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irTIfE byl ContentHearByl-cZqgyJ bqbBYQ"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH ivtvgj byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd jslZfG gnILss byle__preamble">By </span><a class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BaseLk-eNWuiM ByleLk-gEnFiw iUEiRd ggMZaT cXqSTL eErqIx byle__name-lk button" href="/ntributors/andrew-marantz">Andrew Marantz</a></span></span></p></div><time data-ttid="ContentHearPublishDate" dateTime="2012-04-13T06:47:24-04:00" class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ ContentHearPublishDate-eIBicG iUEiRd kYZrFA kEBrdf">April 13, 2012</time></div></div></div></div></div></hear></div><div data-attribute-verso-pattern="article-body" class="ArticlePageContentBackGround-cNiFNN kbAoLA article-body__ntent"><div class="ActnBarWrapperContent-lasBkU cAHp"><div 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bookmark mobile"><span class="ActnBarSendaryButtonPrimaryIn-isbvyN cAwccV bookmark-button-in"><svg class="in in-bookmark" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" xmlns="><tle>Save this story</tle><path class="in-bookmark-fill" d="M20 23.9508L12.5 19.7312L5 23.9508V2.95081H14V3.93211H6V22.1845L12.5 18.5536L19 22.1845V8.83866H20V23.9508Z"></path><path class="in-bookmark-fill" d="M23 3H20V0H19V3H16V4H19V7H20V4H23V3Z"></path></svg></span><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ ActnBarButtonText-bYXYuh iUEiRd bkefvo gkccfO">Save this story</span></button></div></div></div><div class="LightboxWrapper-dxsWBV hhylRt"><div class="ArticlePageChunksContent-etcMtP bwyLBj"><div data-ttid="ArticlePageChunks" class="ArticlePageChunks-fLyCVG gBDqlf"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hfxa bjczjj grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div class="BodyWrapper-kufPGa bDyAMU body body__ntaer article__body" data-journey-hook="client-ntent" data-ttid="BodyWrapper"><div class="body__ner-ntaer"><div class="GenericCalloutWrapper-tojWn iHBnEl llout--has-top-borr set-embedd-le" data-ttid="GenericCallout"><figure class="AssetEmbedWrapper-eVDQiB byBkf asset-embed"><div class="AssetEmbedAssetContaer-eJxoAx dBHGoQ asset-embed__asset-ntaer"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO KhjZz AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset rponsive-image rponsive-image--expandable"><noscript><img alt="The Dumb Brilliance of Lil B" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src=" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w, 1280w, 1600w, 1920w, 2240w" siz="100vw"/></noscript></picture></span></div></figure></div><p>Lil B is the strangt rapper alive. He has none of the trappgs of mastream succs—no Vio Mic Awards, no Fallon appearanc, no rerd al—but he is a celebry on the Inter, where he has more than a hundred MySpace acunts, <a data-offer-url="!/LILBTHEBASEDGOD" class="external-lk" data-event-click="{"element":"ExternalLk","outgogURL":"!/LILBTHEBASEDGOD"}" href="!/LILBTHEBASEDGOD" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">four hundred thoand Twter followers</a>, and <a href=">sixty ln YouTube views</a>. Jt Bieber gleefully transms Lil B’s mem; Diddy, <a href=">actg as his hype man at a South by Southwt performance</a>, did Lil B’s signature “okg dance.” Pchfork found his most recent album, “I’m Gay,” “<a href=">pecially pellg</a>.” Last year, he released <a data-offer-url=" class="external-lk" data-event-click="{"element":"ExternalLk","outgogURL":"" href=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">a mixtape wh six hundred seventy six tracks</a>, cludg “Am I Even a Rapper Anymore?,” “Cash My Ty Pants,” “I Sex Myself,” and “Sherbert Flerbert.” He is twenty-two years old and claims to have released “over two thoand songs,” which is plsible, pendg on what the fn of “song” is.</p><div><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--article-mid-ntent" role="prentatn" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--article-mid-ntent nsumer-marketg-un__slot---ntent"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div></div><p class="paywall">One of his songs is lled “I’m Miley Cys,” and go like this: “I’m Miley Cys / I’m Miley Cys / Cys / Cys / I’m Miley Cys.” Another song, lled “Mel Gibson,” go like this: “I look like Mel Gibson / I’m Mel Gibson… Oh my god, I’m Mel Gibson.” He has a song lled “Ellen DeGener,” which go like this: “Ellen DeGener / Ellen DeGener / Ellen DeGener / Ellen DeGener.” There is one lled “Jt Bieber,” one lled “Paris Hilton,” one lled “Bill Clton,” and one lled “Dr. Phil,” which barely mentns Dr. Phil. In <a href=">a 2011 vio terview</a>, the Vice reporter Ryan Duffy asked, wh regard to this phylum of Lil B’s mic, “What the fuck is that about?” “It’s some celebri that I jt thk are jt funny,” Lil B rpond. By the end of the terview, Lil B had e up wh a new song. It went like this: “I’m Ryan Duffy / I’m Ryan Duffy.”