Lil B

For the Japanese female R&B duo, see Lil'B (group).

Lil B

McCartney in 2011
Background information
Birth name Brandon Christopher McCartney
Also known as The BasedGod, Lil B 'The BasedGod', Young BasedGod
Born (1989-08-17) August 17, 1989
Berkeley, California, United States
Genres Hip hop, cloud rap, outsider music, hyphy
Occupation(s)
Instruments Vocals
Years active 2004–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website www.basedworld.com

Brandon Christopher McCartney (born August 17, 1989),[1][2] professionally known as Lil B and as The BasedGod, is an American rapper from Berkeley, California. Lil B has recorded both solo and with The Pack. His solo work spans several genres, including hip hop, new age, and choral. His hip-hop work in particular is often described as "based", a term also used to describe a lifestyle of positivity and tolerance. He is noted for his extensive use of social media to build an online following.[3][4] He has released one album, Rain in England, and a number of mixtapes and freestyles.

Music career

1989–2007: Early life and career beginnings

Brandon McCartney grew up in Berkeley, California,[5] and attended high school at Albany High in Albany.[6] He adopted the name Lil B, and began rapping at age 16 with San Francisco Bay Area based hip hop group The Pack. After two locally successful mixtapes, at the peak of the Bay Area's hyphy movement, the group's song "Vans" became a surprise hit. The song was ranked as the fifth best of 2006 by Rolling Stone magazine.[7] The strength of "Vans" led the group to release Skateboards 2 Scrapers EP, featuring a "Vans" remix with Bay Area rappers Too $hort and Mistah F.A.B.. In 2007, Lil B and The Pack released their first album, Based Boys.

2009–10: Solo success, collaborations and Rain in England

On September 24, 2009 Lil B released his first digital album entitled I'm Thraxx; it was released on independent label Permanent Marks.[8] On December 22, 2009 Lil B released his second digital album entitled 6 Kiss to critical reception.[9] On March 25, 2010 Lil B released his debut mixtape Dior Paint.[10] On April 3, 2010 Lil B officially signed to fellow artist Soulja Boy's label SODMG Entertainment.[11] On May 7, 2010 Lil B released a mixtape entitled Base World Pt. 1.[12][13] On July 5, 2010 Lil B released a collaboration mixtape with Soulja Boy entitled Pretty Boy Millionaires.[14][15] Lil B had recorded over 1,500 tracks as of July 2010, including hits "Like A Martian", "Wonton Soup", "Pretty Bitch", "I'm God", all of which were released for free.[16] On September 21, 2010 Lil B released his debut studio album entitled Rain in England on CD and Vinyl through Weird Forest Records; it was described by the Guardian as a "a beatless, Beat poetry-style set where Lil B, voice a-quiver with earnestness, ponders love, beauty and all the bad things in the world over naïf new-age synth washes".[17]

2010–present: Second album

Lil B in 2012

On December 29, 2010 it was announced and confirmed that Lil B apparently signed a album deal with Amalgam Digital.[18][19] On July 10, 2011 Lil B released the EP Paint, through his label BasedWorld Records.[20]

On January 18, 2011 Lil B released his fourth digital album entitled Angels Exodus, through Amalgam Digital. On April 14, 2011 Lil B announced that his next album would be entitled I'm Gay,which caused a degree of controversy.[21][22][23] On June 29, 2011 Lil B released his fifth digital album entitled I'm Gay (I'm Happy), through Amalgam Digital that entered the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart at number 56 and the Heatseekers Albums chart at number 20 for the week of July 16, 2011.[24]

On May 17, 2012 Lil B released his first Instrumental album entitled Choices and Flowers under the alias The Basedgod.[25] On September 16, 2012, Lil B released a rock single entitled "California Boy".[26] On December 30, 2012 Lil B released his second instrumental album entitled Tears 4 God under the alias The Basedgod.[27]

