Based On A Two Way Street
Lil B f/ Phonte & Jean Grae – “Base For Your Face” (Internet, 2011)
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Produced by 9th Wonder.
So this happened. Musically the track is exactly what you would expect. Pretty good, if you like that sort of thing. The response is equally predictable. Some twitterers are tweeting mad at Phonte, Jean and 9th. Others are hitting their oh my god Lil B is actually good moment of clarity. Otherers are patting the artists on the back for breaking down the walls. Phonte, Jean and 9th are proudly touting the record, on one hand acting like they’re doing something real rebellious while also working the no really this is really real hip hop guys! angle. As if the Little Brothers weren’t among the very wave of artists who first cultivated the state of hyper restrictive elitism that makes their fans think that B the enemy.* This is fine. I’m not going to scream hypocrite. People are allowed to change their minds. It’s just that the flip flop would be easier to stomach if it were delivered with just a little more self-awareness.
And all the back patting and counter back patting is still frustrating for a few reasons. One, the actual act of putting Lil B on a 9th Wonder beat or in the same pro tools window as Jean and Phonte is not the big shocker it’s being made out to be. Anyone who has been paying any serious attention to B knows that this is hardly outside of his regular work. He’s rapped traditionally this well or better in the past, and over as good or better production within the same lane. The song only matters because of the other names attached to it. Even the names themselves should be unsprising to anyone who has been paying attention – B’s long been vocal about how Jean Grae is one of his favorite rappers. He’s been working to introduce his fans to this type of stuff.
It isn’t exactly a corrective measure either. To the Little Brother fan “Based For Your Face” only gives B a pass because he “can rap.” But it gives that fan no new tools to think critically about his output. It gives them no better understanding of how and why he resonates with his own fans, and it certainly doesn’t offer them an in to experience that resonance on their own. They aren’t going to turn around and find the value in “Wonton Soup.” In fact they might even hate it more now. (9th doesn’t appear to be a fan himself.)They will bump this song, find a few more in the same vein and then maybe label B as “one of the good ones” while continuing to push hard line conservative rap values about how Waka Flocka N Em are destroying the genre.
9th offered this rationale on twitter: “I cannot build a wall to ANY young rapper on the come up that wanna SPIT and pay hommage…thats where the problem lies…..” Again, if you follow B at all, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he is all of these things. He is a student of this game. Everytime I’ve ever talked to him, even in an interviewer capacity, he ends up asking me more questions than I do him. What ever happened to Group Home? What’s the deal with Cormega? How do I become MF Doom? He is a listener and a learner. And a humble one at that. Murs recently said the same thing when confronted with B’s invitation to Rock The Bells. I seem to recall Lupe using a similar line of reasoning when fans complained about his rumored collab with the Based God. Like Jean says here, “Lil B’s in love with the music.” Superficially 9th’s educator stance is noble, but a good teacher should also learn from his students. As a sponge, B knows a lot about rap music. Rap music that Phonte and 9th have probably dismissed in the past as insufficiently real or ignorant minstrelsy. B has schooled me personally on so much rap over the past few years. He was the first person I remember talking about Waka as a solo artist and not just a Gucci bag holder, well before “O Let’s Do It.” He introduced me to DB Tha General, who has become one of my favorite rappers. He even forced me to reconsider the talents of Birdman (and justly so).
I don’t know how much, if any, mileage 9th Wonder or Jean Grae would get out of these specific artists. I just hope that now that these guys have opened the lines of communication they are actually listening to B, using the Based ideology to expand their worldview and not just picking out the bits and pieces reaffirm their own values. Maybe next time Jean and Tay could hop on a Keyboard Kid beat. Or 9th could try his hand at flipping a “Pretty Bitch” remix.
He’ll need harder drums though.
* Not going to throw Jean Grae under the bus here because, as far as I remember, she was always on her own trip and didn’t do too much of the brow beating hip hop purism thing. But if she did and I’m misremembering then just give me the word and I’ll gladly turn the bus back around.
Tumblin' Erb
March 9th, 2011 at 11:29 pm
Isn’t this the same way the internet reacted to Gucci and Talib’s “Poltergeist?” Someone let me know when Birdman and Flocka hook up with Madlib or something.
March 9th, 2011 at 11:32 pm
Haha…that repetitive chorus reminds of some shit you’d hear on a DJ magic Mike track
March 9th, 2011 at 11:35 pm
The song doesn’t suck but Lil’ B still ain’t shit though I DO see the ultimate point of your post, Noz. There is really no such thing as Hip Hop purism. Hip Hop ain’t been pure since it’s went on records back in 1979.
One.
March 9th, 2011 at 11:40 pm
Lil B being on Waka Flocka pre-O Let Do It is great, maybe him getting Lex beats could result in a collab between the two.
March 9th, 2011 at 11:41 pm
“Isn’t this the same way the internet reacted to Gucci and Talib’s “Poltergeist?”
