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Top 5 Underground Lil B Classics That Defined the Based Era
Long before viral rap and algorithm playlists took over the internet, Lil B was building a cult following through raw visuals, unconventional flows, and an unapologetic creative philosophy known as Based Music. The Berkeley rapper flooded the internet with hundreds of songs and videos, creating a digital movement that influenced an entire generation of underground artists.
While mainstream listeners often remember the memes, the real fans know the deep cuts that helped build Lil B’s legend online. Here are five underground Lil B records that captured the chaos, humor, and freedom of the Based era.
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émincé red onions during a rush playing dru hill. Health inspector said im da sh!t.
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This evening I went to my local park to shoot some hoops, a hobby that I’ve recently picked up. There’s something pure about shooting a basketball. Making a shot is not guaranteed, it’s all on you and you can’t hide from the outcome - the ball either goes in or it doesn’t. I love the delayed gratification as the ball hangs in the air after you throw it up. There’s randomness and variation in how the ball bounces, requiring your body to adapt on the fly. I love how you’re mainly playing with gravity and that you need to be focused and relaxed to shoot well. If you think about it too hard, shooting hoops is almost a 🌈 metaphor for life 🙌.
As I played, I listened to Hoop Life, the basketball-centric 2014 mixtape by Lil B. The tape is mainly known for “Fuck KD”, a diss track to NBA MVP Kevin Durant, a concept so ridiculous1 it threatens to cast a gimmicky shadow over the whole mixtape. But it doesn’t. Instead, listening to it, I found myself inspired.
In Hoop Life, everything revolves around basketball and the act of playing. It’s an hour where basketball is the only judge and “see me on the court and let’s play” is the answer to all questions. Lil B’s raps are simple and crass but vaguely mystical: the tape starts with him repeating “Let’s play hoop, bitch!” - by the eighth time it’s sounding like a mantra for life.
His enthusiasm about the game of basketball is so infectous that it suggests a love of life itself, in all of its complexities. It helps that many lines can be read as about both basketball and life in general. When he says “Quit ball-hogging bitch, pass the ball trick”, is he railing against ball hoggers or the selfish people in our lives? Is “I work on the shot, cause I can’t dunk” about improving his jumper, or learning to embrace your strengths?
As I get older, I’ve started to gravitate towards play as the respite from the grind. Perhaps it’s some “getting in touch with your inner child” shit but to me, playing is one of the joys of life. Months long a-sync board games with friends, running around a touch rugby field, trying to throw a ball through a hoop - there’s a simplicity to these activites. You win or you lose, you touch the player or you don’t, the ball goes in or it doesn’t.
When playing, there’s no shame in trying and no shame in failure. These zones feel almost utopian compared to “real life” with all of its complexities and trade offs. The meaning you can get from a game of basketball is something Lil B seems get on Hoop Life. I’ve written a lot of words above, but he encapsulates it in just one line: “I hoop everyday case it’s fun”.