"Although I didn't write this song, it spoke to me in a way that made me feel as if it was my own story,” Brandon said. “I found myself playing it over and over again in my bedroom, remembering situations that I've been through.”
Check out the video for yourself below.
In anticipation for the release of the deluxe version of To Myself, office hopped on the phone with Baby Rose to talk about Nina Simone, spirituality, and growing up listening to her dad’s acid jazz.
Were you always around music growing up? What was your relationship with music as a kid?
My parents played music a lot. They had their own unique relationship to music. My dad, he loved acid jazz and funk and house music. My mom loved hip hop. Already there was a different, polar kind of complex, whether I was around my dad or around my mom. So I was surrounded by it. And when I was younger, around nine, I got a piano for my birthday, and that really inspired me to write.
Did you enjoy listening to your parent's music? Or did you seek out other things to listen to?
I was into a lot of different shit. That my parents loved acid jazz and hip hop really did form me, but more so it inspired me to find exactly what I liked. I loved Coldplay, Elton John, just a lot of unique voices. I remember having the iPod and having just so many different types of artists and types of music. When I really started singing, I was listening to Amy and Nina and Janice—people with really unique voices to help encourage that in me.
You mentioned that you were gifted a piano. What were some of the first songs you learned?
One of the first songs I learned, or really had the inclination to play, was "God Bless the Child" by Billie Holiday. That was my grandma's favorite song.
What was your entry way into performing? Did you play piano for your family?
Yeah. My family likes to get together whenever I'm home for holidays, so me and my cousins—we are all around the same age, so they're like my siblings in a way—would do talent shows. That was really the beginning.
Was it apparent back then you had the monumental voice you have now?
I just remember my talking voice was a subject for conversation. My speaking voice and my writing. My aunts are teachers, so they were really encouraging about my poetry.
Was there a moment in your life that prompted your decision to pursue music fully and without reservation?
I really just felt like I could pass away, god forbid, at any moment, and I wanted to have something to show for it. Music was something that I quit several times, and you know what they say: If you quit it over and over again, then it's really for you. I knew that it was something that was always around, that I always had a natural inclination to do. So I had to go for it and see how it felt to really immerse myself in it.
Is music often a form of escape for you? Or do you find that you go to music to dwell on certain thoughts and feelings?
It's both. I use dwelling as a form of escapism. Going back in time or worrying about worry. Thinking about scenarios that could happen but often don't. Or really just going into a surreal spectrum of what would happen if I thought about some shit that I want to happen. Music happens in multiple forms for me at the same time.
Do you have any role models in the industry right now?
I appreciate everybody for what they do. I feel like at this time, it's an industry that really requires a degree of autonomy. Artists just aren't artists anymore. They're visionaries. They're orchestrators of their tours. They're A&R. They're all of those things. I wasn't there at the time, but things in the past seem more plotted out. "Just do this, just do that." Now it's more like you see a lot of unsigned artists touring, creating their vision, and making their sound unique. And I admire a lot of artists who do that. For not being cookie cutter. Building their own tables instead of fighting for a seat. Speaking about fighting for a seat at the table.
Your voice has been likened to those of iconic singers like Nina Simone and Tracey Chapman. Do you feel those comparisons are burdens or blessings?
I don't honestly listen to praise or criticism too heavily for it to have an emotional impact on what I do. Even those praises, as much as they're appreciated, they're not adding any pressure because I don't listen to anything too good or too negative. I know I'm just somewhere in the middle, so I keep my head down and do what I feel like I should do.
You've mentioned in a previous interview that music is spiritual for you, that you consider it a “divine gift.” For a lot of people, especially those who'd be listening to Nina Simone, spirituality and music intersect most powerfully with Coltrane. He used to talk about music as being the voice of god. It was holy to him. For you, does music (yours or other's) ever cross over into a sacred space like that?
I mean I try to allow it. It's very much like a surrender before every show... I have a lot of conversations with God. Prayer and meditation. I want to be a vessel and remain a vessel. I know that I'm not necessarily a gospel artist, but I don't think religion is really what drives that notion of spirituality. It's something that's just inside of you. It's the idea of mortality. The fact that all of us know we're going to die. That we're going to go somewhere. We're all driven by our heartbeat, by oxygen, and we're all here at this time. Yes, we have life that happens, but we also have a life to live, and a purpose that drives that life. I think that surrendering to that unknown, to the thing that got you here and puts life in your bones, and trusting that there's a reason you're here at this place and time, is kind of like turning on a light switch. That rush of electricity comes and there's the music, there's the song.
But who really is Lil B? We know he grew up in Berkeley, California, started rapping with The Pack, broke hip hop, invented the cooking dance, cursed James Harden and Kevin Durant, lectured at MIT and NYU, and published a self-help book. But we still don’t know why Lil B is the way he is.
