Lil B

I'm a product of the different - whether it be institutional racialism, whether it might be growing up in a low-income area, whether it might be, you know, coming from my mother, my father. I'm a totally different person from my mother and father, but once again I'm from them. We all have our different souls, but I'm from them.

My perspective of capitalism growing up in Berkeley, Calif. in a low-income project, growing up poor, is that capitalism wanted to destroy me, they wanted me to become a worker.

Growing up low income and poor, I didn't have the best relationship with money.

When I was growing up, man, I didn't know myself. I was striving for respect. Trying to be cool for the girls. I wasn't the biggest dude and I'm a nice guy.

I don't have any contracts, so I don't have to split any money up. That was my main thing - just making sure I'm taking care of myself and taking care of Lil B. Just learning to survive, for myself and as a human in America.

After I started based freestyling. Just spending a lot of time learning about myself and entering a higher level within my mind. I was exploring my mind, and I ended up finding the Based God.

I feel like my place is to connect hip-hop... with the youth, the older, the middle. Just everybody that's listening to me. My place in hip-hop is really to just connect and show positivity. Put my vibe out there.

I mean, everything that is upon this earth, even from a worm or a caterpillar that blossoms into a butterfly, you know, these things are just amazing.

If one person reaches out to me, who am I not to reach back? Even if it takes me a year to reply, they do get that message and they feel it.

Clams's music to me is where there's no boundaries. It was just exciting for my mind to be as free as Clams's music is.

Before Lil B, hip-hop and music in general was in a different space. Lil B really just pushed this independence.

I'm a real guy. I'm not money-laundering. I make money off music, and music is my source of income. It feels good. I'm not selling T-shirts, I'm not doing none of that other crap. Straight music.