Donning a pair of gold-rimmed sunglasses and a white tank top, Bay Area rapper Lil B walked onto the stage with a cocky swagger, flashing a peace sign to an audience feverishly scrambling to push closer to the young rap star.

For an hourlong set in the Schine Underground, the notoriously reclusive Lil B spread his message of love and having a positive attitude to Syracuse University students Wednesday night. The concert was the first show in the University Union Bandersnatch Music Series this semester.

‘I love you all with all my heart,’ the rapper said after finishing his first song, the slow-building jam ‘Last of the Basedworld.’ ‘I’ve never been to Syracuse, but I’m here 100 percent in the flesh. It’s going to be a spectacular, positive night.’

Although the audience clamoring at the barricade blocking off the stage danced and sang along with every song Lil B threw at them, the energy stalledduring the show’s openers.

New Jersey hip-hop emcee IamG first took the stage at 8 p.m. with student rapper Marcus Neal, who goes by stage name Indo, hopping around the stage frenetically against a background of hazy red and blue stage lights. Although the rappers tried to entertain the crowd with handclaps and familiar samples, only a scattered group of individuals nodded their heads to the beat.

‘Make some noise, you’re all too quiet,’ the emcee said after only a few halfhearted shouts answered his call for the crowd to get loud.

The audience warmed up to Philadelphia-based rapper Tayyib Ali, whose laid-back flows and easygoing demeanor charmed the students. Ali promoted and played music from his newest mixtape, ‘Keystone State of Mind,’ while keeping the audience involved by demanding them to shout back the choruses to his songs.

‘People come to Philly for me, not the cheese steaks,’ Ali said during an a cappella freestyle performance, drawing some of the biggest cheers during his set.

Steve Rwayitare, a freshman economics major, enjoyed the openers’ performances, but after 50 minutes of anticipation, he was ready for the headliner to take the stage.

‘Lil B is one of my favorite rappers, and I have a hard time picking one of his songs that’s my favorite,’ Rwayitare said. ‘I can’t believe he came here.’

Shouts of ‘Lil B’ and ‘Thank you, BasedGod’ rang out as the rapper prepared for his set. As soon as the first notes of a melodic electronic beat blared from the amplifiers, the audience piled together in front of the rapper, who held out the microphone to students shouting out his lyrics.

‘I feel like Axl Rose in his prime,’ the beaming artist said. ‘It feels great to be here. You guys are like my Syracuse family. It’s not easy coming from the West Coast, but you guys are giving me infinite love.’

Lil B interjected snippets of stories about his Internet stardom between songs, even going as far as to apologize for swearing during one of his hit singles.

‘Sorry for my potty mouth,’ he said. ‘It’s nothing personal.’

After promising a set filled with all of his hits, he quickly played smash YouTube phenom ‘Wonton Soup’ and performed an off-the-cuff freestyle namedropping SU and college students in general. Several members of the delighted crowd reveled to the song by performing Lil B’s infamous ‘Cooking Dance,’ made famous by one of his videos.

Although the sound system malfunctioned for a brief moment during the latter half of his extensive set list, his only complaint was to joke around while the problem was fixed. He demanded a round of applause for both the technicians working the turntable and UU for putting on the show.

‘You’ll be like, ‘This was the best thing in my life’ and say, ‘I saw Lil B,” he said. ‘There will never be another me, and the best is still yet to come.’

Whenever he had the chance, the rapper bestowed positive life lessons to the audience, who echoed his statements. Lil B touched on topics ranging from following dreams to healthy eating habits.

‘Listen to me telling you to eat raw veggies,’ he said, laughing. ‘I feel like a mom saying that.’

After closing an emotional set with ‘Beat the Odds,’ Lil B implored fans to join him in a group hug and stuck around after the house lights came back on to share stories and sign autographs for his adoring followers.

Rwayitare, who had waited a long time to see Lil B perform live, was enthralled by the performance.

‘I can’t put it into words,’ he said. ‘He’s just such an incredible act.’

ervanrhe@syr.edu

Published on November 9, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Erik: ervanrhe@syr.edu | @therealvandyman