Over the past few weeks, I've had trouble ignoring the phenomenon that is Lil' B the Based God. The Bay Area native has a choke hold on the internet's fickle throat, and with his #based moniker he's made Twitter his personal stomping ground in little more than a year. That said, his music has always gone over my head, either due to my own doubting his musical ability or general ire towards his 'so ridiculous, it's genius' modus operandi. You can't deny the man's work ethic or his overall intelligence. Lately I've been seeing Lil' B tweets popping up on my timeline, and instead of questioning them, I found myself nodding in agreement. Maybe I'll never be a Lil' B fan. Maybe #based music is little more than a fad. Whatever the case, he has my ears, and after this feature with MTV's VICE, he might have a lot more in 2011. Check out exactly what #based music is, and the inspiration for his seemingly random song titles...
I didn't watch most of the VMA's. The Washington - Dallas game had my attention because it was as captivating as an opening game as I've ever seen (word to DC). That said, I tuned in to MTV's yearly ode to the music video late, only to catch one thing: your performance Ye. I Youtube'd Taylor Swift's performance, and it was lame at best. She tried to make an underhanded acceptance of your antics last year (which I thoroughly lambasted you for), which came off sounding preachy and quick to capitalize on a year's worth of free publicity. You rose above her by not even directing any attention to her, or allowing MTV to pan to her anorexic-looking behind. But that's neither here nor there. Taylor's performance sucked because it was bad. Your performance, on the other hand, was masterful.
Rather than come back with a Taylor Swift apology song or try to make amends for what some would perceive as an off year for you, you decided to thumb your nose at all the douchebags, *ssholes and what have you. Now, that may sound ridiculous on the surface, but when taking a look at the performance as a whole, one can't help but think you're one of the best musicians out right now. First of all, you came out there dressed in a bright red suit. At first I was clowning it, thinking about Eddie Murphy in Delirious, but then looking at the stage from the aerial view, your aim (pun intended) was obvious. Ye, you were the target, the red dot that everyone had been aiming at over the past year because of your antics. Visually, that made the 'Runaway' performance a symbolic spectacle. Ironically, the song is about you poking fun at yourself for 'finding what (you) don't like the most' in everything and broadcasting it. That message hearkens back to your town hall-esque meetings at Rolling Stone, Twitter and Facebook where you're trying to make music from a position of happiness rather than sadness. I suppose one of those positions is one where you can poke fun at yourself and the people who've been chucking darts at you over the past year. You made yourself the target for yourself and for everyone else.
The second reason the performance was dope was that you brought out Pusha T. Plus, it seems as if the younger Thornton brother has something to prove, much like you do. Of all the heads you have lined up on GOOD Music, Pusha is my favorite. He's got the charisma, attitude and BARS for a nice crossover, though most of white America let out a collective 'Who's that?' when he stepped on stage. It was one of the only highlights to what I heard (better yet, read, thanks to Twitter) was a pretty lame MTV Video Music Awards.
SIDENOTE: The VMA's are officially dead, by the way. There really was no reason for half of the show aside from the performances. Chelsea Handler (who is comedic gold on her show) fumbled through three hours of celebrity jokes and a Rick Ross ride, and still couldn't get a genuine laugh from the dead-silent crowd. MTV completely lost its appeal when she jumped into a hot-tub with the Dirty Jersey crew, and died when she came out 'pregnant'. RIP to MTV.
Your performance was trill for one more reason: it means hip-hop is the IT now. Along with Drake, Eminem and Nicki Minaj, your feature on MTV, a (canonized) world stage, was a testament to the idea that rap music is here to stay. Ye, you solidified yourself as a heavy-hitter again with the this performance and kept it oh-so-funky with Taylor Swift by not even mentioning that squeaky-clean pop martyr. While she tried to milk last year's folly again, you were looking a year ahead to a gang of awards. Regardless of America's sweetheart, Ye, you were masterful last night, putting an emphatic exclamation mark on one hell of a statement to the music industry over the past few months. Your next album is sounding damn near classical, and we have no clue what's even going to be on it. That's enough holding your pocket, though Ye. Let's hear a few more GOOD Friday's before we crown you again, though somehow we might not even need it after that performance...
Good God Almighty. Just when I thought you guys' programming couldn't be more idiotic, I flipped on what was once the bane of my mornings, and flipped right back in fear of losing my mind. What is Jersey Shore? I mean, other than a reality show based off the stupidity, vanity and vapid lifestyles of young New Jerseyans (sp?)? I can guarantee that whoever is creating these shows has the attention span of Heidi and Spencer put together, which isn't much. But in all seriousness, is this what we're really feeding to 15 and 16-year-old kids?? MTV, this is detestable. If it isn't 'The Hills' making a season out of stupid catfights, or 'Parental Control' making it funny to disrespect parents, or glamorizing teen pregnancy with '16 and Pregnant', you guys have NO decent programming.
Hell, think about your name: MTV. MUSIC TELEVISION. I cannot tell you the last time I have turned on MTV to anything musical. If it's not reality TV, then it's not MTV. What happened to the cartoons? What happened to Daria, Beavis and Butthead, Celebrity Deathmatch, Andy Milonakis? What happened to Rock-N-Jock Sports? What happened to GOOD original programming? Every time I hear about a new show, it's one of three things: A) a spin-off from an old show, B) a distasteful, yet generic game show or C) a feeble attempt at shock humor. MTV, what happened to the music???
So many times I heard adults in the 90's chastize you guys for the music and for how outlandish everything was. Now, I don't know any adults that even care to criticize you guys. Clearly, the adults who were hating on you before, are NOW you. From an adult perspective, THIS is the MTV we should have been watching 10 years ago: mindless, inane and repetitive. I shudder to think what's going to happen in another 10 years, so I will just say my goodbye now. MTV, you were good while you were young. A network full of awkward laughter and musical vibes that could only peak during its adolescence. In your own adulthood, you became the very thing that you had poised us against: the Man. Your channel is now corporately sponsored and corporately-run. The organic feel that made me wake up every morning at 7 to watch Coolio's 'Fantastic Voyage' is gone, but at least I still have BET... Wait, no.. BET is the coon network... I guess we stil have the blogs. MTV, check out where you were, and where you are now. Lord knows these growing pains didn't work out as planned...