On December 24, 2013 Lil B released a mixtape entitled 05 Fuck Em, the mixtape contained over 101 songs.[28] On June 1, 2014 Lil B released a mixtape entitled Hoop Life, it would be known for containing a track entitled "Fuck KD" that called out the NBA player Kevin Durant.[29] On October 14, 2014, Lil B released the Ultimate Bitch mixtape, featuring his the song "No Black Person Is Ugly."[30] On July 19, 2015, Lil B and Chance the Rapper announced that they recorded a new collaborative mixtape.[31]

Musical style

Lil B at Coachella music festival in 2011

Lil B and music critics refer to his rapping style as "based", a word that Lil B also uses to describe a positive, tolerant lifestyle. "Based" is a reclaimed word, as described by Lil B in Complex:[32][33]

“Based means being yourself. Not being scared of what people think about you. Not being afraid to do what you wanna do. Being positive. When I was younger, based was a negative term that meant like dopehead, or basehead. People used to make fun of me. They was like, ‘You’re based.’ They’d use it as a negative. And what I did was turn that negative into a positive. I started embracing it like, ‘Yeah, I’m based.’ I made it mine. I embedded it in my head. Based is positive.”

Rapping technique

Slate columnist Jonah Weiner labeled him as one of a "growing number of weird-o emcees", calling him a "brilliantly warped, post-Lil Wayne deconstructionist from the Bay Area".[34] Musical critic Willy Staley described Lil B's work as "variegated", because it ranges from critical parodies of the hip-hop genre to "half new age, half spoken word". He further notes that Lil B draws from a large variety of genres, especially those not commonly used by other rappers. In an interview with Staley, Lil B agrees with this analysis, saying, "I can do 'Swag OD' but then my favorite musical artist right now could be Antony and the Johnsons. That's the difference between me and these other rappers, and other musical artists in general."[4]

Other ventures

Author

Takin’ Over by Imposing the Positive! is a book written by Brandon McCartney and published through Kele Publishing in 2009.[35] The book is a collection of and written in the form of e-mails and text messages, and is written in such a way that the author is e-mailing the reader. Subjects include positivity, optimism, and living what he calls a "Based Lifestyle".[36] The book was passed out in an unscripted NYU lecture in March 2012.[37] On March 30, 2013 McCartney announced that he was in the process of writing his second book.[38]

Motivational speaker

Lil B has given motivational lectures at several colleges, including MIT and Carnegie Mellon University.[39] They are generally focused around his personal experience in life and current events.[40] On May 28, 2015, the rapper gave at lecture at UCLA, where he touched on subjects like money, the media, technology, space, awareness, and love.[41]

Basedmoji and vegEMOJI apps

Lil B launched the "Basedmoji" app on January 16, 2015.[42][43] On January 17, 2015, Lil B released "vegEMOJI", in cooperation with vegan company "Follow Your Heart",[44][45][46] despite the fact that Lil B is not yet a vegan, he has stated that he is cutting down on his consumption of processed foods, and that he is "ashamed of eating meat".[45]

Personal life

On January 16, 2015 Lil B's apartment building in Contra Costa County, California, caught on fire early in the morning on Thursday after an electrical fire spread through the building. Lil B and six other people were saved by 15-year-old Mateo Ysmael, who ran through the building to wake everyone up.[47][48][49][50] For the 2016 U.S. presidential election, he has endorsed Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, citing his civil rights record.[51]

Controversies and feuds

I'm Gay

When Lil B released his fifth album, titled I'm Gay, he received several death threats. Although he is heterosexual, he says the title is a message of support to the LGBT community. Referring to the original definition of gay, he says he is gay because he is happy.[52]

Joe Budden

In 2010, a number of exchanges between Lil B and Joe Budden were had over Twitter. Joe Budden had been seeming to speak mockingly about Lil B's "Based" movement and his tweets, to which Lil B responded, initially friendly but then with insults.[53] Lil B went on to release a diss track called "T Shirts & Buddens",[54] which was then featured on his "Everything Based" mixtape. Lil B later apologized for his insults and noted his respect for Budden, calling him a "legend".[55]