Right. These collabs happen a few times a year now but it’s never in the name of actually furthering the sound of the genre or broadening anyone’s musical borders. It’s mostly just a way for artists to trot their own liberal tastes out and shake up the status quo for exactly three hours on twitter.
March 9th, 2011 at 11:46 pm
@Adam K: I don’t think Gucci or Kweli gained new fans with that record.
March 9th, 2011 at 11:49 pm
I wanna hear Roscoe Dash on some Rhymesayers type shit just to watch the internet get mad and because I bet it’d end in a song I actually like.
March 9th, 2011 at 11:50 pm
@Urkel Moe Dee: Probably not, but it did remind me that I used to like Kweli, so that’s gotta count for something.
March 9th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
Why do these collaborations have to carry so much weight on their backs? Can’t these artists just do a record for the fuck of it?
March 9th, 2011 at 11:56 pm
@adamk + noz: and wrt to these types of “worlds-colliding” type of collabos, isn’t this particular example also kind of distinct and “important” because it’s very specifically cross-generational in its aim to broaden?
March 9th, 2011 at 11:59 pm
When people say “Lil B still ain’t shit” or whatever mindless dronery that spews from their mouths, I wonder if they’ve seriously sampled the breadth of songs Lil B is truly capable of creating and if they’ve dedicated some actual thought to understanding him.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:03 am
“all they do is rhyme words / such typical rappers”
noz you knew about this song years ago. like a #basedsage. don’t lie.
I was just hanging with squadda and mondre of the main attrakionz at their trap house, and squadda had hella respect for B. He had come through a few times, exchanged beats, put him in touch with Clams. In his words, “when he really didn’t have to, cuz Waterfront and NorthOakland don’t fuck with each other”
As Murs said after reading B’s book, how could you not be based once you really think about it?
March 10th, 2011 at 12:04 am
Not really related to this track, but I know Squadda B from Main Attrakionz has also mentioned that Birdman is one of his favorite artists.
I think we are on the verge of a critical re-evaluation of dude as a rapper.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:06 am
“Why do these collaborations have to carry so much weight on their backs?”
In this particular case the weight was built up over an eight hour period where the artists themselves were tweeting about how big of a deal the record was and gleefully basking in the subsequent hate from their fans.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:06 am
“noz you knew about this song years ago. like a #basedsage. don’t lie.”
I don’t think I did! Why do you say that?
March 10th, 2011 at 12:08 am
@Fool naw man they’ve skipped rational thought and gone straight into blind hater mode. i swear this needs to be studied in neuroscience. luckily B is soon to be an adjunct prof at UCBerkeley so we’ll have it mapped out in a few years. by tuesday in internet time, natch.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:10 am
Did you really just write all that for this collab. LB ain’t do shit to usher in ur bullshit rap elitist arguement. You really ain’t been listening to 9th speak if you think so. It was fans who created that shit. And nothing was ever wrong with calling shit trash, wack and ignorant. Every chance you get you give ur back handed compliments to artist like “if you like this sort of thing”, or out right shit on it: madlib yawn, someone give pharoah monch young Ls number, while simultaneously trying to warrant or prove how the rap music you like is so much better. Please get Lil B’s dick out ur keyboard.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:13 am
@noz
you had to know, or muse about the possibility, that ‘purist’ artists would come around, certainly before their fans.
because you know dem purists better than they know themselves. #basedsage no shots you stay on point is all!
March 10th, 2011 at 12:18 am
“All they do is rhyme words….typical rappers.” While I feel this sentiment, what is complex about either of his verses here? Despite B’s “Real Complex Rap” claim, he only gets as deep as “Remember the time would fly like a caterpillar.” I feel like he is dumbing down to assure that “purists” (agree w/ Dart) can connect with it.
You’re on the mark leaving Jean alone: “….you see the numbers their doin’, you feedin us, the three of us….” shows the self-awareness that Phonte omits. Instead, he assumes pushback from “not real, fake nigga(s)” using top down (read: condescending) imagery–”pyramid schemin’,” “where the kids are” “now we have liftoff,” “flyin” — when in fact he’s the one swallowing his pride. Good for him though. Roar.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:18 am
Co-sign. What’s the old saying… ‘too little, too late’?
If you aren’t based by now, a collab like this isn’t going to convert anyone wholesale. And Phonte goes harder than him anyway. But at least this cleans up the last contingent of people that still don’t know about Lil B. This is dues paid on Lil B’s path to based domination.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:31 am
@frank_be: I agree that Little Brother’s role in cultivating “hyper restrictive elitism” is overstated. Hip-hop elitism existed years before Little Brother. And although their second album was titled ‘The Minstrel Show’, there’s very little in the way of finger-pointing lyrics or commentary, aside from a line or two. As with Def Jux before them, it was mostly their fan base, not the artists, who perpetuated the “party up here, fuck you down there” mentality.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:31 am
Poltergeist is one of the best songs in the whole wide world
March 10th, 2011 at 12:36 am
@Dart Adams
“The song doesn’t suck but Lil’ B still ain’t shit though I DO see the ultimate point of your post, Noz. There is really no such thing as Hip Hop purism. Hip Hop ain’t been pure since it’s went on records back in 1979.
