Based” community understanding his brilliance. When you’re ahead of your time, people in the present will look at you like you’re crazy. It isn’t until later when the times begin to catch up that people want to acknowledge your greatness. Even though respect is being put on his name at last, Lil B is still under appreciated as one the most influential Hip-Hop artists.
Lil B’s influence cannot be understated. Besides Chief Keef, there are no other rappers from the last generation to influence Hip-Hop like these two have. Still, it seems like Chief Keef receives all the praise while memory of Lil B is fading. The enigma that was Lil B was able to influence an entire generation without having any chart-topping hits, albums or radio play. But how Sway? You don’t have to look further to find the answers.
Lil B, born Brandon McCartney, is a child of the internet. After separating himself from his record label and former rap group, The Pack, Lil B used the budding internet scene as a platform to share his music. He released voluminous amounts of music — about 40 mixtapes from 2010 to 2012 — including the legendary 855 song Based Freestyle Mixtape. In the vast caverns of music that he released, some hidden gems were discovered: from the energetic cooking music, the stream-of-conscious Based freestyles, and the inspirational conscious raps. Lil B wasn’t the first internet baby to use social media as a platform to share his music, but he was able create his own image with it, and as we already know — image in Hip-Hop is everything.
“Based means being yourself. Not being scared of what people think about you. Not being afraid to do what you wanna do”
Soon after going solo, Lil B released a mixtape entitled Base World Pt. 1 and with it, the Based movement began. According to Lil B, “Based means being yourself. Not being scared of what people think about you. Not being afraid to do what you wanna do”. Diving into his Youtube discography you’ll find plenty of video’s exemplifying this: whether its Lil B recording the emotional “I Love You” crying in a pet store, the all time classic “Based Martian Freestyle”, or his cross over to Rock with “California Boy”.
Lil B expressed himself in the most genuine way possible. Most rappers try to build an over-the-top persona painting themselves as hardened criminals turned millionaire moguls. Lil B on the other hand took the most extreme version of himself to magnify his image. He highlighted his weird eccentricities and humor to create a character that was provocative, yet endearing. He was seen as an outsider because he didn’t fit the mold of your typical rapper who suppresses their sensitive side and can’t lighten up.
Lil B wasn’t the first “weirdo” rapper to make his presence felt, but he was stranger than what most people were accustomed to. Here was a guy wearing dresses, dripped down in all pink, sporting your grandmother’s earrings, calling himself a pretty bitch, a lesbian, and a faggot. Lil B helped demascluinize Hip-Hop and paved the way for other rappers to be true to themselves.
Before the pretty bitch, not many rappers were willing to show their feminine side. It used to be taboo for any guy (let alone a rapper), to call themselves pretty. Now, no one blinks an eye when a rapper like A$AP Rocky does it. When Lil B announced that he was calling his debut album, I’m Gay, the internet exploded with homophobic comments and misunderstood laughter. They couldn’t see the genius behind the album title. The title alone was able to generate a buzz in the Hip-Hop community.
Take a look at other rappers such as Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, 6ix9ine, Lil Peep (RIP), and any of the other colorful SoundCloud rappers. Never before have we seen this many rappers branching out from traditional Hip-Hop norms. Lil B made it okay to be weird, and to be an outsider. Lil B died for our sins. He took all of the hate so that other rappers could branch out with their own unique image. Beyond fashion, image, and self-expression, Lil B’s greatest influence was his approach to music.
Lil Uzi credits the Based God for the hook of his song “Top” which he borrowed from “Wonton Soup” by Lil B. Lil Pump has stated that he grew up listening to Lil B and it shows in his music; from the similar ad-libs of Pump’s “Oouu” to Lil B’s “Woo” and the brainless lyrics that these two can spit. Lil B destroyed the conventional wisdom on what it meant to be a “good” rapper. As silly as he was, he showed us that you didn’t have to be lyrical to be a great rapper because a vibe could be just as important. He was also the first rapper who could rap when he wanted to, but chose to have fun instead. Now we see a whole slew of rappers choosing to prioritize vibes over lyrics like Kodak Black and Trippie Redd. In today’s era of rap where the listener’s attention span lasts a couple minutes, rap music relies less on lyrics and more on vibes and general feel to create an atmosphere.
Lil B’s unconventional approach to music helped create different sub-styles in Hip-Hop. The distorted mixing and mastering of Lil B’s music can still be seen today with the blown out basses which made the SoundCloud aesthetic popular. Lil B challenged the concepts of what good music meant and warped them. Many people labeled his music as “garbage” because it didn’t fit the archetype of what “good” music was. Although the music was raw, unpolished, and bizarre, it redeemed itself with its silliness, catchiness, originality and outrageousness — it was fun to listen to.
Cloudy and atmospheric beats are more common than ever. Working with producer, Clams Casino, Lil B was able to experiment over cloudy instrumentals that were unorthodox at the time. The two released the classic cloud-hop track “I’m God”. You can hear the influence of Lil B’s cloud rap carrying over to artists like Playboi Carti and Yung Lean. Lil B’s lack of flow is beginning to become somewhat of a common occurrence in modern Hip-Hop as well. Blueface and TeeJayx6 are two of the most notorious rappers in today’s era for their ability to rap off beat. Lil B was doing this almost a decade ago.
The Based God also paved the way for meme rappers such as Ugly God because Lil B was arguably the first meme rapper. Being “Based” is thrown out by right-wing conservatives on internet forums, sports fans know about the “Lil B curse”, and people say “Thank you Based God” or “OMG Based God, you can fuck my bitch Based God” whenever life shines good fortune on them. He dissed Kevin Durant in a song and hated him before it was even cool.
When Lil B was at his peak, if you weren’t Based, it was hard trying to understand him and his music. Lil B was trolling the internet before 6ix9ine had an instagram account. Old-heads and outsiders who didn’t understand his art were confused as to why people were enjoying his music and taking this dude seriously. At the time, people didn’t know what trolling was and took everything he did at face value, not seeing that he was getting people worked up for a reaction.
There’s no doubt that in today’s age of TikTok and memes, Lil B’s reputation would’ve been more legendary, but he was an influencer before influencers were a thing. Lil B sprung up online as the internet culture was blossoming, and he left his mark for an entire generation to watch. His image and music (although mild now compared to other rappers), was a catalyst to have people talk about him — it didn’t matter whether it was admiration or hate. His musical styles still pop up as new waves of rappers pick which aspects of Lil B’s music they want to copy. Chief Keef is hailed as the Godfather of the new generation, but right beside him and not getting enough credit is Lil B the Based God.
As time has caught up, we can finally look back at Lil B’s career and appreciate his ingenuity. He was ahead of his time and his influence spreads over many styles of Hip-Hop. Thank you Lil B — for the years of entertainment, countless free music, and for and the Based movement that preached positivity, loving others, and being comfortable with yourself. Thank you Based God.