</p><p class="paywall">Last month, N.Y.U.’s stunt-n program board announced an unscripted lecture by Lil B, to take place on April 11th. Tickets sold out wh ten mut. “It’s gonna be a real progrsive talk,” <a data-offer-url=" class="external-lk" data-event-click="{"element":"ExternalLk","outgogURL":"" href=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Lil B praged</a>, “and when everybody leav, their liv will be changed.” The mood at the dorium on Wednday night was Obama--2008 exultant. One stunt wore a chef’s hat, an alln to Lil B’s “okg mic,” which is self a satire of rap’s lnizatn of e alers. Anx for Lil B to appear, the crowd chanted one of his stage nam, Based God. Lil B is hardly the first rapper to claim stat as a y, but he did “based” (or “#based”), an adjective he f vaguely, and which to scribe his mic, his liftyle, and himself.</p><p class="paywall">A whe kid wh a wispy goatee, wearg a purple N.Y.U. hoodie, sat the seat ont of me, typg on his phone. Over his shoulr, I saw him tweet a msage to Lil B: “@LILBTHEBASEDGOD you n fuck my bch, she even said so herself. 4th row #nyu #lecture.” The tweeter turned out to be <a data-offer-url="!/tylerkochanski" class="external-lk" data-event-click="{"element":"ExternalLk","outgogURL":"!/tylerkochanski"}" href="!/tylerkochanski" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Tyler Kochanski</a>, a sophomore om Bloomfield, New Jersey. In real life, he was stg the fifth row, unacpanied. I asked him why he wrote msag to the Based God. “Jt to do ,” he said. “When you’re feelg reckls, you jt repeat the thgs he says, whether ’s te or not.” (Girliend-swappg is ed one of Lil B’s recurrg them, albe one that he seems to dulge only wh the aspiratnal world of his mic.) “There’s no one else like him,” Kochanski said. “He don’t re what anyone thks.”</p><p class="paywall">“If I uld terject,” said Mchell Wang, a hman a Polo pullover, “I thk you n’t view him as a tradnal artist. He’s sort of the vanguard of hip-hop, that he’s parodyg what’s out there.”</p><div class="Contaer-bkChBi byNLHx"></div><p class="paywall">A red curta parted and Lil B appeared, sg and pumpg his fist triumphantly. He wore a tennis-ball-green T-shirt, a quilted srf, a jewelled bdi, and a gold grill. <a href=">He spoke for eighty mut</a>, startg many sentenc and fishg few of them. He punctuated his speech wh expletiv, like “I’m <em>tell’</em> you” and “Hey bh,” as , “Let’s stop ackg—who here knows what hydrlic ackg is? HEY BRUH.” He gave shout-outs to Mt Romney, ant loni, archects, and his future children, and enuraged everyone to wear seatbelts. Then he hand out pi of his self-help book, “Tak’ Over by Imposg the Posive!,” which he referred to as “my first book.” (Sample sentence: “We e our manners out there and when we bump to somebody we say ‘scuzze me’ and that’s what’s Tak’ Over.”) When we were leavg the lecture, a passg stunt asked who Lil B was. “He’s the Andy Warhol of rap,” a fan explaed, though he might have chosen Andy Kfman stead. Another girl, rryg a skateboard, spoke to a cell phone: “The people there were so transcennt. All different rac, all different cultur, jt—based.”</p><div data-attr-viewport-monor="le-recirc" class="le-recirc-wrapper le-recirc-observer-target-1 viewport-monor-anchor"></div><p class="paywall">When hip-hop was vented, the late seventi, the m.c.’s job was to keep a crowd entertaed between rerds. As hip-hop evolved, m.c.s earned top billg over d.j.s, and rappers beme poets of urban stggle. But the domance of the lyril rapper waned <a href=">durg the reign of Jay-Z</a>, who uld sp as fluidly as any of his ntemporari but brazenly dumbed down his rhym orr to sell rerds. In a song lled “Ignorant Sh,” Jay-Z riffs reflexively on this Fstian barga: “I make ‘Big Pimp’ ’ or ‘Give It To Me,’ one of those, y’all hail me as the greatt wrer of the twenty-first century. I make some thought-provokg sh, y’all qutn whether he fall’ off.” That this is a largely unherald track om one of Jay-Z’s least acclaimed albums only prov his pot: we don’t want wry pastich of ignorant sh; we jt want ignorant sh.