One.”
Are you sure you see the ultimate point of his post? The evidence suggests otherwise.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:41 am
Peace,
This is really helping my “Lil B is good if you take the stick out of your ass” case. I have 4 Lil B songs I play for the annoying “heads” of my circle. “Exhibit Based”, “The Trap”, “I’m Heem” and “B.O.R.” — each time I do, the same response happens almost universally: “I thought he was just on that dumb ass based shit. THIS IS ACTUALLY DOPE!”
People are so ready to hate something because it’s not comfortable, they’ll crap on a guy who’s an obvious underground and OVERGROUND hip hop student/sponge. Lil B is clearly just channeling rap he’s into and has discovered in his young six year career and he’s not even yet 22.
It’s great…I love the song, and I like that it’s being talked about it such an epic fashion.
SWAG
March 10th, 2011 at 12:45 am
When I talk about Little Brother’s influence I am referring more towards their internet presence. Off the top of my head I only know like three Little Brother songs even though I’ve listened to all of their albums.
They did put on a very fun rap show when I saw them in ’01.
March 10th, 2011 at 1:04 am
It was definitely more the fans than anything that bashed everyone over the head with the “their video is ‘too intelligent’ for BET” thing, but that whole thing with The Source didn’t help either.
March 10th, 2011 at 1:15 am
@fool & Thun:
YES. I DID see the ultimate point of the post. As to if I agreed with Noz’s assessment of the entire event is another matter altogether. I’m never going to like Lil’ B and I personally don’t think Phonte, Rapper Big Pooh OR 9th Wonder ever fostered an air of “brow beating hip hop purism” even though some of their fanbase definitely did. Noz JUST above this post stated he only knows three Little Brother songs though he’s heard all their albums.
I’m a Little Brother fan who can actually recall their songs from their official & non official releases so you can assume I know what I’m talking about in respect to them. Being a Southern group with a wide range of influences why make it seem like they’re a gang of East Coast biased “real boom bap Hip Hop” zealots when that’s clearly not the case?
One.
March 10th, 2011 at 1:24 am
“Noz JUST above this post stated he only knows three Little Brother songs though he’s heard all their albums.”
I also said I’m very aware of the internet presence they’ve maintained for years. A musician can cultivate an agenda through means other than music, in fact it’s probably a lot easier to do so online.
Anyway didn’t this scandal already happen five years ago when they did a song with Lil Wayne?
March 10th, 2011 at 1:28 am
IMO this song is like a musical hipstamatic….an artificial filter for the Based God…usually he just puts everything out there and lets his fans sort it out, and as a one-of collabo meant to introduce Based God to a different type of listener, this really only shows one side. even as .1% of these artists catalogs, i don’t see this record being disproportionally important. its cool to see established rappers recognize b, and fun to listen to him rap, but i don’t really see 9th wonder and based god bringing out the best in each other. by tomorrow, nobody is really gonna be worked up about it. covering the #based_bases?
March 10th, 2011 at 1:51 am
On the one hand, whoa what the hell. On the other, I’m surprised such a co-sign didn’t come up sooner. All the oldheads who hate on Lil B always fail to notice that he’s one of the most genuine evangelists for the music that they worship. Lil B tweets it and ten thousand kids google it.
Hell, Lil B’s probably the biggest rap nerd in the industry.
B reigned in pretty much all of his weird impulses on this – less rasping physicality, traditional rhyme structures – and he certainly doesn’t sound like The Man Who Is Killing Hip-Hop. Maybe it’ll get people who previously wrote him off to take another look. Maybe not. Does anybody else feel like Grae and Phonte might benefit more from the collab than Lil B, though? Lil B’s not eating off of their audience and never will be, but getting copies of Jeanius into the hands of a bunch of #based boys&girls would be a good look.
March 10th, 2011 at 4:30 am
So, can B become the new Maynholdup and do a guest series on here breaking down the genius of Baby and so on?
March 10th, 2011 at 4:36 am
noz Says:
I also said I’m very aware of the internet presence they’ve maintained for years. A musician can cultivate an agenda through means other than music, in fact it’s probably a lot easier to do so online.
^^^^^
Yeah, I recall Phonte writing about doing a show with other southern artists and not getting any love (I want to say it was insinuating fans don’t want to hear “smart” rap, but I can’t remember it well enough to be sure). Also the whole “Too Intelligent For BET” champagne. Also the “Mobb Deep sold out” thing.
March 10th, 2011 at 4:44 am
these okayplaya backpack niggas are corny with their left field collaborations tryna show it off to the internet like it’s their adopted 3rd world child fuck this shit brah and fuck irony in hip hop this is not organically wavy
*reads Bandana P’s Little Brother ether*
i still fuck with that boy Brandon
Tony Yayo >>>
March 10th, 2011 at 4:47 am
Lil B. —– An interesting artist because he’s proven on numerous occasions that he can actually rap in context and make sense. Now I think his strategic plan is to keep people on their toes not knowing what to expect which in turn keeps the thrill factor up and = the fact that people will always be looking to see what he does next as to a reason why he’s in the position he’s in now. I see you B. Nice track!
