Who I'd like to meet in 2013

This might be a little embarrassing, but I'll tell the truth. If I could meet anyone at all in 2013, it would be Lil B. If you know who he is, chances are you don't like him too much, so I don't even know why I'm going to elaborate on this at all, but here we go...

I've recently come around to the point of view that Lil B AKA The Based God AKA Brandon McCartney is a genius. I never meant for it to happen, but it did. Like many others, I originally thought he was some kind of joke and then I thought he was just terrible. It would be easy for most folks to pass such a judgment and leave it there if they only happened to encounter Lil B videos like this one (or this one. Or how about this one?).

As time passed, I kept running into funny Lil B videos online from time to time, mostly laughing and thinking "I can't believe people actually like that shit." You can see negative comments like that (and far worse) on any Lil B video, but there are also rabid fans of the "Based God" who swear he's enlightened, brilliant - illuminated in an almost religious sense. And sadly enough, I think I'm becoming one of them. There is something very special going on in his music, and I don't just mean as a satire of popular rap. I really think he's talented in a far-out, post-modern, outsider art kind of way. One day last week, almost without warning, something clicked, and I've been obsessed with listening to Lil B ever since (much to the dismay of my wife and most of my friends and co-workers).

So go ahead, hate away if you must. On the surface, Lil B has poor rhyming skills, a terrible flow, a goofy presence, and a filthy mouth. But, as corny as it sounds, Lil B is all about ignoring the haters, bringing positive vibes, and loving life. Deep down, his music is cutting-edge, avant-garde, bizarre, and absurd. Lil B is changing the history of rap music for better or worse, and plenty of people think he's one of the worst rappers ever. Even so, he keeps dropping free mixtapes at an unbelievable rate, innovating a 30-year-old genre that deserves some new weirdness, racking up legions of both fans and haters, and having a damn good time in the process. This year, a few of his achievements included releasing a "classical album," a rock song, and giving a lecture at NYU:

If you're curious at all, or just a little wild, dig through some of his other work on youtube (I like these: here and here, for starters) or download a few of his mixtapes from datpiff.

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This post is part of Think Kit by SmallBox
Today’s prompt: If you could meet someone new in 2013, who would it be? Or would you rather spend more time with someone you already know?