A rapper did a talk at NYU last night. But truly, he’s more than a rapper: he’s BASEDGOD, a cult leader, a philosopher, a poet, an artist, a queer advocate, a fashion trendsetter, an internet sensation, a conceptualist. Also, he’s a robot. In the early days, he posted YouTube videos of angsty raps, one specifically where he listened to Elliott Smith and held a gun to his head. He once released a mixtape that had almost 700 tracks. His last LP was called “I’m Gay” (he’s not, just happy). He accessorizes with only the finest scarves and earrings, fit for consumption by grandmothers (“RARE GRANDMA ERRING“). Brandon McCartney is Lil B.
While NYU is a fairly progressive school in terms of its talks and attitudes, it’s not very often that a rapper is unscriptedly allowed to speak to an audience of its students. But they let Lil B in and he spewed his brand of absurd positive wisdom to an excited crowd–if parts of the transcript are any indication, he certainly changed lives. Some favourite lines:
“…I look at animals and insects. You know I’m the first rapper to adopt a tabby cat. You know I adopted straight from the ASPCA, you feel me? Just breaking the boundaries, man, showing everybody it’s okay to be yourself. Embrace yourself. Embrace your health. Ayyy! Just continue to love yourself and accept.”
“Appreciate every single person. Look at them like a golden, million-dollar baby. Ay, bruh, I’ma tell you the real secrets of life, bruh. Ay, bruh, feel me, bruh, I got the real secrets. For real, bro. For real. Real talk: the secrets of life? Look at everybody like they’re a baby. Remember like, man, we’re young. Don’t be so hard on people. We’re just little baby insects or mammals or whatever. You feel me?”
I think the best thing about Lil B is that no one’s really sure if he’s just psychotic.
The full, 4-page transcript is over at The FADER.
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…Jessica Carroll is the Toronto Standard’s “Best Thing on the Internet Today” columnist. Follow her on Twitter at @jssckr.
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