People are simple, keep playing with them!
Oliver B.
Artist in general
March 10th, 2011 at 4:56 am
lil b was tweeting about reading this thats #swag
March 10th, 2011 at 7:13 am
[...] cb + gob ← Talib Kweli – “How You Love Me” [Official [...]
March 10th, 2011 at 7:18 am
“tryna show it off to the internet like it’s their adopted 3rd world child”
my thoughts exactly
March 10th, 2011 at 8:42 am
So, where’s the “Lil B Talks About Rap” interview?
March 10th, 2011 at 8:47 am
I dunno, man. I tend to believe that songs like this are great for breaking down the identity barriers so many of us manufacture when we’re teenage rap fans. The quality of the song is almost not even the point. I know this song itself probably isn’t going to sway any one single person either way about whether or not Lil B is a good rapper or whether Little Brother and Jean Grae are worth lisening to. But I remember being a teenage rap fan that was really wrapped up in what it MEANT ABOUT ME to listen to the rap that I listened to. Not only was the rap I listened to important to me on a musical level, it was ultimately intimately wrapped up in how I wanted the world to view me and what I wanted my identity to be– “NAH MAN I DONT LISTEN TO THAT BULLSCHIT. I LISTEN TO THIS REAL SCHITT!” Frankly, it doesn’t even matter what KIDS TODAY consider to be “real schitt” or “bullschit,” but i guess my point is, the existence of collaborations like this can be powerful in shaking these manufactured musical identities to their core: they can make people take a critical look at the SCHITT they like or hate in pretty productive ways.
I don’t mean to say that this song is above criticism because it’s an “unexpected” collaboration, but I guess in the grand scheme of things, I tend to appreciate the existence of songs like this that can do a lot of work to help kids that don’t really feel the need to often re-evaluate their identity and actually confront some of these things. It doesn’t even matter what the individual’s particular reaction to a song like this is… just the fact that it does DEMAND some sort’ve reaction and self-analysis seems pretty productive to me.
Perhaps that’s a bit too hippy for all y’all though.
-e
March 10th, 2011 at 9:41 am
Agree with Emynd here. Also, I really think you misread Phonte’s tweet there. I think he means a bomb in the sense that it’ll piss people off and blow up via hip-hop debaters arguing and bitching. Don’t think he meant it as a boast on how radical he is. I think he’s being knowing about it, aware of how his contingent will be in an uproar…
March 10th, 2011 at 9:42 am
“So, where’s the “Lil B Talks About Rap” interview?”
Also, yeah! Maybe this should be a book. You know those film books like ‘Scorsese on Scorsese’ edited by blah blah? Lil B on Lil B’ edited by Noz.
March 10th, 2011 at 10:55 am
lmao i used to fuck wit little brother back in hgih school
March 10th, 2011 at 11:16 am
agree with brandons intrepretation of the tweet. its easy to believe thatd be his stance though, cos the aforementioned online presence has shown him up to be more of a douchbag arsehole than even the dreaded joe buddens. i mean all the shit hl mentioned are prime examples, the myspace post in particular was so hilariously deluded. phonte may actually >>>lupe in terms of makin a show of yourself on the internet.
“these okayplaya backpack niggas are corny with their left field collaborations tryna show it off to the internet like it’s their adopted 3rd world child fuck this shit brah and fuck irony in hip hop this is not organically wavy”
- ha your spot on.
and i agree with what AK said too, it makes sense and its a shame he has to rap more style traditional like them and kinda conform to their way of releasing music instead of the other way round for these collabos to happen. originally i felt a bit uneasy about how these types of collaborations were done, almost like he was turning his back on the unique approach hes been cultivating for so long, probably from when i firstb heard the cormega song. but its hard to keep that opinion when he just seems so sincere and honest in his love for that shit in a really humble way wheres hes willing to learn by trying their methods instead of having this arrogant attitude like they should be following his lead. i suppose none of this shit should be much a surprise if you listen to his music tho.
one person whos attitude to the old gaurd/established rappers etc i feel like is being compromised a little is tyler. he talked all that fuck you old people shit but he seems extra gassed when he actually meets them. this may just be lil b raising the bar too high for how i expect rappers to behave, not everyone has those really healthy, positive principles they stick to religiously.
plus tyler and them are just fuckin around half the time, a lot of what made all those recent odd future think peices so frustrating for me was that they took them seriously/literaly a lot of times when they obviously shouldnt. or even just ignored it even if they were supposed to take it seriously, like who gives a fuck if tyler genuinely thinks hes a unicorn or that all those a&rs and journalists were paedophiles,he makes good music hes not a fuckin public official.
March 10th, 2011 at 11:26 am
“one person whos attitude to the old gaurd/established rappers etc i feel like is being compromised a little is tyler. he talked all that fuck you old people shit but he seems extra gassed when he actually meets them. this may just be lil b raising the bar too high for how i expect rappers to behave, not everyone has those really healthy, positive principles they stick to religiously.”
