Lil B

Prolific rapper Lil B (a.k.a. The BasedGod) was born Brandon McCartney in Berkeley, California on August 17, 1989. Lil B began performing at the age of 16 when he joined a group of fellow San Francisco Bay area rappers to form The Pack. Their song “Vans” became a hit in 2006, with Rolling Stone magazine ranking it #5 on their list of best songs of that year.  The single was followed by the release of EP Skateboards 2 Scrapers, which included a remix of “Vans” featuring Too Short and Mistah F.A.B.  Their debut studio album, Based Boys, was released in 2007.

Soon after the success of “Vans,” Lil B went solo and built a solid following with his savvy use of the internet and emerging social media platforms, including YouTube, MySpace, and Twitter.  In 2009, Lil B released digital album 6Kiss, his first solo effort, which featured production from Clams Casino.  I’m Thraxx followed later that year.  Also in 2009, the then-nineteen-year-old released a self-help book titled Takin’ Over by Imposing the Positive.  He released a spoken word album called Rain In England in 2010.  I’m Gay (I’m Happy) appeared in 2011.

In 2012, he released the instrumental new age album Choices And Flowers as The BasedGod, with the album reaching the top ten of Billboard’s New Age Albums chart.  Later that year, Lil B released the indie rock track “California Boy.”

Socially conscious single “No Black Person Is Ugly” was released in 2014 to critical acclaim.  Later in 2014, he released basketball-themed mixtape Hoop Life.  2015’s Free Based Freestyles mixtape was a collaboration with Chance the Rapper. In August 2017, he released the self-produced mixtape Black Ken.