The Game

In 2011, after hearing a verse from Lil B on the Lil Wayne mixtape Sorry 4 the Wait, Compton rapper Game referred to Lil B as the "wackest rapper of all time." Lil B responded by calling Game "irrelevant," to which Game then threatened to knockout Lil B.[56] Game targeted Lil B in his verse in his track "Martians vs Goblins" featuring Lil Wayne and Tyler the Creator, with the line "Tie Lil B up to a tank full of propane, swag, now watch him cook". Lil B addressed this on his track "Tank of Propaine" on his "White Flame" mixtape. Several weeks later, the two settled their differences through Twitter after which Lil B urged fans to purchase Game's The R.E.D. Album.[57]

Joey Bada$$

Lil B took offense to the lyrics in the song "Survival Tactics" by late rapper Capital STEEZ, a founding member of the group Pro Era. In this, he raps, "They say hard work pays off / Well, tell the BasedGod don't quit his day job." Lil B responded with a song titled "I'm The Bada$$". Joey Bada$$ then responded with a song titled "Don't Quit Your Day Job!".[58] When the feud became public on Twitter, Joey became a target of a lot of attacks from Lil B's fans, which ended up with Joey deleting his Twitter account,[59] though restoring it later. In an interview with WWPR-FM, Joey Badass denied that he deleted his Twitter account because of Lil B's fans.[60] Later, in an interview with VladTV, Joey admitted the feud was created for publicity, and admitted he's a fan of Lil B's more serious work.

Kevin Durant

In 2011, NBA superstar Kevin Durant tweeted his befuddlement with Lil B's popularity, and Lil B responded by "cursing" Durant that he would never win the NBA championship.[61] The curse had been rescinded in 2012 but then reinstated in 2014. The feud between the two has simmered since then, resulting in Lil B releasing the diss track "Fuck KD" in 2014 and also a commercial on NBA TV where Lil B calls out Kevin Durant.[62][63][64] Lil B has claimed the "curse of the Based God" to be responsible for Durant and his Oklahoma City Thunder team's loss to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals of the 2016 NBA Playoffs. The Thunder had been up 3 games to 1 in a best-of-7 series, but then went on to lose the series in stunning fashion after losing the next 3 games in a row.[65] On July 4th, 2016, following the announcement of Durant leaving the Thunder for the Golden State Warriors, Lil B rescinded the curse again.[66]

James Harden

During the Western Conference Finals of the 2015 NBA Playoffs, Lil B began questioning NBA superstar James Harden's "cooking dance", who has been doing that dance all season long, and tweeted that if he doesn't receive an answer from Harden regarding that dance then Harden will receive the "Based God curse" similar to Kevin Durant.[67] Lil B attributed the Houston Rockets loss to the Golden State Warriors with the score of 99–98 in Game 2, and again in Game 3 with the score of 115–80, to the curse.[67][68] On May 24, 2015, Lil B announced on TMZ Sports that he has placed Harden under the "Based God curse" for the remainder of the playoffs and until further notice.[69] On May 27, 2015, Lil B was present at Oracle Arena for Game 5 where the Warriors ultimately defeated the Rockets with the score of 104–90, becoming the Western Conference champions.[70] Additionally, during this same game Harden set an NBA Playoff record with 13 turnovers,[71] prompting Lil B to publicly consider lifting the curse.[72]