I think this is key with B vs. Tyler, which is a dumb comparison but one I also think about a lot. B’s just so fucking full of integrity. As Noz said elsewhere, “Wonton Soup” could be a hit (actually heard it at a show in Baltimore a few weeks ago, it works!) and well, he could maybe have signed with XL but instead he’s like doing a one-off with Weird Forest. And I say this as someone who isn’t a fan of Lil B by any means.
I think Tyler’s “punk” through and through, which also means he’s full of shit and doesn’t care ever. Also, I’m the resident dopey southern rap-loving apologist for Little Brother and Phonte, but I think Phonte in particular, has slowly but surely shifted away from his myopic view of hip-hop (though I think his opinion was more nuanced than it was interpreted) and seems really into fucking with people, so this Lil B collabo makes sense in that regard.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
I applaud Tyler’s act. I just wish he woulda kept his guard up a lil’ longer. Eminem didn’t start collaborating with other rap acts outside the Aftermath/Interscope family tree until the Marshall Mathers LP was released. This nigga Tyler jumping out the fuckin window at anybody giving him attention he did a good job selling his lil acid rap garage band disturbed skater teen character though i’ll give him that.
No comparison between Brandon and Tyler. Brandon was on stage at Santos shouting out The Firm and Cormega. His roots run deep he pays homage but remains progressive he got my goon blessings 100. This nigga tyler be going sock shopping on the internet with the neptunes clones album set to shuffle gtfo brah.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
isn’t is just kind of uncomfortable how jean spends her whole verse justifying that she’s on the track with B? maybe i’ve been out of touch with the hard line hip hop purism crowd lately by virtue internet inclusivity, but it’s kind of grating to hear her and phonte act like they really took a bold, brave chance here.
B sounds great over the 9th beat though.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
kinda feel like u guys are perpetuating a feeling of elitism between both educated lil b fans and educated little brother, this shit is dope, lil b is dope, 9th wonder is dope, phonte is dope, jean grae is dope, base for your face hip hop one love
March 10th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
*little brother fans
March 10th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
FACT CHECK
EVERYONE MUST HAVE FORGOT WHEN PHONTE WROTE THAT LETTER IN AN OPEN FORUM ON OKAYPLAYER.COM, AFTER GETTING SHUNNED BY THE YOUNGER BLACK CROWD AT SUMMER JAM.
SO YEAH, BROW BEATING HIP HOP PURISTS, FOR SURE.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
“Last night me and Pooh had our worst show EVER yo….
Summerjam in Fayetteville last night was, unquestionably, the worst LB show ever.
I’m talkin ICE COLD yo…..the ‘WOAT’……I think a breakdancing midget woulda got a better response than we did.
Real @#%$, I was *this* close to rhyming with my back turned to them niggas.
Imagine this lineup:
-Three Six Mafia
-Rick Ross
-Young Dro
-Young Joc
-Dem Franchize Boyz
-The Musicianz
-and….
-Little Brother?
It sounds like the setup to a bad ‘…so these guys walk into a bar’ joke, I know…
NOW imagine a sea of 8,000 faces……completely still AND silent.
Don’t get me wrong, once we accepted the gig I knew we were up against impossible odds, but I’m never one to back down from any challenge. The worst they can do is boo a nigga, right?
Wrong.
The worst they can do is look confused, and stare at you like you’re the only boca burger at a steak buffet.
I thought niggas would at least nod and act like they’re *trying* to give us a chance, right?
Nope.
None.
Zilch.
Nada.
Its like I could hear Jamie Foxx’s voice in my head, taunting me like ol’ boy at that roast:
“Damn, I really don’t belong in this @#%$.
I am your conscience.
Black people really don’t like me.
I am your conscience.
Maybe you niggas should do that ‘Lovin It’ song and wrap it up….yeah, that’ll get ‘em on your side.
I am your conscience.”
I think me and Pooh looked at each other and burst out laughing mid-song at one point, cause we couldn’t believe how badly we were bombing….lol
Don’t get it twisted….I understand how the ‘concept’ of Little Brother and/or “Minstrel Show” can be off putting and even intimidating to today’s mainstream Black audience (three college educated niggas who ain’t trappin and/or reppin one particular hood or housing project = The Cosby Show in the eyes of most niggas….real talk)……
But c’mon, now….
The stage show is when all those notions are supposed to fall to the side cause that’s the ‘oh, noooow I get it!’ moment. That’s when you see me and Pooh jumping and bouncing and rocking and realize, ‘oh, they some regular niggas just like me.’ Right?
Nope.
None.
Zilch.
Nada.
@#%$ like yesterday makes me wonder if the Black ‘masses’ and/or urban radio will EVER get what LB is trying to do…..
I know 9th doesn’t make 808 beats.
I know me and Pooh don’t have a ‘leanwidditpeanutbutterandtaffy’ song with its own accompanying dance.
