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A #Based History of the Entire World Shouting Out Lil B

Grab your positivity and join the Based Army.

A couple weeks ago, Katy Perry was spotted at a Miley Cyrus concert wearing a dress with the image of Lil B, the Based God himself, on it. (The dress, part of a collection from recent Parsons graduate and budding designer Isabel Simpson-Kirsch, was itself the kind of thing that grabbed headlines when it debuted last year because it, too, was a #rare and classic shout out honoring the Based God). Katy Perry's fashion choice may have been the most high-profile Based God endorsement yet: By pure Twitter follower count, she's the most famous celebrity in the world.

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But she's not the only number one Twitter presence to shout out Lil B. Former follower count king Justin Bieber has also given the Based God his tacit endorsement, and—just a day after the Katy Perry fashion moment—Drake brought out Rihanna at his concert in Paris and was seen onstage doing the cooking dance to her music.

Katy Perry draping herself in Lil B

For fans, devotees, and cool people of the world, Lil B the Based God's doctrine of relentless positivity and fun is something worth spreading in pretty much any venue. It's kind of a reflex to shout out Based God when the moment feels particularly auspicious, in part because celebrating the Based God is cause to bring in other like-minded, based individuals to share in the positive vibes surrounding the occasion. As a result, whenever someone shouts out Lil B it's momentous, and fans throughout Based World respond with excitement.

As a result, Katy Perry's fashion choice was a key moment in Based God mythology. However, there have been many others, all of them legendary. To pay tribute, we've collected a brief history of famous people shouting out Lil B.

Mac Miller on TODAY

Mac Miller is one of the most outspoken high-profile fans and devotees of the Based God, and his shoutouts and endorsements of Lil B have been frequent as the Pittsburgh rapper's own music has drifted increasingly toward the realm of Based World. He recently bragged about producing a beat for Lil B's 106-song mixtape, 05 Fuck Em. (And yeah, just to reiterate, that's a mixtape with over 100 songs on it).

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But nothing he's done has sent as strong a message to middle America as his performance of "The Way" with Ariana Grande last year on NBC's TODAY. He may have flubbed his actual lyrics from the bars that open the song, but he got one thing 100 percent right: ending that brief verse by shouting "thank you Based God" and staring straight into the camera. This earned a bemused grin from Ariana Grande—she's 20 and has spent at least some time with Mac Miller; hopefully she's hip to Based World too—and the admiration of Based God fans worldwide. But more importantly, it beamed the first word of the based lifestyle into the country's living rooms, places that had heretofore been limited to less Internet-savvy gospels. They have cooking demonstrations pretty much daily on TODAY; we can only hope that this landmark moment leads to some appearances from some real master chefs.

Justin Bieber in the "All I Want For Christmas Is You" remake video

What do you think of when you think of Christmas? Most likely Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You," which is the only Christmas carol that's tolerable to hear on the radio, Justin Bieber (assuming you celebrated the holiday last year by going to see Believe or in 2011 by buying his Christmas album, Under the Mistletoe), and delicious holiday cooking. This pivotal moment in Christmas cinematic history—roughly on par with the entirety of It's A Wonderful Life and Tim Allen's entire career of adding the letter "e" to things—combined all three.

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At around the 3:45 mark of the "All I Want For Christmas Is You" remake video, Bieber briefly breaks into the cooking dance, Lil B's signiture move. For those who doubt this is what he was going for, belive us, because he was already on the record cooking. And we all know that Christmas is a time of religious celebration. Not only was this a co-sign of unprecedented magnitude for Lil B, it was an important milestone in Bieber's transition from unassuming teen star to world-conquering badass celebrity—the kind of change that can only occur if you accept the Based God into your life.

