# Based > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Based > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Based.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Based > Source revision: 1355642729 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Internet slang term}} {{ITALICTITLE}} [[File:Lil B at Coachella 2011.png|thumb|[Lil B](/source/Lil_B) at Coachella music festival in 2011]] '''''Based''''' is a [slang term](/source/slang_term) that originally emerged in California during the 1970s, stemming from the phrase "[freebase cocaine](/source/freebase_cocaine)," a method which makes the drug smokable. "Based" was derived from "basehead," a term used to refer to a freebase addict.{{Cite web |last=Wordsworth |first=Dot |date=2025-04-23 |title=What is ‘based’ based on? |url=https://www.spectator.com.au/2025/04/what-is-based-based-on/ |access-date=2026-04-17 |website=The Spectator Australia |language=en-US}} The term grew in prominence as a [pejorative](/source/pejorative) during the [crack epidemic](/source/Crack_epidemic_in_the_United_States) to refer to someone who was "cracked out". By the late 2000s and early 2010s, it became an [Internet](/source/Internet) [slang term](/source/slang_term) as popularized by American rapper [Lil B](/source/Lil_B), also known as '''The Based God'''. He appropriated the phrase as a [reclaimed word](/source/reclaimed_word), which he defined as being yourself and positive. During the early-to mid 2010s, the term was adopted by online [misogynists](/source/Misogyny) as part of the [Gamergate](/source/Gamergate) campaign to refer to [conservative](/source/Conservatism) critic [Christina Hoff Sommers](/source/Christina_Hoff_Sommers) as "Based Mom". The phrase was later reappropriated by [Trump supporters](/source/Trump_supporter) and evolved to describe an agreement with [unpopular opinions](/source/Hot_take) or stances and actions that negate [political correctness](/source/political_correctness). By 2023, the [FBI](/source/FBI) deemed the phrase "based and [redpilled](/source/redpilled)" as connected to [alt-right](/source/alt-right) [extremism](/source/extremism) online. The term "based" later entered the mainstream and regained a neutral connotation.{{Cite news |last=Marche |first=Stephen |date=2024-06-25 |title=Opinion {{!}} Today’s Teenagers Have Invented a Language That Captures the World Perfectly |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/25/opinion/gen-z-slang-language.html |access-date=2026-03-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last=Wordsworth |first=Dot |date=2025-04-23 |title=What is ‘based’ based on? |url=https://www.spectator.com.au/2025/04/what-is-based-based-on/ |access-date=2026-03-28 |website=The Spectator Australia |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2026-02-01 |title=The 'New York Times' Criticized for Not Giving Lil B Props for "Based" |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/treyalston/new-york-times-lil-b-based |access-date=2026-03-28 |website=Complex |language=en}} == Etymology == === Origins === According to ''[the Spectator](/source/the_Spectator)'', "Based" emerged as a phrase in California during the 1970s, stemming from the term "[freebase cocaine](/source/freebase_cocaine)," a method which makes the drug smokable. "Based" was derived from "basehead," a term used to refer to a freebase addict. The term grew in prominence as a [pejorative](/source/pejorative) during the [crack epidemic](/source/Crack_epidemic_in_the_United_States) to refer to someone who was "cracked out". During the mid-to late 2000s, [Lil B](/source/Lil_B), reappropriated the pejorative as a term of endearment, using it to describe a positive and bold lifestyle. The phrase had been used by him as early as 2007 on several song and album titles. He adopted the nickname "The Based God" with music critics referring to his rapping style as "based". According to Lil B, "Based" is a [reclaimed word](/source/reclaimed_word):{{cite web |last=Meline |first=Gabe |date=December 17, 2014 |title=Thank You Based God: 10 Reasons Why You Should See Lil' B This Weekend |url=http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2014/12/17/thank-you-based-god-10-reasons-why-you-should-see-lil-b-this-weekend/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130054413/https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2014/12/17/thank-you-based-god-10-reasons-why-you-should-see-lil-b-this-weekend/ |archive-date=January 30, 2018 |access-date=February 19, 2015 |website=kqed.org}}{{cite web |last=Baker |first=Ernest |date=June 10, 2010 |title=Lil B Talks Getting Sucker Punched, Gay Rumors, & Drake Envy |url=http://www.complex.com/music/2010/06/lil-b-talks-getting-sucker-punched-gay-rumors-drake-envy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414112158/https://www.complex.com/music/2010/06/lil-b-talks-getting-sucker-punched-gay-rumors-drake-envy |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=February 19, 2015 |website=complex.com}}{{blockquote|Based means being yourself. Not being scared of what people think about you. Not being afraid to do what you wanna do. Being positive. When I was younger, based was a negative term that meant like dopehead, or basehead. People used to make fun of me. They was like, "You're based." They'd use it as a negative. And what I did was turn that negative into a positive. I started embracing it like, "Yeah, I'm based." I made it mine. I embedded it in my head. Based is positive.