My Lil B story that’s in the upcoming “Success Issue” of Spin is now online. Think of it as the third part in my “internet hype” trilogy I teased yesterday (read: pt. 1 and pt. 2). And yes, that Rutgers university bathroom stall with the Lil B and Rebecca Black graffiti is real.
“He can’t rap for shit,” scoffs a white girl seemingly dressed head to toe in Urban Outfitters, standing in front of Philadelphia’s Theater of the Living Arts.
A performance inside by rapper Lil B is well underway, but outside there’s an active, opportunistic scene. Members of a local rap crew wander around with cameras, passing out T-shirts and CDs. Another Urban Outfitted girl dispenses flyers for an “after-party” down the block. A dreadlocked dude later informs the exiting masses that Lil B will attend the after-party. This turns out to be untrue.
Everybody here wants something from Lil B, now one of hip-hop’s best-known figures, thanks almost entirely to the Internet. I want an interview (via Twitter direct messages and phone calls, I’ve been promised one “after the show”). Others hope to generate content they can tag “Lil B” and increase their blogs’ page views. His fans expect autographs and face time. They will tweet during the concert in hopes that he’ll anoint them with a retweet…
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