Lil B

Kanye West Thinks He's God -- Here Are Four Other Musicians Who They Are, Too

We all know that story about how mad people got when John Lennon said the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus." There was uproar! There were banners! There were protests! But these days, musicians have the audacity to compare themselves to actual Gods and no one bats an eyelid. Let's take a look a ... More >>

Dawn Richard Finds New Life Outside of Diddy's Pop Machine

Dawn Richard's Goldenheart album is the sound of freedom, of a singer-songwriter unfettered by the binds of the pop music machine. Released in January, Goldenheart quickly topped the iTunes R&B chart and opened up a wide new fan base for the New Orleans-born singer best known for being one-fifth of ... More >>

Rap Roundup: New Songs and Videos by Droop-E, Iamsu and More

As these new releases might suggest, Bay Area rap continues to evolve and become harder to pigeonhole. This is especially true when it comes to matching songs up with a visual; the same old bitches-in-the-club videos that we see all over the country don't really fly here unless they're super-duper f ... More >>

Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and Lows from the Last Week in S.F. Music

Top 9 Trends in Local Music From 2012

Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and Lows from the Last Week in S.F. Music

Whoa: Lil B Tries Out for Golden State Warriors' D-League Team

When Lil B tweeted last month that he was going to try out for the Golden State Warriors, it was met with the same skepticism as when he said he was Miley Cyrus or Paris Hilton or Matlock. But our Young Based God actually did it this past Sunday, when he suited up and got on the basketball court at ... More >>

Metallica and Vans Shoes? Five Better Product Ideas for the Metallica Marketing Machine

Well no, actually -- a Metallica-Vans partnership doesn't seem all that "inevitable" to us, despite this statement from both parties today chirping that "many a skate trick is landed with Vans shoes on the feet and a Metallica tune in one's head." Maybe that was true in, like, 1992. Maybe the Vans f ... More >>

Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and Lows from the Last Week in S.F. Music

Lil B Releases Rock Song "California Boy," Proves He Still Has the Ability to Surprise

After declaring that he's God, he's gay, he's Justin Bieber, he's Jesus, and he's an NYU lecturer, Berkeley rap provocateur Lil B is now out to try and be something else: a rock 'n' roller. Based God's latest leg-puller is "California Boy," a parodic but somewhat credible acoustic-electric rock son ... More >>

Fall Album Frenzy: New Local Albums You Need to Know

Watch: Young L and Sea of Bees Channel The Burning Man Spirit in 'Automated Oceans'

With his frequent non sequitur songs and videos, Lil B typically takes the top honors for being the most out there member of the Pack, the Oakland-based rap group that he, Young L, Lil Uno, and Young Stunna formed in high school. But Young L, the Pack's producer, has been quietly pushing even more e ... More >>

Live Review, 7/16/12: Five Things We Learned at Last Night's Mayhemic Trash Talk and SpaceGhostPurrp Show

Trash Talk SpaceGhostPurrp Monday, July 16, 2012 Slim's 333 Club Better than: Shows where they don't find random shoes, watches, and other detachable items strewn about afterward. Last night, the rising Sacramento hardcore band Trash Talk and freaky Florida rapper SpaceGhostPurrp shared an unusual ... More >>

Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and Lows from the Last Week in S.F. Music

Watch: New Local Rap Videos From Kool John, Erk Tha Jerk, Lil B and More

It's been a lively few weeks in the world of local rap videos, and it seems by and large like people are stepping up their visual game with better cinematography and storylines. Here are some of our recent favorites: Kool John and Plane Jane, "Me x My Sis" In the past week, Richmond's Kool John ... More >>

Justin Bieber's Believe: A First Listen

Like my colleague Andrew Stout, I have mostly managed to avoid Justin Bieber for what I'm pretty sure are good reasons. He's a typical "innocent" white male singer trying to represent universality to nonwhites and nonmales. Then there's his musical blandness: bits that crept through my defenses of " ... More >>

Lil B Releases "Historical" 878-Song Mixtape

Remember when Lil B dropped that 676-song mixtape early last year? This was back before his historical NYU lecture, before his historical tentative acceptance from many in the mainstream rap world, before I'm Gay? Well, the Based God has upped his game: In a hefty gift to discographers and completis ... More >>