Discography

Main article: Lil B discography

References

  1. ↑ Lil B (August 17, 2010). "This is beauty and art thank you for the birthday love!! Aug 17th! Happy #Based Day!! All". basedworld.com. Based World. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  2. ↑ Bromwich, Jonah Engel (2016-06-01). "Outplayed? Perhaps. But Some See Rapper's Hex Behind Thunder's Downfall.". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  3. ↑ Caramanica, Jon (26 July 2010). "A Pied Piper of Rap, Followed on Twitter". New York Times. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  4. 1 2 Staley, Willy (September 7, 2009). "The man behind the meme". San Francisco Bay Guardian. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  5. ↑ Browne, Rembert (2012-10-15). "Lil B Tries Out for D-League Basketball; Is Definitely Coming for Kevin Durant". Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  6. ↑ Fisher, Jim (April 4, 2012). "Berkeley Rapper Lil B To Lecture At N.Y.U.". patch.com. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  7. ↑ "Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of the Year & other lists of songs". BrooklynVegan. December 12, 2006. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  8. ↑ "I'm Thraxx - Lil B". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  9. ↑ "6 Kiss - Lil B". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  10. ↑ Britton, Luke Morgan (8 October 2013). "Download Lil B's entire back-catalogue for free". The Line Of Best Fit. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  11. ↑ "Soulja Boy Announces Signing "Lil B" (Newest Member On His SODMG Roster)". World Star Hip Hop. April 3, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  12. ↑ "LIL B - LIL B Base World Pt. 1 Hosted by 514". DatPiff. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  13. ↑ Colly, Joe (July 1, 2010). "Lil B Base World, Pt. 1 review". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Soulja Boy and Lil B - Pretty Boy Millionaires (soulja Boy & Lil B)". DatPiff. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  15. ↑ Rennie, Andrew (August 12, 2010). "Soulja Boy and Lil B - Pretty Boy Millionaires (SOD Money Gang)". Now Toronto.com.
  16. ↑ Roberts, Steven (July 30, 2010). "Lil B Is Taking The Net By Storm, One Freestyle At A Time". MTV News. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  17. ↑ Pattison, Louis (2011-02-18). "Grab your spatula! Could 'based' Lil B be the next big thing?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  18. ↑ Mue, Enig (December 29, 2010). "Lil B The Based God Signs with Amalgam Digital, Preps New Albums". Amalgam Digital. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  19. ↑ Winistorfer, Andrew (January 5, 2011). "Lil B Signs With Amalgam Digital". Prefixmag.com. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  20. ↑ "Paint - Lil B". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  21. ↑ "Lil B' Names New Album I'm Gay - The Urban Daily". The Urban Daily. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Lil B Titles New Album 'I'm Gay,' GLAAD Reacts". RapFix. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  23. ↑ Markman, Rob (April 21, 2011). "Lil B Says I'm Gay LP Title Provoking Death Threats, Slurs". mtv.com. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Lil B Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  25. ↑ Hudson, Alex (May 23, 2012). "Lil B Releases 'Classical Music' Album". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  26. ↑ Battan, Carrie (September 18, 2012). "Video: Lil B Makes His Foray Into Rock Music With "California Boy"". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  27. ↑ Cooper, Duncan (January 3, 2014). "Lil B Just Released Another "Classical" Album, Tears 4 God". The FADER. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  28. ↑ Battan, Carrie (December 26, 2013). "Lil B Drops 101-Song Mixtape, 05 Fuck Em". pitchfork.com. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  29. ↑ Minsker, Evan (June 1, 2014). "Lil B's Hoop Life Mixtape, Featuring "Fuck KD", Has Arrived". pitchfork.com. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  30. ↑ Minsker, Evan (October 14, 2014). "Lil B Drops Ultimate Bitch Mixtape". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  31. ↑ Young, Alex (July 19, 2015). "Chance the Rapper and Lil B say they recorded an album together". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  32. ↑ Meline, Gabe (December 17, 2014). "Thank You Based God: 10 Reasons Why You Should See Lil’ B This Weekend". kqed.org. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  33. ↑ Baker, Ernest (June 10, 2010). "Lil B Talks Getting Sucker Punched, Gay Rumors, & Drake Envy". complex.com. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  34. ↑ Weiner, Jonah (January 18, 2011). "The Music Club". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  35. ↑ "Takin' Over". Kele Publishing. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  36. ↑ "REVIEW OF MY NEW BOOK "TAKIN OVER"". Based World. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  37. ↑ Marantz, Andrew. "THE DUMB BRILLIANCE OF LIL B". The Newyorker. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  38. ↑ "Dior Paint". Dior Paint. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  39. ↑ "Lil B To Lecture At Carnegie Mellon University This February". February 13, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  40. ↑ "The Full Transcript Of Lil B's Groundbreaking Lecture At MIT". November 22, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  41. ↑ "Watch Lil B's Lecture At UCLA". BallerStatus.com. May 29, 2015.
  42. ↑ "Lil B Releases "Basedmoji" App for All Your Based God Emoji Needs". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  43. ↑ Brandon Mccartney (September 17, 2014). "Basedmoji". App Store. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  44. ↑ Joanna Rothkopf. "Lil B launches the vegan emoji app you never knew you needed". Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  45. 1 2 "Lil B on his hot new vegan-themed emoji app".
  46. ↑ Brandon Mccartney (January 17, 2015). "vegEMOJI". App Store. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  47. ↑ "Lil B Escapes House Fire Thanks to Teenage Neighbor". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  48. ↑ "Lil B Saved From House Fire by Teenager". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  49. ↑ "Lil B Saved From Apartment Building Fire by Teenage Neighbor". Spin. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  50. ↑ "Lil B Escapes From House Fire With Help From Teen Neighbor". Billboard. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  51. ↑ http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/meet-bernie-sanders-top-celebrity-backers/story?id=33020601 Sanders Celebrity Backers
  52. ↑ Zakarin, Jordan (April 24, 2011). "Lil B's 'I'm Gay' Album Title Results In Death Threats". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  53. ↑ "Lil B, "I Felt Like [Joe Budden] Was Making a Mockery of Me."". XXL.
  54. ↑ Lauren Nostro. "Joe Budden - A History of Rappers Picking Fights With Lil B - Complex". Complex. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  55. ↑ "CB » BADRAPPBEEF: Lil B vs. Joe Buddens Explained". Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  56. ↑ "Game Wants Lil B To Come At Him [Video]". Hip-Hop Wired. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  57. ↑ "Game & Lil B End Beef On Twitter". Hip-Hop Wired. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  58. ↑ Daniel Isenberg. "Video: Joey Bada$$ Says Dissing Lil B Was "Too Easy"". Complex. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  59. ↑ Rose Lilah (February 2, 2013). "Joey Bada$$ Deletes Twitter Following Frustration With Lil B Fans". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  60. ↑ "Interview With Joey Badass At The Breakfast Club Power 105.1 - YouTube".
  61. ↑ "Lil B From The Pack on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  62. ↑ Andrew Sharp. "An Outsider's Guide to the Lil B–Kevin Durant Beef". Grantland. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  63. ↑ "Lil B Made a Commercial on NBA TV Calling Out Kevin Durant Because Life is Good as Hell". NOISEY. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  64. ↑ "A very #BASED interview with Lil B about his Kevin Durant beef - SBNation.com".
  65. ↑ Stern, Marlow. "The History of Lil B's 'BasedGod Curse' on Kevin Durant (and Russell Westbrook)". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
  66. ↑ Schwartz, Nick. "Lil B lifts curse on Kevin Durant after he announces decision to join Warriors". FOXSports.com. Retrieved 2016-07-04.
  67. 1 2 "Lil B says James Harden is officially under the Based God's curse". ProBasketballTalk - NBC Sports. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  68. ↑ "Lil B renews threats on James Harden via Kevin Durant's jersey number". SB Nation. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  69. ↑ "JAMES HARDEN Officially Under Lil B's Spell ... THE CURSE IS ON!". TMZ Sports. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  70. ↑ "Lil B Will Attend Rockets-Warriors Game 5 as James Harden Curse Looms". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  71. ↑ "James Harden sets NBA playoff record for most turnovers in single game". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  72. ↑ "Lil B from the Pack on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved May 28, 2015.

External links

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