I know HotFoxy9102.5 ain’t runnin our joint every hour on the hour.
But damn….
I really wonder sometimes if my music is that ‘intelligent’ or are niggas just that dumb? (Or ‘conditioned’ to be a little more PC about it?)
I’mma keep doin’ me and sadly assume the latter.
Little Brother
Getback
Atlantic Records ’07
We move on. Again.
Tay”
March 10th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ha good man, i tried lookin for it but gave up after a while nut man:
“intimidating to today’s mainstream Black audience (three college educated niggas who ain’t trappin and/or reppin one particular hood or housing project = The Cosby Show in the eyes of most niggas….real talk)…… ”
and
“I really wonder sometimes if my music is that ‘intelligent’ or are niggas just that dumb? (Or ‘conditioned’ to be a little more PC about it?)”
i agree he likes fuckin with people but those quotes dont sound like someone with particularly nuanced views on rap. he is fuckin hilarious (intentionally and unintentionally) though, il give him that.
“I think Tyler’s “punk” through and through, which also means he’s full of shit and doesn’t care ever.”
yeh this is true but its also exactly why i usually cant stand anyone in real life who overly identifies with those punk ideals. it has its merits but its just some narrowminded childish shit a lot of the time that turns people into such utter cunts way too easily. eg someone like henry rollins asshole attitude is alright for a while but eventually it becomes obvious hes just this really annoyin dumbass who thinks hes knows everything. but i did like the fuck the old people shit, rap needed an extreme antidote to backpackery just wish like rnt said he coulda kept it up longer, maybe sos itd become a more common attitude not just one thats exclusively associated with odd future.
“This nigga tyler be going sock shopping on the internet with the neptunes clones album set to shuffle gtfo brah.”
man tylers got the ears of a hair stylist whos best friends a chihuaha. based god on the other hand is someone id be very happy to be the only one with an ipod on a long road trip, even his pussyfied music is good pussyfied music. and i think tyler is actually following the eminem model but just at internet speed.
March 10th, 2011 at 1:52 pm
“nut man” is a typo not some suspect phrase
March 10th, 2011 at 1:55 pm
“So, can B become the new Maynholdup and do a guest series on here breaking down the genius of Baby and so on?”
2nded.
March 10th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
me:“I think Tyler’s “punk” through and through, which also means he’s full of shit and doesn’t care ever.”
done: yeh this is true but its also exactly why i usually cant stand anyone in real life who overly identifies with those punk ideals. it has its merits but its just some narrowminded childish shit a lot of the time that turns people into such utter cunts way too easily.
Yeah, dude, that’s more what I meant. I don’t think I’ve ever used “punk” as a positive descriptor in my life.
March 10th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
Lil B has an incredible music taste. I’d love to talk music with him one day.
March 10th, 2011 at 2:47 pm
damn i need to learn to judge context better. could just be the influence of some the people i end up hanging around at college who would use shit like punk and not caring as positive decriptors with no qualms at all.
fuck i know anyways, my punk knowledge doesnt extend any further than bad rains,black flag, stiff little fingers and the sex pistols
March 10th, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Can someone direct to a quote from Tyler where he said he hates all old rappers becuz I’m pretty sure you niggas are bullshitting. He doesn’t like (old) niggas that try to hate on him for whatever reason.
March 10th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
I swear some of y’all niggas try to be vanguards to a scene of music so hard y’all will go to any means to defend even without a need to and then you end up becoming backpackers and purists in some form even if you ain’t repping for Rawkus Records to have a comeback.
March 10th, 2011 at 3:37 pm
Tyler has (repeatedly) voiced resentment of the “real hip-hop” underground types. That seems more than justified really.
March 10th, 2011 at 3:38 pm
And don’t throw no “Fuck Real Hip-Hop” quotes at me cuz I’ve seen em and if you took offense to that you are part of the problem.
March 10th, 2011 at 3:40 pm
@AK
Yeah, I know but thats at the fans who want to tell him he can’t like Waka or Soulja or Justin Bieber because they aren’t “real music”. It’s not like he was saying “Fuck Nas, cormega, biggie and every rapper from the 90′s with NYC limits.”
March 10th, 2011 at 4:01 pm
@Fool
Right, he definitely said he listens to Nas and Snoop and Wu.
March 10th, 2011 at 4:07 pm
“I swear some of y’all niggas try to be vanguards to a scene of music so hard y’all will go to any means to defend even without a need to and then you end up becoming backpackers and purists in some form even if you ain’t repping for Rawkus Records to have a comeback.”
CO-SIGNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
March 10th, 2011 at 4:32 pm
I think if you guys are just going off Tyler’s twitter feed you are misreading him. Dude is a huge gushing geeky fan of the music that he loves, he’s just hyper-specific in his tastes and quick to dismiss the things that he doesn’t. I was the same way at his age. Fuck I’m probably the same way today.