Lil B Issues Classical Album, Wants You to Actually Pay For It

Having harangued the rap establishment to an extent that he could no longer be ignored or dismissed, Lil B is moving on to new territories. The next genre ripe for his ad-libbed, self-obsessed, endlessly positive brand of inquisition? Why, classical music, of course. Last night the Berkeley-bred h ... More >>

IamSu! on KILT, Getting an Invite From E-40, and Why He Wants Lil B to do an "Up" Remix

E-40's "Function" is blowing up the Bay. It's a slap-happy track that also happens to feature a cameo verse from Richmond rapper IamSu!, who dropped his freebie KILT mixtape last week. So with Iamsu!'s buzz building, we checked in with the 22-year-old to talk about learning to produce under Trackade ... More >>

Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and Lows from the Last Week in S.F. Music

The Top Five Most Important Lessons From Lil B's NYU Lecture

Props to The Fader, which has carefully transcribed Lil B's 86-minute lecture at NYU on April 11 in order to present a full Based Scripture (you can also listen below). What an act of love and extreme patience it was to note on paper B's patented go-somewhere-else sentences, which rarely conclude ne ... More >>

Roach Gigz's Producer CLoz Used to Sell Beats for $10

CLoz sold his first beat for $10. That less-than-whopping fee came about as the East Bay producer was clawing his way up into the local hip-hop scene. Since then, Cloz has steadily built up an impressive body of beats, most of them hooked around rousing synth lines and synapse-sizzling snares; he's ... More >>

Sizzle & Fizzle: Special Edition: The Best Bay Area Records of 2011

Better, Later, and on the Air: A Wish list for S.F. Music in 2012

One Last Spin: A Look Back at the Year in Bay Area Music

Lights Down Low's Corey Sleazemore and Eli Glad on Choosing Tracks, Weekday Hangovers, and How to Have a Successful Party

When adding up the ways our fair city keeps swinging, you might want to include the monthly Lights Down Low party, hosted by DJs Eli Glad and Corey Sleazemore. For the last five years, LDL has brought some of the world's best and weirdest electronic acts to San Francisco. It's been a refreshing ste ... More >>

Lil B Drops "I Got AIDS," Wants You to Get Tested, Lies About "Having Sex With 40 Girls"

Lil B, conscientious liar.​ One of the most important things about Lil B is his doe-eyed earnestness. Dude claims he's gay, claims he's God, claims he's deeply concerned about the state of the world, and he puts those soft-bellied worries and ridiculous boasts in such honest terms that you can ... More >>

Live Review: M83 Brings Its Cinematic New Album to the Stage at Mezzanine

M83 at Mezzanine last night.​ M83 Active Child Nov. 10, 2011 Mezzanine Better than: Lil B freestyling over an M83 song (Google it). Walking up to Mezzanine last night, I saw people buying scalped tickets at three times the face value without hesitation. The excitement leading up to this show ... More >>

Watch: A Day in the Life KMEL's Record-Buying, Star-Discovering DJ Amen

DJ Amen at Amoeba​ Ever wonder what a day in the life of a local radio DJ is like? Well now you can know: Bay Area hip-hop website Thizzler on the Roof recently put together this short clip that follows KMEL's DJ Amen around for a day -- starting at Amoeba, heading to Papalote, and ending at a ... More >>

Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and Lows from the Last Week in S.F. Music

Tri Angle Records Celebrates Its Birthday

David Banner Takes Aim at Fake Rap Culture, Lil B, and Kreayshawn with "Swag"

​On his new song "Swag," rapper, producer, and Mississippi native David Banner mocks a criminally overused word and the cultural practices that fall under it. Banner affects a sneering tone and an uncharacteristically simple, whoop-punctuated beat for "Swag." Both are reminiscent of Berkeley s ... More >>

Insurgent Hip-Hop: Kreayshawn, Lil B, and Bay Area Rappers Throw Out the Rules

Video: Lil B Talks About Rapping, I'm Gay, and the Closed-Mindedness of Hip-Hop

Lil B speaking with SF Weekly​ Earlier this year, Lil B, who spends a lot time talking about getting with women, decided to name an album I'm Gay. Although this announcement earned him death threats, it wasn't all that clear what he meant by it -- especially after the album came out with the s ... More >>