</p></div></div></div><div class="GridItem-buujkM fVLMby grid--em grid-layout__asi"><asi class="PersistentAsiWrapper-VGrR daRVRt persistent-asi" style="posn:absolute;top:to;height:to" data-ttid="PersistentAsiWrapper"><div class="StickyBoxWrapper-jfYB jxBcTH sticky-box"><div class="StickyBoxPrimary-dzWDWL cdhYoN sticky-box__primary"><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ ad ad--rail"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot--rail" data-no-id="fiw7lo"></div></div><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--display-rail" role="prentatn" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--display-rail"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div></div><div class="StickyBoxPlaceholr-grPmrg dxAvXx"></div></div></asi></div></div><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan full-bleed-ad row-mid-ntent-ad"><div class="StickyMidContentAdWrapper-fSBzwl drzyIa ad-stickymidntent"><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ ad ad--mid-ntent should-hold-space"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot--mid-ntent" data-no-id="lvphao"></div></div></div></div><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hfxa bjczjj grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div class="BodyWrapper-kufPGa bDyAMU body body__ntaer article__body" data-journey-hook="client-ntent" data-ttid="BodyWrapper"><div class="body__ner-ntaer"><p class="paywall">Lil B is a fount of ignorant sh. He om the Berkeley projects and is a product of Northern California hyphy culture, which “dumb” is a form of high praise; and he produc so much sh, most of so transcenntly dumb, that has e to seem like a form of culture jammg, as if his entire output were sandwiched between sre quot. (Regardg the most repugnant parts of his persona, particularly the misogyny, one n only hope this is the se.) Pop culture is obvly superficial; rather than tellg so, Lil B performs superficialy. His songs about celebri are, like Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe prts, a ment on the mechanizatn of celebry. Unlike Drake and Madonna, whose self-pyg <a href=">medatns on fame</a> often sound like humblebrags, Lil B mak himself impossible to take serly. Most rappers claim to be “real”; Lil B claims to be Ellen DeGener.</p><p class="paywall">A Lil B song is not an easy thg to enjoy. As wh Ryan Trert’s termable vios, Jam Fran’s mpy meos on “General Hospal,” and Joe Gould’s unrealized op, the fact that Lil B is dog this work is more tertg than the work self. (He played a sold-out show at The New Mm last night; the b lled him a “rapper/rap nstctnist.”) Most of his songs are etyl—real etyl, the kd that are actually improvised—and when he fails to thk of a clever rhyme, which is often, he revels the awkward silence, or shouts an ngo phrase, like “<a href=">hundred thoand dollars</a>.” Even his flow is jarrg: he stubbornly ref to stay the pocket, missg downbeats and eptg non-verbal tics.</p><p class="paywall">But is all part of the act. Jt as Koong was an excellent draftsman, Lil B is pable of rappg petently. In “<a data-offer-url=" class="external-lk" data-event-click="{"element":"ExternalLk","outgogURL":"" href=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">The Age of Informatn</a>,” a heartfelt display of lyril skill, he sounds like Tupac, if Tupac had lived to see Twter: “I’m on puters profely/Searchg on the Inter for answers, give to me/It’s like I’m married/I’m watchg the bloggers heavily.” In 1994, David Foster Wallace <a href=">wrote, a private letter</a>, about “the rmatn-flood and data-triage I expect’d be an even bigger part of US life 15 years hence.” He was right, as we now know. An Inter browser is a fire hydrant of rmatn, and we spend our days dog data triage. That is the topic of the performance art piece that is Lil B’s life. As B himself once said onstage, “Everythg, man. The Inter. This sh is crazy.”</p><p class="paywall"><em>Photograph by Lus Alvarado-Farrar/Far Fetched Future.</em></p></div></div></div><div class="GridItem-buujkM fVLMby grid--em grid-layout__asi"><div class="StickyBoxWrapper-jfYB jxBcTH sticky-box"><div class="StickyBoxPrimary-dzWDWL cdhYoN sticky-box__primary"><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ ad ad--rail"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot--rail" data-no-id="2l5men"></div></div><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--display-rail" role="prentatn" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--display-rail"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div></div><div class="StickyBoxPlaceholr-grPmrg dxAvXx"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 PaywallInleBarrierWhWrapperGrid-fyrGfS kLQIUk grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div class="body body__le-barrier article__body"><div class="ntaer ntaer--body"><div class="ntaer--body-ner"><asi class="PaywallInleBarrierWrapper-iBnuqk lfXXa-D" data-ttid="PaywallInleBarrierWrapper"><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--paywall-le-barrier" role="prentatn" aria-live="pole" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--paywall-le-barrier"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div></asi></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 