Thank You Based God

This story's kind of sprawled out, well I guess that I should warn ya
Lil B's my favorite rapper, he's from Berkeley, California
I heard him first in '06, he was in a group called The Pack
They were just a bunch of teenagers, real hungry to rap
And their single "Vans" got famous, all the skaters really loved it
"Got my Vans on but they look like sneakers," they preached from their pulpits
But MTV wouldn't play their song, they called it a commercial
They missed something entirely when they made it controversial
Cause rap and skating culture are both socially rejected
It might have been a silly song but it was still about being different

So a record label signed them on the strength of that 1 song
Two years went by, the label dropped them, things had all went wrong
Lil B was shattered so he came up with a plan
To find a more direct way to connect with all his fans
As soon as he found MySpace, that's where the madness started at
A hundred fifty pages, he made seven hundred tracks
And a lot were recorded poorly with a lo-fi punk aesthetic
He talked about his life, got high, and came off schizophrenic
Psychedelic, funny; most important, he was honest
His gift was letting words, unfiltered, flow from his subconscious
He called this being BASED; at first I did not understand it
It was sloppy and unnerving, sometimes lost and heavy handed
I know rappers always claim they can find words right on the spot
But no one shares unstructured thoughts quite like Lil B the Based God
His music is a diary, one long transcript of his mind
Spaced out, existential, sometimes he won't even rhyme
He talks about his thrift store clothes, how he loves everyone
How people should be positive before reaching for their guns
It comes off kind of like a deconstructive science project
Where he can pick apart cliches and forms within his genre
He's got songs about celebrities, he's even made up his own dance
It's humorous and ludicrous, but it's all part of his plan
Cause he's got other songs that reach unmediated truths
Experimental hip hop, poignant vantage points on youth

The Based World is a product of a strong grass roots persistence
His life is a defense of the world wide web's mere existence
Sure there's mediocrity, people will misuse it
But the digital community is the subtext to his music
He responds to every screen name out there as much as he can
Appreciates support, he keeps his music free for fans
I remember when his MySpace pages took so long to load
Girls sent him tattoed half-clothed photos, he posted them in droves
He's got videos filmed in his hometown blowing up on YouTube
Lives his life on Twitter, if you follow, he'd retweet you
And his fans sometimes might seem a little crazed in their devotion
But something in his music brings out complex strong emotions
So you can call him terrible, you can say he sucks
But hatred looks so petty next to all the lives he's touched
Reaching out to us in ways that never happen often
He dedicates his life to making hip hop's hard shell soften
Ambient and soulful, he's got one disc on a noise label
Spoken word insanity, I heard it when I had no cable
He's a role model for kids much more than popes or politicians
Cause he lives for positivity and the power of ambition
It's clear he's just a young man out there doing what he loves
Not scared or shy to be himself when push comes to shove

So Based God, I recorded this hoping one day you would listen
A token of my thanks for all the music you have given
You know that if the blogs and critics someday forget about you
I'll be among the millions who are glad that they have found you
Accomplished as an artist, you've earned fans and many friends
You stand for something special always worth time to defend

So thank you Based God
For staying honest and staying Based
When the world won't fit you in

You have to make your own space