Thank (Based) God: Lil B Returns to Being Awesomely Dumb with "Bill Bellamy"

Bitch, he's Bill Bellamy​ After a week in which Berkeley rapper Lil B dropped a rather highbrow (and surprisingly listenable) new album, gave it away for free, got a Best New Music on Pitchfork for one of its songs, and continued to penetrate the respectable inner circus of the music industry, ... More >>

Lil B's I'm Gay: More Bashful Than Expected

​ I love the idea of Lil B -- a member of Berkeley one-hit wonders the Pack who wasn't gonna go out like that, and has since thrown anything and everything at the wall via Twitter and Mediafire to keep attention, fans and fame -- yet I've scarcely heard a note of his music. Loved his stint on ... More >>

Amy Winehouse's Website Hacked with Lil B Prank: Full Mayhemic Text Here

Not swag?​ As if anything could get worse for Amy Winehouse: Yesterday, her last bastion of unmarred public image -- her website -- got hacked. There weren't any references to her drug and alcohol problems, though. Instead, what you get is a profane prank from apparent fans of Berkeley rapper ... More >>

Lil B Suddenly Drops New Album, I'm Gay; Hear New Song "Trapped in Prison"

Uh, thank you Based God?​ And so it was decreed. Last night around midnight, apropos of pretty much nothing, The Berkeley based rapper/provocateur/phenomenon Lil B released his much-anticipated new album, I'm Gay, on iTunes, and then Tweeted the announcement. Why did he do it so suddenly? Why ... More >>

Before Lil B's I'm Gay: Five Great Hip-Hop Homages to Marvin Gaye

​When it comes to creative career moves, the rapper Lil B usually blazes his own distinct and very often quirky path. But his decision to re-up the cover art of Marvin Gaye's I Want You album for his own I'm Gay project taps into hip-hop's long and lustrous admiration for the music of Marvin. ... More >>

Lil B Goes Gaye (Happy!) with New Album Art

No, not that gay!​ Inciting outrage, death threats, and -- at least for us -- wry chuckles, the controversial Berkeley rapper Lil B has named his upcoming album I'm Gay. Despite his past threat to rape Kanye West and jokes that he was a homosexual, B says the title is about happiness and the m ... More >>

Rumor Confirmed: Kreayshawn, Polarizing Oakland MC, Signs with Columbia Records

The Bay Area's newest major-label rapper.​ When your video gets two million views in two weeks, something big is bound to happen, and for Oakland MC Kreayshawn, it just did. Today, her publicized announced that the polarizing rapper and White Girl Mob leader a signed deal with Columbia Record ... More >>

Kreayshawn's White Girl Mob Is Coming to Kill Your Dog

Of the 989,372 times that this video has been played in its one and a half week long lifespan (as of this writing), I'm pretty sure somewhere between two hundred to four hundred of those plays have come from my laptop. In the past 24 hours. This song is a killer. The beat is heavy, heavy, heavy, w ... More >>

Friday Night: Diddy Dirty Money Holds Court for Three Hours, Brings Out Lil B at the Warfield

Richard HaickP. Diddy at the Warfield Friday night.​ Diddy Dirty Money Tour May 6, 2011 The Warfield Better than: Not getting to study the science of weave-ology on a Friday night. "I thought I told you that we won't stop!" Friday night at the Warfield, Sean "Diddy" Combs, the artist former ... More >>

Today in Internet Cat Worship: Adopt a #BASED Cat Like Lil B's

It's never not a good day for cats on the Internet, but today is a particular boon for that post-cinco de Mayo hangover. (Also, we have a contractual obligation to report on everything Brandon McCartney does.) Ladies and gentlemen, meet Keke:​Lil B adopted this she-beast at least a year ago, but ... More >>

Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and Lows from the Last Week in S.F. Music

Rocky's Swag: Roach Gigz Rides His Cocky Charm Toward Rap's Big Ring

Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and lows from the last week in S.F. music

Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and lows from the last several weeks in S.F. music.

The Sounds of 2010

What we'll remember from the year in S.F. music.