“I’m half thug, half nerd. 100 percent thug, 100 percent nerd.” So proclaimed Lil B, the Basedgod himself, in an accurate self-assessment midway through his first-ever Australian show.
I won’t bother trying to relay the idiosyncrasies of Lil B here. They are too great and too many to surmise, plus there’s already great literature on the self-sustained mythology – see The New Yorker’s profile from April last year – or the cult-like worldwide following – see Pitchfork’s insight into Basedworld from earlier this year.
The fanbase’s devotion to Lil B was reciprocated to the infinite degree after an all-killer setlist – one which cherry-picked the finest from a exponentially-growing, thousands-deep canon of material. Soundtracked by one of The Basedgod’s album of original classical compositions, members of the crowd waited patiently and positively as they waited their turn to be photographed with their hero. It’s important to note that the photo opportunity took place front and centre of the pit, rather than anywhere near the merch desk. It’s impossible to fault Lil B’s sheer altruism, from his releasing of an album’s worth of free material at a near-monthly rate to his frequent musings of uninhibited positivity through social networks.
After an extensive run of tracks, we were treated to a “greatest hits” chain of material, beginning with The Pack’s breakthrough track Vans, into Wonton Soup, then the Clams Casino-produced I’m God (which was released some three years before Kanye’s declaration of I Am A God). Then we received recent showcase of proficient rap talent Real Person Music, and we were told “It’s okay to cry to this” before the heartwarming I Love You. Basedgod was onstage by himself, rapping over blown-out instrumentals shirtless in sunglasses, with his famous “$80,000 Vans” – only joined onstage by a couple of stage invaders, then later on a sizable congregation from the crowd.
Rather than exacerbate his online posturing about “fucking your bitch” and the sort, Basedgod mitigated it with self-censorship in his lyrics, or supplementing anything that could be construed as disrespectful with messages of love and respect – parlaying perceived misogony against itself. “Fuck your partner respectfully. Always use a condom.” “Put your hands up if you respect women. Put your hands up if you respect dudes. Put your hands up if you respect women.” The crowd, mostly young, some emulating their idol with trademark pink bandanas, obliged dutifully.
It’s tough to stay positive in this day and age. Newsfeeds are filled with ephemeral outrage. The day leading up to the show, I resorted to Ellen to avoid the scandal being purported by daytime news programming. Later that night, Lil B opened his set with his song Ellen Degeneres. The Basedgod moves in mysterious ways. The following day my news feeds were dominated by photos of friends posing with Lil B, smiling with a glint in his resplendent grill. Thank you Based God, this was real.
BY LACHLAN KANONIUK
Photo credit: Ben Clement
LOVED: Screaming along to “Let the bodies hit the floor” during the Drowning Pool-sampling Connected In Jail.
LOVED: Lil B acting as his own hypeman during the party-starting CNBFTBGB and his soulful croon during Eat. Also the display of cooking on show during Wonton Soup.
LOVED: The sustained embracement of positivity that will resonate long after Basedgod farewells Australia.