All high school senior quotes involving Lil B

Back when I was in high school, you were lucky if anybody thought to dig deeper than Eleanor Roosevelt, the Bible, or, like, Homer Simpson for a yearbook quote (for the record, mine was Albert Camus because I was a pretentious little shit). Thanks to the power of the internet, today there is so much more #rare wisdom at our youth's fingertips.The Based God is a basically a limitless source of inspiration and guidance, so, unsurprisingly, many of our nation's most esteemed teenagers have chosen to define themselves and stake out their futures by inscribing his words onto the pages of their yearbooks, or at least going with the classic "Thank You Based God." While the audience for these shoutouts may be relatively small, depending on the size of the graduating class, each one provides far more education than all the third period math classes and SAT study sessions in the world.

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Stay based, future leaders of America.

Wiz Khalifa/Amber Rose on Twitter

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Wiz Khalifa is a fan of the Based God. For a while now he’s been a vocal supporter of what Lil B does, and there’s definitely an overlap in their respective fanbases. Wiz has clout, and he's been adept at helping to mobilize the Task Force, particularly when he tweeted "Protect Lil B At All Costs" in 2012. This landmark moment was important in stemming the tide of Lil B hatred and protecting the Based God. But for a real sense of how integral to Wiz's life the Based God is, a better indicator might be the Twitter feed of then-boo, now-wife Amber Rose, who's tweeted at Lil B a number of times to express her and Wiz's fandom. With such #based parents, their son, Sebastian, is headed for a very positive life.

The music of Chief Keef and Fredo Santana

These aren’t verbal endorsements of the Based God, so much as they’re creative nods in his direction. On Keef’s debut project, Bang! The Mixtape, he used two beats made popular by Lil B, the backing from “Swag Like Ohio” on his track "Get It Jumping," and the “Charlie Sheen” beat on his “Charlie Sheen Freestyle.” More recently Fredo Santana reached out to the Based God to hop on the remix of his single “Bird Talk.”

Phonte/9th Wonder/Jean Grae on "Base For Your Face"

One of the Based God's most left field collabs was with two-thirds of backpack rap torchbearers Little Brother (Phonte and 9th Wonder), and Jean Grae. At a time when there was still a debate about whether or not Lil B could actually rap, this was a valuable co-sign from some of hip-hop's most respected lyrical voices. The song played off of Lil B as a gimmick, with every rapper mentioning him and either being based or the Bitch Mob, but it was easy to tell that there was mutual respect from everyone involved.The only downside of this moment was the amount of whiplash suffered from all real hip-hoppers shaking their heads, which likely drove up hospital admission rates nationwide.

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Danny Brown in general

Danny Brown has long been a supporter of Lil B's. Back in 2011, before Brown was the underground rap god he is now, he praised the Based God repeatedly in a two-part interview on Cocaine Blunts, at one point calling him “the David Bowie of this shit.” Lil B made multiple appearances on Hawaiian Snow, the joint album by Danny Brown and Tony Yayo (officially making Tony Yayo the oldest member of Based World). But Danny's continued to rep Lil B, too, offering up the best piece of music criticism of 2013 in the form of a tweet that read "Lil B 'Like A Martian' 1st verse is better than 'new slaves' 2nd verse." The rest of you rap critics can fall back.

Fan on Fox News

When Osama Bin Laden was killed back in 2011, people weren't quite sure what the appropriate reaction was, so many looked to a higher power for guidance. While some might have paraded out the usual jingoistic phrases and "God Bless Americas," others sought a more nuanced perspective. Based is a bit like a religion, so naturally some people thought to invoke the blessings of someone who generally frowned on the act of killing but who was definitely in favor of striking out against hateful ideologies and mass killers. When celebrations broke out nationwide, and an unseen fan made it onto Fox News by yelling “Thank You Based God!” with Geraldo on site at the nation’s capital. Based World does not fuck with terrorism.

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Diddy cooks and then introduces Lil B at SXSW

At least from a financial standpoint, there’s no arguing that Diddy is the biggest figure in rap, and his influence still counts significantly. At Lil B’s 2011 SXSW performance, fans were greeted by Diddy cooking for an ENTIRE MINUTE, with a hypeman doing Lil B adlibs. Despite being very bizarre, it was also the biggest industry look for B at the time and a very exciting moment for fans eager for mainstream recognition for the Based God. It wasn't Diddy's only Lil B cosign, but we can all just forget about this whole thing.

