Lil B is a myth. He is also a human being named Brandon McCartney who lives in the Bay Area, but for a solid decade, he was the most influential person on the internet. If you were around the Tumblr and Twitter spheres circa 2010 to 2012, you remember the chaos. People weren't just listening to him; they were obsessed with the idea of taking over Lil B—whether that meant trying to decode his 800-song mixtapes or understanding how a guy who seemingly couldn't rap "traditionally" became the king of the underground.
He changed everything.
Before Lil B, rappers had to be polished. You needed a street pedigree or a major label budget to get anyone to listen to more than two songs. Then came the BasedGod. He flooded the gates. He released so much content that it was impossible to keep up, creating a "Taking Over" effect that fundamentally broke the music industry's distribution model.
What People Get Wrong About the BasedGod Era
A lot of folks look back and think Lil B was just a meme. They see "Wonton Soup" or the "Cooking Dance" and assume it was a joke that went too far. That’s a mistake. Honestly, the movement was a masterclass in community building and branding. When we talk about taking over Lil B, we’re talking about the moment the fans stopped being passive listeners and started being part of a "Based" lifestyle.
It was radical positivity. It was weird. It was often low-quality audio recorded on a $50 mic, but it felt more real than anything on the radio.
The Strategy of the Flood
How do you take over an industry without a budget? You overwhelm it. Lil B's strategy was simple: volume. He once released a mixtape with 855 songs. Think about that for a second. That is days of continuous audio. By sheer force of output, he occupied the digital conversation. You couldn't go on a music blog without seeing his name.
This wasn't just about music; it was about SEO before people really knew how to exploit it. He would title songs after celebrities—Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Ellen DeGeneres—to ensure that anyone searching for those stars would stumble upon a BasedGod track. It worked. Suddenly, the "Taking Over Lil B" phenomenon was a reality because he was everywhere at once.
The Pack and the Roots
To understand where this came from, you have to look at The Pack. "Vans" was a legitimate hit. But when the group's momentum slowed, Brandon didn't go the traditional route. He went solo and went strange. He embraced the "Based" moniker, which originally was a slur for people high on freebase cocaine in the Bay. He flipped it. He turned a negative into a philosophy of being yourself and not caring what others think.
That’s why the fans are so loyal. It wasn’t about being the best technical rapper; it was about being the most authentic.
The Curse is Real (Sorta)
You can't talk about Lil B without talking about the curses. Kevin Durant. James Harden. The sports world actually took this seriously. When KD tweeted that Lil B was a "wack rapper" in 2011, the BasedGod Curse was born. Durant didn't win a title for years. The internet ate it up.
This is a prime example of how he "took over" cultural segments that had nothing to do with hip-hop. ESPN was talking about him. NBA commentators were mentioning the "Cooking Dance." It was a total takeover of the mainstream by a guy who was technically an independent artist working out of his bedroom.
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The Impact on Modern Rap
Look at the stars of today. Kendrick Lamar has praised him. Drake has paid homage. Young Thug and the entire "mumble rap" wave (a term I hate, but it’s what people use) owe their entire careers to the path Lil B cleared. He proved that you didn't need to be a lyricist in the 90s sense to have a massive impact.
He taught artists how to use social media as a weapon.
Why "Taking Over Lil B" Still Matters Today
The internet is different now. It's more corporate. It's more curated. The raw, unfiltered energy of the early 2010s is mostly gone, replaced by TikTok algorithms and 15-second clips. But the DNA of what Lil B built—the direct-to-fan connection, the ignoring of "quality" in favor of "vibe," the sheer audacity of being weird—is still the blueprint for every viral artist.
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If you’re trying to understand how to build a brand in 2026, you actually have to look backward. You have to look at how one guy from Berkeley managed to convince the world that he was a god, a chef, and a philosopher all at once.
Real Steps for the Modern Creator
If you're inspired by the "Taking Over" philosophy, here is how you actually apply it without becoming a carbon copy.
- Prioritize Volume Over Perfection. In a world of algorithms, being "good" once is worse than being "present" every day. Lil B proved that the fans will find the gems if you give them enough coal to dig through.
- Claim Your Own Language. He didn't just make music; he made a vocabulary. "Based," "Task Force," "Rare," "Cooking." If you want to own a space, you need to give your community a way to talk to each other that outsiders don't understand.
- Lean Into the Weirdness. The things people make fun of you for are usually your strongest assets. Lil B was mocked for his "bad" rapping, so he leaned in and made it his signature style.
- Build a "Task Force." Your most loyal 100 fans are worth more than 100,000 passive followers. Treat them like an elite group.
- Ignore the Gatekeepers. Don't wait for a label or a blog to validate you. Lil B went around them by going directly to the platforms.
The legacy of taking over Lil B isn't just about a rapper from the Bay Area. It's about the democratization of fame. It's about the fact that anyone with a webcam and a weird idea can change the world. It’s about being Based. Stay positive, keep creating, and never let the "wack" labels stop you from dropping your own 800-song mixtape. Even if you only record it on your phone, the right people will hear it. That's the power of the internet, and that's the lesson the BasedGod left for all of us. No matter how much the industry tries to gatekeep, the flood always wins.