In an exclusive interview with office, Lil B details his upbringing, family life, earliest memories, and most formative experiences.
What’s your first memory?
Probably my first time being constipated. There were at least three days before I could take a shit. It was some unique times.
That's rough.
Yeah, but it's just learning your body. Like eventually, when I went to the bathroom, no one could stop me. I was ready for anything at that point.
Did your parents sing you any lullabies as a baby?
Yeah, but none that I specifically remember. I just know my mom always had great melodies and great harmonies, so she definitely played a huge part in me being an artist. She had great music taste too. She really loves Lenny Kravitz, DEVO, and New Edition.
How's your relationship with your dad?
It's healthy. I can talk to him any time. He has a girlfriend who he's been with for damn near 20, 30 years. He's always been with her and always lived in the same place in San Francisco. It's a real blessing. Whoever his landlord is is pretty cool, man. That's the definition of rent control like there. He's sitting on a million dollar home, and he's got a backyard, so you know it's real. It's a unique relationship, me and my dad, but that's how I like to keep stuff - weird, out of the norm.
What was middle school like for you?
I was just learning about social hierarchies, and time, and being on my own. They were great times, that I want to say I'd never forget, but right now it's a little spotty.
What's something that you wish was taught in school?
Tax stuff, like an introduction to taxes.
I thought you were going to say self-acceptance or love or something like that, but you make a solid point. What's the best and worst thing about being from Berkeley?
The best thing is the thinkers. You've got a lot of cool people from Berkeley to hang your hat on, and really be inspired by. I was talking to a gentleman and he was telling me about this book called When Elephants Weep, which is about animals’ emotions, and that author's from Berkeley. Also I heard they’re working on an atomic bomb in Berkeley now. We got real legendary scientists, architects, and thinkers.
I can't really think of a bad thing about being from Berkeley. I will say the entry level to move out there is not the easiest if you're starting from zero with wealth. It goes back to learning taxes when we're younger. There should be a real estate class, too. These things could prepare us.
Were you always The Based God? Or was there a moment you became The Based God?
I always was Lil B, Brandon McCartney, but The Based God came about when I was based freestyling in the studio one day, and it hit me. I am the god of based. I am The Based God. I'm the most based out here. And I take pride in being based, which is being yourself, not caring what people think, and letting your thoughts flow and come to you. I'm the ultimate at doing that, and it's been history ever since.
During your childhood, what album impacted you the most?
Too many! My Life by Mary J. Blige, or Brandy's first album. And as far as rappers, Too Short, Keak Da Sneak, E-40, Clyde Carson, Kaz Kaiser, Mayne Mannish, and Mistah F.A.B. They changed my life and opened my perspective on music. They made me want to share my experience, make songs, and make people happy.
What have you been listening to lately?
Mostly staying with the classics, like Soulja Boy, DMX, and Nas, but for the new generation, I listen to Lil Yachty, Lil Peep, and Lil Gotit. Music is in a beautiful place now where it's pretty accessible. As long as you got your phone bill paid, you got some music to listen to.
Are there any rappers who just make you want to rap?
Yeah for sure. Older Eminem, Lil Wayne, Beanie Seagel, they just make me want to go in.
You changed rap forever, and it's cool to see your influence coming back now. Like last year, you dropped “Waiting Here” with Wicca Phase Springs Eternal. That was a full-circle moment, seeing the lineage of “based” spread far and wide, spark other sounds and genres, and then come back to you, the source.
Wow. Shoutout to Wicca. He's a huge legend and a positive guy. Nothing but love and respect for him. I have a lot more stuff coming, with collaborations, and cool artworks, too. The Based God, he just produced a single for Del the Funky Homosapien that's going to drop soon.
Oh man!
Yeah, I just produced it, I didn't rap on it, but Del went crazy with the lyrics. You just feel like you're on another planet. I can't wait to release that in the next week or two. You’re the first person on Earth to know about that.
Word. That's legendary. What else do you have lined up next?
My new mixtape, which I'm proud of, Bruno with the Pruno, is out right now on Spotify. I'm waiting for it to get on Apple Music, YouTube, and all that. So stay tuned. I'm getting a lot of great feedback. People are saying this is that classic 2010 Lil B sound, and that it sounds like a thesis. It took me three to four months to write that tape, just compiling my thoughts, letting life take its course, and chronicling what was going on. So I’m really happy about it.
What inspires you these days?
Life. I got a lot to say and I'm not finished. There's more about me for people to understand, so every project I drop, I hope to bring people closer. People really don't know me, they only have an idea from what I've been releasing so far. Some people understand from the core, but it's still just a start. It's really just a start.
cumgirl8's experimental take on punk still exists near and dear to the genre, with one-of-a-kind DIY outfits, extraterrestrial inspirations and aesthetics, and the blurring of gender. Each member speaks so off-the-dome; the ethos of punk flows through as Lida, Chase, and Veronika create with a kind of dada-ist sensibility.