}} === Semantic change === {{See also|Redpilled}} [[File:Zhang Zongchang5 (cropped).jpg|thumb|270x270px|[Zhang Zongchang](/source/Zhang_Zongchang), a famous Chinese warlord due to his eccentric personality and gambling addiction was labeled by ''[TIME](/source/Time_(magazine))'' as China's "basest warlord"{{cite magazine |date=7 March 1927 |title=CHINA: Basest War Lord |url=https://time.com/vault/issue/1927-03-07/page/21/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230807161101/https://time.com/vault/issue/1927-03-07/page/21/ |archive-date=7 August 2023 |access-date=7 August 2023 |magazine=TIME}}]] According to ''[Slate](/source/Slate_(magazine))'' magazine, the phrase was co-opted by [misogynists](/source/Misogyny) in 2014 during the [Gamergate](/source/Gamergate) campaign to refer to [conservative](/source/Conservatism) critic [Christina Hoff Sommers](/source/Christina_Hoff_Sommers) as "Based Mom".{{Cite news |last=Mathis-Lilley |first=Ben |date=2016-08-24 |title=Based, the Crack-Era Word Redefined by a Popular Rapper and Then Appropriated by Racist Trump Supporters |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/08/donald-trump-alt-right-white-supremacist-supporters-appropriate-based-from-lil-b-crackheads.html |access-date=2026-02-08 |work=[Slate](/source/Slate_(magazine)) |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}} By the late 2010s, the phrase had been used to describe stances or actions that negate [political correctness](/source/political_correctness).{{Cite web |last=Stanish |first=Nathan |date=2022-03-24 |title=The word 'based' is overused |url=https://hillsdalecollegian.com/2022/03/the-word-based-is-overused/ |access-date=2025-06-30 |website=Hillsdale Collegian |language=en-US}}{{cite news |last=Caramanica |first=Jon |date=July 26, 2010 |title=A Pied Piper of Rap, Followed on Twitter |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/arts/music/27lil.html?_r=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428234404/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/arts/music/27lil.html?_r=1 |archive-date=April 28, 2021 |access-date=April 18, 2011 |newspaper=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last=Staley |first=Willy |date=September 7, 2009 |title=The man behind the meme |url=http://www.sfbg.com/2010/09/07/man-behind-meme?page=0,0 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055040/http://www.sfbg.com/2010/09/07/man-behind-meme?page=0,0 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=May 19, 2012 |newspaper=San Francisco Bay Guardian}} The term continued to be co-opted by [edgelord culture](/source/edgelord_culture),{{Cite web |last=Garvey |first=Meaghan |title=Nettspend: BAD ASS F*CKING KID |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/nettspend-bad-ass-fcking-kid/ |access-date=2026-02-08 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} [white nationalists](/source/White_nationalism), and the [alt-right](/source/alt-right).{{Cite web |last=Wordsworth |first=Dot |date=2025-04-23 |title=What is ‘based’ based on? |url=https://www.spectator.com.au/2025/04/what-is-based-based-on/ |access-date=2026-02-08 |website=The Spectator Australia |language=en-US}} In 2016, ''[Slate](/source/Slate_(magazine))'' magazine stated that the term "based" had been reappropriated by "racist [Trump supporters](/source/Trump_supporters)". By 2023, ''[Dazed](/source/Dazed)'' magazine stated that the [FBI](/source/FBI) had deemed the term "based and [redpilled](/source/redpilled)" as connected to violent alt-right [extremism](/source/extremism) online.{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2023-04-11 |title=Based and redpilled: the FBI links internet slang to violent extremism |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/59622/1/based-and-redpilled-the-fbi-links-internet-slang-to-violent-extremism-incel |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=Dazed |language=en}} The article stated that, according to the FBI, using the term "based" might lead to an individual being labeled an "[incel](/source/incel) extremist". It also criticized the FBI's stance, arguing that the Internet was "steeped in [irony](/source/irony) and [political satire](/source/political_satire)." "Based" as a slang term was later reclaimed again by [Gen Z](/source/Gen_Z) artists inspired by Lil B such as [Xaviersobased](/source/Xaviersobased) and his collective [1c34](/source/1c34), and had also entered the mainstream, regaining a neutral connotation. == In popular culture == The term has been used by the [White House](/source/White_House)'s [X](/source/X_(social_network)) account under the [Second Trump Administration](/source/Second_Trump_Administration). In 2026, ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)'' were criticized for not crediting [Lil B](/source/Lil_B) for the origins of "based" as a slang term. == See also == * [Generation Z slang](/source/Generation_Z_slang) * [Hot take](/source/Hot_take) == References == Category:1970s neologisms Category:Internet slang Category:2000s neologisms Category:Generation Z slang Category:Generation Alpha slang Category:2010s slang Category:2020s slang Category:2000s slang Category:African-American slang --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Based](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Based) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Based?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.