Last week Lil B performed in LA and the crowd's reaction was every bit as riotous as any Lil B show. And yet the response to "Wonton Soup," ostensibly his biggest "hit" to date (now well past 6 million views across its multiple YouTube iterations), was oddly subdued in comparison to past riots. This is natural. As much as internet users will yammer about timelessness and classicisity as if they are instantaneous distinctions, all big hits have have a natural sell-by date, even the underground ones. They fade for a little while and then, only if time is so kind, they rise again as nostalgia. The reason B's crowd was every bit as live as usual, even as "Wonton" hits its inevitable ebb, is that he possesses a deep enough back-catalog. Songs like "Wonton Soup" and "Vans" merely draw listeners, it's the thousands of weird pocket tracks from the in between periods keep them.
Though it's just now getting the video, "Wake Up Mr. Flowers (Remix)" is more than two years old. It's a relic of B's #rare #golden Myspace days and virtually unknown to all but the most die hard Based heads (its previous fan-posted YouTube clip had just a couple hundred views). It sounds fresh as ever today, with B rapping uncharacteristically on beat and weaving scattershot imagery over an 8-bit buzz of melody. The clip itself takes a literal interpretation, featuring B doing what only can be described as frolicking amongst some flowers. It is very peaceful. Wow.
Bonus beat: Stream the original "Wake Up Mr. Flowers," which has almost nothing in common with the remix aside from the hook, below.
