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Lil B, the 21 year old rapper from the Bay Area, frequently refers to himself as “the Based God.” “Based” is, like his other preferred slang terminology (“rare,” “swag”) is an extremely amorphous concept, but it’s generally meant to imply a state of extreme superiority over other human beings, and specifically other rappers. He is so based, according to many of his songs, that he can do things that other rappers and human beings—or at least ones who identify themselves as dedicated hip-hop fans—can’t. These include wearing extremely tight-fitting clothes, inspiring male fans to enthusiastically offer to let Lil B fuck their girlfriends, and comparing himself favorably and for the length of an entire song to Ellen Degeneres. Apparently he really is as based as he claims, since he’s in the process of amassing a cultishly enthusiastic fan base largely comprised of young hip-hop heads by doing things that are very un-hip-hop.