Check out our enriching conversation below, in which we talk about music, memes, aliens, and boys peeing on things.
How did cumgirl8 come to be?
Chase—Friends, oh wait, uh, we came from outer space.
Veronika—We met in outer space.
What inspired your name?
Veronika—A screen name. An OKCupid idea that a friend had where...
Chase—Well, it kinda goes with our story, you know? It’s like we met in space. We had some earth bodies, and we became into our sexual identities when everyone was on the internet, having screen names. It just makes sense to be cumgirl because that’s when we started being aware of cum. That’s how our characters become enlightened.
Lida—And the name is also symbolic of our dual masculine and feminine identities, but the fourth entity is the computer. That’s why there’s 8 of us.
Veronika—And it doesn’t have a gender, either.
Can you talk a little bit about how your Instagram is a meme account?
Veronika—We don’t necessarily want it to be a meme account, but it’s just turned into that.
Lida—We’re just a part of the internet, it’s how we communicate now. It’s the easiest way to understand other people.
Chase—And the best way to explain complex ideas… where language leaves off, memes pick up.
Memes are also so cultural. Everyone gets them, everyone knows exactly what they mean.
Chase—Exactly, and there are all these subtle things to it that help you understand. Also it’s really crazy, like have you ever tried to explain a meme to someone? Like you know, the one with the older woman… she has, like, a blanket on her, and she’s like, scared. And then the younger girl is like…. *makes face*. I can pull it up, fuck.
Veronika—I have no idea what you’re talking about.
Lida—I have no idea.
Chase—Fuck, I’m gonna pull it up.
Veronika—I also wanted to clarify something about the name. It’s not just us, it’s everyone. Everyone has a cumgirl8 inside them.
Chase—It’s a relatable identity revolved around sex, revolved around the internet… When we say we met in outer space, it’s like, whatever the internet is.
Veronika—It’s everything at the same time, we’re all of it. Extraterrestrial.
Chase—Intraterrestrial. This meme, do you see it? Everybody understands it, but, like, how do you describe it? The lady is like… and there’s just so much going on, and there’s no language to explain these things. Language is such a cheap way to communicate.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
Chase—Lida, tell her what we just learned about!
Lida—I’ve been listening to this podcast with Joe Rogan and Elon Musk, but he’s saying that we’re going to become symbiotic with AI possibly in as little as 5 years. And we’ll be able to communicate our complex thoughts to each other without language, because language is actually super limiting. So you’ll be able to transport your thoughts onto another person and they’ll just see the whole thing. Already our phones are extensions of ourselves, we’re already becoming symbiotic with technology. The transition is already happening.
Chase—It’s like that law that says technology doubles on itself exponentially every year. Because the way that we invented a car, and then all of a sudden we were in space, and now all of the sudden we can hear someone in Australia.
Lida—Since they always listen and give you the ads, I just started telling my phone, like, I want this thing.
Chase—So wild!
Lida—There have been times where I’m thinking something and I haven’t even said something out loud and it comes up. Like what?!
Chase—It draws connections between what you’ve searched for and knows what you’ll think about.
Who inspires you musically?
Chase—Diplo.
Lida—Ec8or, video game symphonies.
Chase—Saint Ettiene, The Slits.
Veronika—Our album is inspired by one of The Slits album covers.
Lida—It is?
What non-musical thing inspires your music the most?
Chase—Basketball.
Lida—Dance.
Veronika—Drag queens.
Chase—Technology.
Lida—Computers.
Veronika—90’s MTV music videos.
Lida—Robots, aliens.
Veronika—Anime porn.
Lida—Anime in general.
Chase—Anime.
Veronika—Hardcore anime, period. Dancing. Going out and dancing.
Chase—Ballet.
Lida—Turns out a lot of people who played with us, and all of us, have been dancers at different points in our lives.
How did you end up doing music?
Chase—We all have different musical histories.
Veronika—In fifth grade I played the saxophone, and I was the only girl who played the saxophone. And the saxophone was actually bigger than me. Weighed more than me. And I used the case as a barbie house. I made a house in my saxophone case. The most gorgeous, avant garde barbie house you’ve ever seen. So that’s how I play the saxophone.
Chase—You play the guitar like that.
Lida—Yeah, that makes so much sense.
Chase—So much sense. Lida, your dad’s an opera singer, I feel like that has really shaped you.
Lida—Yeah, my dad’s an opera singer. So I saw and heard a lot of opera growing up. And classical music. And I also danced ballet really intensely. So I heard a lot of classical music. And I played piano briefly but very badly. I never practiced and I’m really bad at music theory and reading music. Unfortunately. That definitely influences how I play bass, now.