March 10th, 2011 at 4:32 pm
i agree with the sentiment to an extent and that shit is done a lot. more and more as we move further from the backpack (there really should be a less divisive handy catch-all phrase by now thats not gonna cause some debate over semantics and derail the conversation) indie boom when the attitude originally rose to prominance and it is problematic. peoples memories and tastes do change over time to where theyr using the same defense but now against its original benificiary, usualy completely unawares.
with that said, it really doesnt apply here. were responding to these rappers very public attitudes about this shit, no ones plucking it from thin air. tylers opinions are well documented from twitter and interviews, lil b obviously doesnt hide his thoughts and wears his musical taste on his sleeve and the myspace post above should give you a good idea how phonte gets down. none of this is subjective, its out there in black and white
March 10th, 2011 at 4:38 pm
and well yeah people need to stop reading so much into it too, like i said i dont think half its meant to be taken seriously/literally. tyler and lil b both can have good senses of humour and obviously dont consider the implications or people like us overanalysing half the shit they throw out there , twitter generation and all that.
this applys to phonte too, but to a much lesser extent (actyally i imagine if i enjoyed his music and he was funnier itd be forgivale ala sean price)
March 10th, 2011 at 4:50 pm
“As if the Little Brothers weren’t among the very wave of artists who first cultivated the state of hyper restrictive elitism that makes their fans think that B the enemy.”
This made me laugh so hard and is so dead on. Good music is good music! the end. People are so obsessed with taking sides on things that don’t need sides taken for.
March 10th, 2011 at 5:44 pm
Also, Jean Grae always raps about the collaboration she is rapping on. Look at the 2 songs she did on 2Mex’s album. She is one of those rappers who usually just writes about what happened that day.
March 10th, 2011 at 5:59 pm
This record is a non-event. I don’t get the hype around it.
People still mess w Okayplayer? Who do they listen to? Jimmy Fallon?
March 10th, 2011 at 6:10 pm
Maybe they’re drinking Mountain Dew at the House of Blues? That’s that real hip hop yo!
March 10th, 2011 at 7:25 pm
from “none of this is subjective, its out there in black and white”
to “i dont think half its meant to be taken seriously/literally”
i need to learn english better
March 11th, 2011 at 12:19 am
hey yall,
politics aside, this song is kinda wack
thanks,
david
March 11th, 2011 at 12:58 am
^cosign. Shit is gay.
March 11th, 2011 at 1:47 am
I mean, it’s a 9th Wonder beat for fuck’s sake. It’s not worth talking about if you aren’t addressing the “important” elements.
March 11th, 2011 at 2:58 am
It’s not like the purpose of the song was actually the song, anyhow.
March 11th, 2011 at 4:48 am
on the anniversary of biggies death this is what u decided to post? really?
March 11th, 2011 at 6:37 am
How dare the heretic defile the sacred ground of the blogosphere with the music of mortal rappers on this the Day of the Ascension of our Lord Who Is Both Large And Small to the right hand of the All-Father? Has he no respect for the sanctity of our traditions? He must surely repent, or else come judgment day the All-Father will look upon his misdeeds with anger and award him only a single microphone.
March 11th, 2011 at 10:09 am
ha his name
March 11th, 2011 at 10:59 am
“politics aside, this song is kinda wack”
Yes, this reminds me of the Roots’ “shocking” collaboration with Project Pat about five years ago; like that record, this one is just boring shading towards wack.
March 11th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
Best goodie Mob cover ive ever heard these niggas go hard
http://thedetroitzuu.blogspot.com/2011/03/new-artist-highlight.html
March 11th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
Phonte discusses the Lil B collaboration on his Gordon Gartrell radio show start about 53 mins. in if any of you fags are interested!
March 11th, 2011 at 4:10 pm
this song is ass
March 11th, 2011 at 4:47 pm
people keep callin tyler punk and industrial (as noz says in the billboard feature) but wolf gang aesthetic reminds me more of 90s tape punk/ noise then industrail .. like that sebadoh shit.. on the comparison of lil b and tyler, tyler hasnt been put thru the ringer like B .. hes only experienced success and positive feedback for the most part.. wait till (or if) he experiences some intense backlash., might force him to take his craft to the levels of hyper self awareness B is always fuckin with.
March 11th, 2011 at 5:30 pm
“people keep callin tyler punk and industrial (as noz says in the billboard feature)”
I was referring to his visual sensibility, not his music.
March 11th, 2011 at 7:47 pm
“He’ll need harder drums though.” #ZING!
March 11th, 2011 at 10:32 pm
phonte and ninth are not typical rap purists. never have been. for as long as i remember, they have always been trying to put their fans onto some new shit. whether it was radiohead or big tymers, they were always trying to expand the typical purist fan’s mind, not limit it. back in 2003 it wasn’t standard for underground hip hop fans to talk about their eclectic tastes – yet these guys always were. in some ways, that set the stage for what a lot of cats are doing today in terms of bringing other sounds into their music.
rather than being hyper elitists, i see them more as noz described tyler – hyper-specific in tastes – though not elitist.
March 12th, 2011 at 2:36 am
The above letter seems to cut against that assertion.