Drake on Instagram

Drake's Instagram is perhaps the best window into his soul, so, by all appearances, Drake's soul has been very positive in recent months. While showing off his literal cooking skills at Voula's OffShore Cafe in Seattle, he also hinted at his figurative cooking skills with the based caption, “Let that boy cook.” However, the true measure of his commitment to the lifestyle was revealed later in the month, when the Based God made an appearance in Drizzy's holiday devotionals. Posing with a family member at Christmas, Drake drew attention to his good fortune and projected general holiday cheer with the simple caption “Based.” Lil B paid attention and returned the shoutout on Twitter.

As mentioned above, Drake also was seen cooking at his recent concert with Rihanna, proving that he is part of the Bitch Mob. Here's hoping for the inevitable OVO Task Force collaboration.

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Sports

Despite his ongoing feud with Kevin Durant (who has encountered nothing but adversity since foolishly dissing Lil B and letting himself fall under the Based God's curse [Ed: it should be noted that Lil B recently stated in an interview with SportsNation that he lifted the curse]), Lil B generally has solid relationships with the great wide world of sports. More than one football player (Stevie Johnson, Aqib Talib, Owen Daniels, Desmond Bishop, Josh Gordan) has celebrated a touchdown or big play with the cooking dance, college basketball star Russ Smith of Louisville nicknamed himself “The Basedking” (before, by no coincidence, going on to win an NCAA championship), and many other players at all levels of sports have developed friendships with Lil B.

This is what happens when you play sports and get cursed by Lil B, though. (Credit: Phillip Nguyen)

What's more is the U.S. Soccer team has represented the country by doing the cooking dance, and NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders has done the dance on camera. ESPN has shouted out the based lifestyle on TV, and Lil B himself is, of course, an inspiration to all athletes with his own unique talents on the court. Check out his “cutie layup” and his rare collector's crossover from his most recent video to get a sense of why so many athletes fuck with the Based God. And expect to see even more based magic on the court once B releases his highly anticipated Hoop Dreams mixtape.

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Lil Wayne on Sorry 4 The Wait

As one of the most brilliant lyricists, innovative stylists, and prolific rappers of all time, Lil Wayne clearly saw a kindred spirit in Lil B, and he invited the Based God to appear on his eagerly awaited post-prison comeback project, the mixtape Sorry 4 The Wait. Lil B was one of the few guests—really, the only notable one, unless you count Gudda Gudda—making the appearance a particularly strong co-sign. The verse, while not necessarily the most polished Lil B appearance, stands out for its unerring commitment to the based method, even in a high-pressure setting. It remains his highest profile feature to date, and it did offer what is without a doubt one of the best holiday-related rap lyrics ever, “65 hoes on my dick, bitch, it's Christmas.” And Lil Wayne is still a fan of the Based God: On his most recent mixtape, Dedication 5, he shouts out Lil B on the outro, “Luv.”

That TV show Workaholics

The creators of Workaholics are well-known rap fans, and they've even moonlighted as rapping wizards, so they understand the unique magic that unfolds when legendary bars are spit. Naturally when it came to thanking a divine power on-air, the only logical entity was Based God. This rare collectors' clip marks a historic moment when cable television viewers all over the world were exposed to the power of positive thinking.

Lil B's general statements about life

Besides anyone else, the highest celebrity endorsement the Based God has gotten is from Lil B himself. The earliest recorded evidence is seen here. Out of context, that may seem pretty insignificant, but then it dawns on you that you’ve heard Lil B say “basedgod” more times than you can remember, from referring to the Based God as a figure outside of himself, to thinking that he is, in fact, the Based God. Numerous people may endorse Lil B and The Based God, but in Based World the most relevant/important supporter is the man himself, whether in song, video or through the cultivating of memes that are posted by the mysterious Dior Paint.

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Kyle Kramer and Jermaine Collins are proud members of the Based Army. Find them on Twitter:

@KyleKramer

@composuresquad

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