Veronika—I did musical theatre, too, my whole life, and I love musical theatre. But it’s only me that’s into it.
Chase—Yeah, we’re not into it.
Lida—It depends.
Chase—I’ve been in bands for my entire adult life, as a job, as a career, and I started playing drums when I was 7, violin when I was 12, and guitar when I was 13. Super ADD. We all did ballet.
Veronika—The first paycheck I ever got, or like the first cash somebody ever gave me for a job, I went to Guitar Center and I bought myself a guitar.
Chase—OH MY GOD I fucking love that, I didn’t know that! Are you fucking kidding?
Veronika—Yeah, I did! The first physical money I got from working, I bought myself a guitar.
Chase—Son of a bitch! The saxophone story and that story has got me more in love. That’s cute.
What brought you to punk?
Lida—Well, we’re not intentionally punk.
Chase—In high school, I was into rap and metal. Punk didn't sound brutal enough, but I pretended I liked it because I wanted to be friends with punks.
Veronika—I definitely went through a phase of trying to be as punk as possible, and I realized that was the least punk time in my life.
Have you guys seen that video of Avril Lavigne where she’s like, “I don’t go around saying I’m punk”?
Lida—Yes. I love that video.
Chase—That’s definitely me. All I wanted was the wife beater and the tie! That was the hottest hot girl look.
Veronika—Do we all believe that Avril Lavigne is an imposter?
I don’t know what to believe.
Veronika—Maybe she was so fed up with it she just had someone else be her.
Lida—Yeah probably.
How do you write a song?
Chase—Super collaborative.
Veronika—Yeah, very collaborative.
Lida—Yeah.
Veronika—We just jam.
Chase—We’re a band that says yes. We try to say yes to everything. And that’s how we come to things. Instead of saying no, you say yes, and it just builds.
Lida, I want to know a little bit about your photo book, Boys Pee on Things.
Lida—I realized actually yesterday, pee seems to be a recurring theme throughout my life. Like, I had an ex and we would both call each other pee-pee and then I have a friend who calls me pee-pee. When I started putting that book together, my friend Paige put it out as a publisher asked me if I had another idea for a book. And I was like, "Yeah, I have tons of photos of boys peeing on things, and I’m really interested to make a book out of it." I asked friends if they had photos of people peeing on things, and I wanted it to kind of explore masculine and feminine identity and how… like, peeing in front of someone, people are either really comfortable with it or they’re not. And so there’s a lot of different scenarios, and it’s an exploration of peeing and gender.
I really like that concept, I think that’s really cool. I think peeing on the street should be normalized. Normalize girls peeing on the street.
Chase—It’s so fun!
Lida—It’s not as convenient as a girl.
Veronika—But it’s actually really easy!
It’s definitely a skill that you can perfect.
Chase—Yeah, just practice, it’s easy.
What’s the last song you listened to?
Chase—"Boasty" by Wiley, Stefflon Don, Sean Paul, and Idris Elba. It’s fucking sick. I’m gonna text it to you right now.
Veronika—"The Key, The Secret" by Urban Cookie Collective was literally the last song that I was playing.
Lida—The last song I listened to was “Go Away” by Lil Ugly Mane and Shawn Kemp.
Chase—No way!
Veronika—What the fuck?
Chase—We just wrote a song called “Go Away”!
Veronika—We’re gonna record it in three weeks.
Is it gonna be a single?
Chase—We’re just doin’ singles right now.
Lida—We have three singles coming out in the next few months.
So fans have that to look forward to! How would you describe your sound?
Lida—Chaotic.
Veronika—Alien.
Chase—But it’s not chaotic. It’s intentional.
Veronika—I like the sound of alien, period.
Chase—Intraterrestrial. We want people to be scared or turned on, but hopefully both.
Lida—We sound neon!
Chase—Neon, yeah, we’re neon! But also dark! I promise we’re not trying to be esoteric, it’s all coming from our hearts.
Veronika—We sound sexy.
Lida—That, too.
Chase—Sexy, scary.
Veronika—Sexy, scary!
Lida—Oh, we should mention the telethon!
Chase—Oh, yeah! We’re doing a telethon!
Veronika—On September 19th.
Lida—We’re doing it with Baby’s All Right. We’re doing it with the studio where we’re recording.
Chase—We’re donating the money to a foundation that supports black trans homeless youth.
Veronika—Called the Ali Forney Center.
Where can people find it? How do you tune in?
Lida—They have a platform called Baby’s TV that I think is through their website.
Chase—We’re going to play our album live from beginning to end! And also programming stuff we really like—skits and anime—and all kinds of footage of us from the last year. We’re dropping an animated video we made for the song “Answer." We'll play Truth or Dare, talk shit. And a virtual fashion show!
Veronika—And our clothing line cumgirl8 collection 0.1 is premiering on the telethon!
Purchase tickets to the telethon here.