Also: Rappers listening to Radiohead. What? Don’t get me wrong, Radiohead’s one of my favorite anythings ever, but Radiohead seems to have this bizarre cred in the rap world. That would be fine except for the fact that people keep citing them in the same breath as Coldplay which is like saying “I’m friends with Jordan, and with this shit Jordan took back in ’95.” Either way, I don’t get it.
Anyhow, what with the 9th Wonder beat that’s less interesting than the shit B goes in on daily and the damping down of his personal stylistic quirks, this collab mostly serves to reinforce what I actually love about B’s Old-School-Lyricism tracks – he doesn’t sound like a rapper aping older rappers’ styles, but more like someone’s hazy memory of listening to a battered, dissolving cassette tape.
March 12th, 2011 at 4:05 am
[...] Based On A Two Way Street by Noz [...]
March 13th, 2011 at 8:40 pm
Beat is weak, and boring.
Lil’B is terrible.
March 15th, 2011 at 7:49 pm
more z-ro.
March 15th, 2011 at 9:53 pm
why do people get so heated in these threads? they act like they know Brandon Tyler etc by first name basis
you only know them through the music…
think about it
YOU ARE ALL PRETTY MUCH STANS
little brother were good back in highschool like 5-6 years ago, seriously lil B is helping backpackers stay relevant….
hahahaha the rap game is changing, thank you based dadmom
peace
GODSUN
March 15th, 2011 at 11:59 pm
ayo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntdW3Br-yQs
March 17th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
youtube.com/watch?v=1WP0AiaUDCM
“tyler the creator #swagjack harmony korine called he wants his swag back” lmao
March 17th, 2011 at 9:04 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WP0AiaUDCM
“tyler the creator #swagjack harmony korine called he wants his swag back” lmao
March 20th, 2011 at 8:40 am
IM PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER WON…IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLIONS TO HOLD ME BACK…WELCOME TO MY TERRORDOME
http://www.youtube.com/user/305ilovemia
ALL I NEED IS WON MIC AND I’LL BE AIIGHT
March 21st, 2011 at 6:35 pm
LEAVE IT TO BACKPACKERS TO FIND A WAY TO MAKE BASEGOD BORING.
March 27th, 2011 at 7:53 pm
jean grae is a faggot
April 13th, 2011 at 11:58 am
Okay, so, I’m a Little Brother fan and have been watching Lil B’s work come out for a while. I wanna understand the supposed “genius” of his work, I’m trying guys, I really am. I checked out a few mixtapes (6Kiss/Thraxx/Red Flame), been checking out his youtube videos (caught the Charlie Sheen one last night), trying to keep up with his new stuff that comes out cause everyone is making him sound promising.
If a little background helps, I’m a huge fan of shit from new york/cali from the 80s/90s, i dig other shit like geto boys/ugk/killer mike, the game, a couple lil wayne tracks, and stuff like little brother, people under the stairs, madlib. So just making it clear, I have no allegiance to any scene or type of rap, commercial/underground, whatever, as long as it sounds GOOD.
And I’ve set aside all bias and prejudice that comes from detractors, sat down, and listened as hard as I could to see what the hype was about. I’m just not hearing it. I don’t hate this dude at all, he seems like a nice guy (albeit maybe retarded? using the quote in this pic as a reference: http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/4656/lilbhotweirdorapper.jpg “I don’t know…how I’m walking on the flor” uhhh what the fuck? dude I’m sorry, that’s retarded), but even the videos that I’m told he shines on/examples of him rapping well are just a little mediocre, like, wait, this is what people are orgasming over? where’s the “knowledge/wisdom”, why is he droning on so slowly? how is this innovative? this seems like a step back? am I fucking crazy or is this just super hyped but actually boring? he even seems to forget where the beat is on Age of Information at one point. The hype surrounding Lil B is not equal to his actual talent, and if it is, I must be missing a memo that everyone else got. With that said, I do enjoy his dumber songs (Charlie Sheen, Wonton Soup, Ellen Degeneres) for their riding-in-my-car-acting-stupid-with-friends value, they’re funny to listen to and all, but honestly I’m not seeing why everyone rides his dick so hard on the internet. Also I have no prob with this collab, it’s okay, nothing spectacular I guess but I dig it.
April 27th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
you know what producer’s style would fit lil b’s lyrical style real well? araabMUZIK. without a double if lil b and araabMUZIK got together itd be tooooo good.
June 3rd, 2011 at 6:37 pm
[...] song has been getting a lot of attention on the internet since its release, because the song features Lil B rapping with Phonte and Jean [...]
July 7th, 2011 at 1:56 pm
[...] Get It While Its Good-beatet är kompetent, men tråkigt; kanske har Brandon inspirerats av sitt samarbete med 9th Wonder? Det börjar åtminstone halvsjungas mot slutet. “Went platinum on the [...]
September 27th, 2011 at 7:12 am
[...] head over to CocaineBlunts.com for a nice little write-up of the track, it got me to thinking a little bit) Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the [...]