When I meet them at the Roc Nation offices in New York City, Lil Uzi Vert is wearing an all-white fit — a t-shirt from the cult Japanese label Skoloct, white jeans, and a white beanie with the word “Them” stitched in a gothic font. It’s two days before the release of their new album Eternal Atake 2, a sequel to their hotly anticipated album from 2020.
To hear Uzi tell it, this new album represents a return to form. Last year’s Pink Tape found the Philadelphia-born rapper, now 29, experimenting with a slew of new sounds, including metalcore. That experience, Uzi says, cleared the way for EA 2, a clean 16-track project full of the type of quintessentially Uzi vocal acrobatics that made them a mainstay of the early SoundCloud era. “I’m feeling really confident about this one,” Uzi says. “I feel like this one is a big difference as in me sounding like this in 2024… [It was about] realizing what artistry got me here and returning to my roots.”
Uzi’s been giving a decent amount of thought to their legacy and influence over all of these years. When we speak, it’s the ninth anniversary of their first mixtape Luv is Rage. Before then, Uzi remembers, their main concern was going to prom — two proms, to be exact. In the years since, Uzi has amassed a devoted, young, and very online fanbase, which means he’s also faced a great deal of leaks throughout his career. By his count, up to 80 percent of the music that his fans love are leaks. Lately, though, he says he’s tightened up his operation and is ready to drop music consistently.
At 29, Uzi is now at the forefront of a rap world that he had a hand in creating. He counts the breakout star Yeat as one of his close friends, and someone who Uzi spoke with regularly while he spent time in rehab last year. “When I first got out of rehab, he was one of the first people to come see me,” Uzi says. “He stayed at my house.”
With EA 2, Uzi’s tapped back into the vibrant sense of creativity of their earlier work, but with a palpable work ethic seemingly borne out of maturity. The album’s rollout went off without a hitch, a far cry from the days of long delays and false starts. Uzi talked to Rolling Stone about this new era in their career, their favorite unreleased tracks, and calling up Big Time Rush to be on their new album.
You dropped Pink Tape last year, and I feel like that was you experimenting in many different bags.
It was more so me trying to face my fear, or trying to challenge myself, like, “Okay, they know what I can do, so let me challenge myself real quick.” And I went number one, so it’s cool, and now it’s time for me to get back to what my people want.
Thinking of this record, you mentioned wanting to get back to its roots. What inspired you to return to that origin?
The way I project my voice. There are lyrics in my songs that are good and lyrics in my songs that are playful, but it’s usually about the tone of my voice in the song. They’d say, “Oh, Uzi just made another hit.” It’s the tone. So it’s a different bag and pocket that I usually get into when it’s time to cook up something.
I feel like that’s the influence that so many younger artists took from you, which is inflecting your voice and doing some of the crazier things with your voice. Do you feel like this new generation looks to you as a leader?
No, they look at me as a brother. Because that’s not the way that I project it, and everyone in the world, even you, could tell I never was on my… Well, a long time ago, I was on my high horse. But I always remember times when certain people, when I first came out, broke my heart on a musical level because they didn’t give me respect. And I don’t blame them because [it was like], “What have you done?” But then, when I did it, they didn’t want to give me respect. And it always hits differently in the back of your mind… I’ve been trying to embrace them; they are hugging me, and I turn around, and that’s not what they’re really doing. So I just try to stay out of everybody’s way in a respectful way and only come around when I’m asked for.
Are there any collaborators that you were excited to work with on this project?
Not really. This project is really just me really getting off. I got some vocals and stuff from Big Time Rush on there.
How did you link up with them?
I called. That’s the only people I called. This whole album was just for me to really get off, and I made a song kind of dedicated to them, and I was like, “I wonder if they could say something cool in the beginning, they might harmonize on it and all that.” So I got Big Time Rush.
Did you grow up listening to them?
100 percent. So in that era, I thought that every boy band, like Naked Brother’s Band, everything, Big Time Rush, just anyone, was the epitome of a celebrity. It’s still celebrities, but everybody feels like somebody right now. But you know how a celebrity will put you in your place just by the outfit and just their whole mannerisms, and you’re like, “Oh, shit. What am I doing wrong in life?” They were like that. I’m like, “Damn, their unreal life was actually their real life.” It’s crazy.
