Y’all thought I was done over here? Nah bruv I’ve just been so immersed in Lil B’s new Black Ken album in which the Based God engages in a bit of revisionist history and reimagines himself as one of the pioneers of hip hop from the 1980s that I’ve lost track of time.

The beat almost sounds like something from a 70s or 80s movie where some sort of menacing but ultimately cartoonish villain is strutting onto the scene for the first time. “Watch out, I’m a bad motherf*cker…” opens Lil B. I don’t think anyone could pull off an album, song, or even just the song title ‘Bad MF’ in 2017 besides Lil B. And not only can he pull it off, he makes it into an absolute slap.

Almost sounding like he’s channeling NWA or Tupac with his flow, Based God rattles off…

“You can’t see me, even with glasses. West Coast motherf*cker and I’m smashin’. I don’t care if you play this on the radio, ’cause they love me from Oakland to Fillmoe.

Yeah I’m from the ghetto, where motherf*ckers will change your whole schedule. You can meet me at the sideshow, I’m a rap star b*tch I don’t drive slow!”

I love the ‘meet me at the sideshow’ invitation, there’s nothing crazy about it but just a nice, simplistic nod to Lil B’s earlier days. If any other rapper was spitting this in 2017 I think they’d run the risk of sounding cliche but Lil B has the inventiveness, charisma and sheer cult of character to pull it off flawlessly and make it one of the best songs of 2017 so far. As an added bonus, Lil B produced the beat himself, just like every other one of the 27 tracks on Black Ken. I see The Martorialist, a man of unquestionable taste, chose Bad MF as one of his jams for August 2017. This is also one of the best songs to blast in your car so far in 2017. ‘Bad MF’ is a highlight amongst many other highlights on Black Ken, one of the most enjoyable releases of the year so far;  some other early favorites after a few listens are Berkeley and DJ Based God but there are almost too many to name.