The Based God’s Trip to MIT Included a Lecture and Freestyle Session

Shirtless underneath his gold-colored jacket, with his pants hanging far below his waist, viral sensation, entrepreneur, and emcee Lil B “the Based God” delivered an hour-and-a-half lecture to MIT students over the weekend that touched upon everything from his thoughts on Kevin Durant to how he builds his brand.

Lil B first announced that he was heading to Cambridge to play professor for the day back in early November, giving few details about the event but promising that he was going to make “history.”

The lecture marked the second time that the emcee, who rose to fame by leveraging access to a fan base through social media, and cranking out continuous videos and songs and posting them to YouTube, appeared at a college to spill his guts about his career. Back in 2012, Lil B showed up at New York University and hosted a similar Based God-seminar.

During his MIT appearance, which was made possible by the school’s “Black Student Union,” an organization Lil B encouraged people to become active with, he told students to be good to each other, to respect one another, and to “comfort and show love” whenever possible.

Lil B also told attendees that when it comes to making music, it’s all about the customer, branding yourself appropriately, and staying honest and keeping your integrity, no matter what.

The Fader posted a full transcript of the talk, and a video was shared by Lil B on Twitter, but we’ve plucked some of the main sticking points from the 90-minute chat that highlight the rapper’s appeal:

He acknowledged how smart MIT students are:

“You are the future, and it’s obvious. We know it. You can’t get in here, this is rare. So a big pat on the back to everybody that worked so hard to get into this school,” he said. “…Make sure you comfort everybody, because you have so much power…Each and every person in this building is extremely special and extremely beautiful, and is gifted.”

He appreciates math and science:

“I want to give a shout out to all the engineers and scientists, and all the people in here—swag. Everybody that’s dealing with math, you know what I’m saying? Salute man. This is the place that I would love to be, as I’m really into plants, animals, life. We know about that photosynthesis! I didn’t forget that!”

He wants to use his fame to combat sexual assaults on college campuses:

“This is something I urge to speak about. It’s a very personal subject, it hits close to home, and I really feel that the right time will be for me to speak on a national, grand scale about these things, about awareness and ways to protect victims.”

Everyone is equal, including dogs, desks, and humans:

“What does it mean to be a man? It means being a woman. It means being a dog, it means being a cat, it means being a desk. It means understanding and loving. It means understanding the grass. It means understanding that somebody worked very hard to make this [podium]. From the plug into the socket—you know about that, you know what I’m saying? So to answer your question, I think what it means to be a man is whatever you make it. And don’t live by the standards or conforming to that—because to be a man is to be a woman, to be a woman is to be a man. To be yourself is the main thing.”

He supports women’s rights:

“I definitely am a feminist to the maximum. I’m working to make sure that women feel protected as well as guys. For my next lecture, I really want to focus on awareness, and love, and being to yourself. I love women and I love feminists. Girls do have a legendary life. Women aren’t under guys. There’s a lot of propaganda that indirectly says women are down here.”