Lil B Is the Most Important Rapper of the Decade So Far
While a number of more-polished songs have shown that Lil B can occasionally rap well, he often chooses not to. And that, for better or worse, has paved the road for other MCs who lack a traditional skill set. Take leopard-skin print wearing rapper Trinidad James, whose annoying and hypnotic single, "All Gold Everything," essentially scored him a record deal with Def Jam. He essentially took Lil B's rough prototype and smoothed out the edges, including in the production.
Then there's one of the biggest rappers of the moment, Harlem's A$AP Rocky, whose big budget debut Long Live A$ap came out last week. Having referenced Lil B and worked with Clams Casino, he has reworked, refined, and expounded upon the based aesthetic with greater commercial success than anyone else.
As gimmicky as he initially seemed, it now feels quite likely that, 20 years from now, folks will still be talking about Lil B and his influence. This could well happen even if he never releases another album, though that's unlikely. In fact, one suspects he'll have something new out by the time we finish typing this sentence.
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