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“WHAT UNIVERSITY WHATS TO LET LIL B COME LEARN AT YOUR INSTITUTION? IM VERY INTERESTED IN SCIENCE AND BIO AND ALSO NUERO SCIENCE I WANT TO OFFER MORE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND GLOBALLY AS WELL AS ANIMALS WHAT UNIVERSITY WILL ACCEPT ME? I DID NOT FINISH HIGH SCHOOL!!! - Lil B”
OK, so maybe his college essay needs a little work, but when rapper and Twitter personality Lil B, also known as “The Based God,” tweeted about his desire to go to college (following previous tweets asking about the cellular makeup of fish, sea otters, crabs and seeking clarity on “what cells and proteins are in oxygen”), colleges and universities took notice.
“Get your GED. Then give us a call,” came a reply from Indiana University’s Twitter account.
Similar replies from other universities would soon flood the cult-favorite rapper’s mentions, with institutions ranging from Brandeis University to Louisiana State University. An eager tweeter known to interact with his fans, Lil B took the time to thank almost all of them.
In all, at least 22 colleges and universities extended application information to Lil B, whose real name is Brandon Christopher McCartney and who has released 51 mixtapes in addition to a slew of other albums and projects; he is known for his off-kilter but earnest personality on social media and in his music.
His latest mixtape, Black Ken, like many of his previous efforts, has more than two dozen tracks (various estimates on Reddit guess he has released somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 songs -- and even that might be off, given that he once released a mixtape with 855 tracks). Pitchfork named Black Ken among its best new albums of 2017.
Despite the lack of a formal educational background, though, Lil B could be a competitive candidate for admissions. In addition to his musical endeavors, he has published a book on living a positive lifestyle and has given speeches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Perhaps the most important asset a college could gain from Lil B’s attendance, though, comes from his promise never to curse the institution that admits him.
Though a niche rap star, Lil B leaped into national and international headlines when he declared he had cursed NBA player Kevin Durant in 2011 (Lil B would also later release a song called “Fuck KD.”) The two had been beefing on Twitter. When Durant had yet to win a championship with the Oklahoma City Thunder five years later, news outlets started to take notice.
“A history of Lil B’s powerful curse on Kevin Durant,” was the headline of a Fox Sports article published shortly after the Thunder were eliminated from the 2016 NBA playoffs. Indeed, Lil B’s curse -- posted on Twitter -- had declared “KEVIN DURANT WILL NEVER WIN THE TITLE AFTER HE SAID 'LIL B' IS A WACK RAPPER.”
And the title that Durant finally won with the Golden State Warriors at the end of the 2016-17 season? It only came after Lil B announced that the curse had been lifted, leading SBNation to declare, “Lil B Is the Reason Kevin Durant Won the NBA Finals.”
Perhaps admissions counselors should note just whom they’re dealing with.
Regardless, Lil B, whose representatives did not respond to a request for comment, expressed his trademark upbeat positivity after the overwhelming number of responses to his tweets about wanting to get a degree.
“I NEVER HAVE BEEN SO MOTIVATED TO COMPLETE AND GET MY EDUCATION THANKS TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND HUMANS FOR SUPPORT!! UNITY IS WHAT IS MAKING US GREAT AGAIN!!! UNITY IS MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN LET US HUMANS UNITE!!!! HUMAN UNITY IS MAKING OUR AMERICA GREAT AGAIN - Lil B,” he said in a tweet.