ContentWrapperGrid-fvkmBv brYtrA grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div class="body body__ntaer"><div class="ntaer ntaer--body"><div class="ntaer--body-ner"></div></div></div></div></div></div></article><div class="ContentFooterWrapper-jVNdRG dTJkpP ArticlePageContentFooterGrid-ccsXYy eMZRHU article-body__footer"><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"></div></div></div><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div class="ContributorsWrapper-eNpWFu GWFsc ntributors" data-ttid="Contributors"><div class="ContributorBWrapper-bnVHbt gMon"><div class="ContributorBAvatar-bIGTqf eMWbvj"><a href="/ntributors/andrew-marantz"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW jvZaPI rponsive-asset"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa rponsive-image"><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w" siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w" siz="100vw"/><img alt="" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></picture></span></a></div><div class="ContributorBContent-ubQdr jZTSSi"><div class="ContributorBHear-ledood XOIEx"></div><div class="ContributorBB-fBolsO giFhKz"><a href="/ntributors/andrew-marantz">Andrew Marantz</a> is a staff wrer at The New Yorker and the thor of “<a href=">Antisocial: Onle Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijackg of the Amerin Conversatn</a>.”</div><div class="ContributorBFooter-brqDlv ezUmSv"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"></div></div></div><div data-ttid="ContentFooterBottom" class="ContentFooterBottom-jwWZfC kcbyiW"><div class="ContentFooterNewsletterContentWrapper-bmjtna kixtae"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div data-ttid="NewsletterSubscribeFormWrapper" class="NewsletterSubscribeFormWrapper-fCqqkN jKSBhE newsletter-subscribe-form ContentFooterNewsletterForm-hKeYwa liPqcf"><div data-ttid="NewsletterSubscribeFormHedDekWrapper" class="NewsletterSubscribeFormHedDekWrapper-fpMElW eglIBL"><h3 class="NewsletterSubscribeFormDangeroHed-kRwWjt kbxOa-D newsletter-subscribe-form__hed ContentFooterNewsletterForm-hKeYwa liPqcf">Gogs On</h3><div class="NewsletterSubscribeFormDek-kXonvc cKOhTM newsletter-subscribe-form__k">What we’re watchg, listeng to, and dog this week, onle, N.Y.C., and beyond. 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target="_self"><div class="SummaryItemHedBase-hiFYpQ iIjKeM summary-em__hed" data-ttid="SummaryItemHed">The Transn</div></a><div class="SummaryItemAssetContaer-gwhFFH VOyg summary-em__asset-ntaer"><a class="SummaryItemImageLk-dshqxb USLvL summary-em__image-lk summary-em-trackg__image-lk" href=" aria-hidn="te" tabx="-1" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-image-2" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" target="_self"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset SummaryItemRponsiveAsset-hjGIGg egpoQR summary-em__image"><div data-tt="aspect-rat-ntaer" class="AspectRatContaer-bJHpJz jMoLpX"><div class="aspect-rat--overlay-ntaer"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa SummaryItemRponsiveAsset-hjGIGg egpoQR summary-em__image rponsive-image"><noscript><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w" siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w" siz="100vw"/><img alt="The Transn" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></noscript></picture></div></div></span></a></div><div class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ SummaryItemDek-CRfsi iUEiRd jxOIpm cPtisA summary-em__k">Lyndon Johnson and the events Dallas.</div><div class="SummaryItemByleWrapper-boCfbi cuRXdL summary-em__byle-date-in"><div class="SummaryItemBaseByle-fFbXkY cgDBtc summary-em__byle"><div class="summary-em__byle__ntent"><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH dSEWiO byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd jslZfG gnILss byle__preamble">By </span>Robert A. 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All the years later, why has the se bee a e?</div><div class="SummaryItemByleWrapper-boCfbi cuRXdL summary-em__byle-date-in"><div class="SummaryItemBaseByle-fFbXkY cgDBtc summary-em__byle"><div class="summary-em__byle__ntent"><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH dSEWiO byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd jslZfG gnILss byle__preamble">By </span>Nathan Heller</span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="SummaryItemWrapper-iwvBff ewgXAt summary-em summary-em--ARTICLE summary-em--no-in summary-em--text-align-left summary-em--layout-placement-text-below-sktop-only summary-em--layout-posn-image-right summary-em--layout-proportns-33-66 summary-em--si-by-si-align-center 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