Lil B Punks Hip-Hop

Punk rock entered the American music scene with the aim of disassociating itself from the meaningless, pop laden, often formulaic styles of music 70’s rock had become. For vanguard Punk bands like the Ramones, the Sex Pistols and others, it was blasphemous for acts like Simon and Garfunkel to be categorized as rock music as well.

Early punk rock was littered with technique deficiencies and lacked musical dexterity; however, it was these qualities that attracted early followers. Lil B has faced similar criticisms amidst his rise that his music lacks skill and relevant gravitas. Detractors point to his often-inconsistent flowing patterns that fly in the face of traditional interactions of MCs and the instrumentals.

Lil B is seeking to ‘punk’ the Hip-Hop industry in the same way. Because he is so passionate about the music from a cultural perspective, listeners can feel his enthusiasm, and relate accordingly. Followers at his concerts fervently yell nonsensical things like, “Fuck my bitch Based God!” and are an eclectic collection of the ever so elusive hipster crowd, hood folks, college kids, and those just plainly enthralled with his charismatic personality.

Without regard for stale Hip-Hop song structures, B is able to experiment with rhyming ‘off beat,’ eschew rhyme schemes and, turn his penchant for ‘cooking’ (e.g. perpetually creating a product that consumers will buy into—into an infectious gimmick.

Lil B has to be the most enigmatic new comer on the rap scene based on managing to keep his name on the tip of industry insiders as well as those on the peripherals. It is that passion that captured the artistic imagination of fans yearning for newer, more experimental elements within the culture. For Lil B’s fans, Hip-hop is supposed to be young, brash, rebellious and charismatically enigmatic.

They understand that the technical aspects of his music are not as important as conveying the essence of its passionate roots. Indeed, Lil B wants to bring it back to the bottom of the map. The boundaries of Hip-Hop have rarely been pushed as an art form. Instead of fostering a tidal wave of progress, the culture has often waded in the water.

Specifically, between the advent of NWA and the Kanye West’s initial propulsion to the forefront of the Hip-Hop race, the music has remained largely unchanged. As the cynics strategically characterizes his swag, speech, and dress as dismissive, Lil B is more concerned with making authentic Hip-Hop music stripped down to its rawest forms in an effort to release it of its impurities.  Likewise, his uncouth mannerisms are joined with a certain unrefined musicianship that is both innovative and a refreshing change of pace for contemporary Hip-Hop listeners.

The Berkeley-bred star is the closest thing to a rock star that Hip-Hop has seen since Pimp C and Lil Wayne. And that is saying a lot. Lil B is doing what he wants to do and plans on being a driving force with Hip-Hop as his passenger. He has managed to draw fans and haters in out of curiosity about his unorthodox rap style and unconventional methods of promotion. The Based God has gained notoriety for his innovative and guerrilla tactics and revolutionary usage of social networking to flood the market with all things Lil B.

In the months and years since he had stepped out of the shadow of fellow members of ‘The Pack,’ the internet blog culture could reach the Based One via his seventy-five plus Myspace aliases, his incessant presence within the Twittersphere, and the release of a litany of provocative music videos largely self-produced and directed. He even managed to write a book in during this time and plans on releasing several in the future.

And the hustle seems to be paying off. The Based God has been able to sell out back-to-back houses in New York City—a feat that most New York MC’s can only hope to achieve. He understands that his value is not measured in the size of his following, but the density if their devotion to the Based God.

As punk rock had became a more formidable sub-genre of music, the purveyors of the culture were willing to push the boundaries of rock and roll, which, in their mind, had become uncharacteristically tame and relatively conservative. Fortunately for fans that believe in change, Lil B, has all his bases covered.

In his latest venture, Lil B chose to hyper focus on Hip-Hop’s combative relationship with homosexuality by titling his latest album ‘I’m Gay.’  The titles garnered Lil B praise from the community’s foremost magazine, The Advocate, but it also earned him ridicule and distain from industry insiders and homophobic rappers.

For a rapper who regularly balances a message of incredible introspection and lighthearted, ridiculous ramblings of ‘woops’ and rhymes bars, he is surprisingly poignant when he wants to be. The Based God believes Hip-hop’s stagnation is thoroughly problematic and he hopes to push Hip-Hop in the same way punk rockers poked and prodded the genre they loved so much until it was reflective of their vision. #ThankYouBasedGod. Thank God for Hip-Hop.