So what was it like to just pick up the phone and call them and have them be down for it?
Amazing. You know how artists are like, “Of course.” But I didn’t even really think they knew me. Not that they didn’t know me —it’s like I didn’t think they knew me, like rocking with me. And I really appreciate that.
Luv Is Rage came out nine years ago today. That’s crazy to think about. What changed for you as an individual artist in that time?
So back then, it didn’t matter. And when I say it didn’t matter, everything mattered. So later in life, the cards that I was handed, I played them well. Knowing that I played them well, I played all the bonuses. [Life] was always unreal, but it became a daily schedule, and I had to get in a space that I’m very fortunate to make it out of, but I had to get a space to where it’s almost a nostalgic space, and as I said, everybody doesn’t make it out of that space. That space usually becomes when you were younger, and I was fortunate enough to make it out of that space, and here we are again. It’s about to be that time.
How old are you now?
29.
And as you grow up, how much do you look back at that time, kind of nostalgically?
It doesn’t even seem like it was long ago. Because I’ve never done anything else in my life that I could say that great. I remember going to prom, and that was lit. But I went prom two times.
You went to two proms?
I went to prom with a girl, and then I went to prom by myself, and I realized that going to prom by yourself is crazy. And I didn’t know that because, you understand, I was supposed to go with this girl, and we didn’t go because she was my friend’s girl… It’s crazy, nowadays that’s really his baby mom. It’s real. But when we were younger, she was really short, and I was short. We were popular. But we were going to go to prom together and my man was like, “Yo bro, you trying to go to prom with my girl.” I’m like, “No.” I went by myself because I was supposed to go with her, and then another time, I went to a prom with a girl. Both of them were a cool experience.
These are the last things you remember before the music took off?
I didn’t do nothing else after that. I went to school, I graduated, there was a store that I worked at for four days, and I quit. And my mom kicked me out because she was like, I’m in the way. I was getting too old. She kicked me out. I moved with my grandma to a nursing home. When I moved with my grandma in a nursing home, my friend took me to the studio. We used to rap together, right? I lived in a nursing home for a while, for two years. Then, after that, my friend who took me down there was doing really well in his rap career, and he took me to the studio with him. I went to the studio with him and made a song because I kept telling him that I rap because he was lit. But I really didn’t. So, I was trying to learn how to rap. I was listening to Kendrick, Big Sean, and Drake, but then I listened to Lil B and Mike Jones. So then I was trying to flex all that. That’s why they liked me in Philly; I was trying to rap ASAP, too. So in Philly, they like, “Oh, he is on some other stuff. He is different.” And then, just after that, it happened.
How did your experience in rehab in 2023 inform the past year for you?
It’s always with that type of thing, no matter if it’s in the flesh, physical, mental, or anything, it’s always a bumpy road, every day, for everyone that ever went through that process. It’s never just a walk in the park. And when it comes to that type of stuff, it’s just all about being honest with yourself because it’s not about no one else. Because if you put it on anyone else, then you’ll be somewhere high as a kite. You just have to be honest with yourself, and when you are honest with yourself and get clarity, you’ll come to it and want better.
How do you feel about turning 30?
So my whole thing is this: whatever age you are, right, and however you look at life, if you have more or the number of millions of your age, then you are good. If I got more than 30 million, I’m cool.
That’s a good outlook. I’m far behind, but…
No, you’re good.
Thinking back to your early stuff and tapping back into that energy now, what was it like in the studio with this new record? What did it feel like to bring yourself back to that place?
For a lot of the records, I felt like I was in outer space, but the reality of it, when it came down to the mixing and when it came down to getting the songs actually the right format of how I want them to be, it was kind of refreshing that I really worked this hard on these songs, instead of me just putting songs together like I’m going to get paid. I really felt I went in there, and I took the criticism… I saw the criticism on the internet of just a certain way I was moving. And no one knows what my creative process was. And sometimes, even though I’m, I guess, what you call kind of famous, I guess that they catch me sometimes.
Yeah. You’re good at getting caught.
I’m good at getting caught. I won’t be trying to. So it’s like even me, they don’t know me deleting my social media; it is me hiding my artistry, rituals or whatever you call it. And it’s like people still invade the privacy… It’s okay, I get it, but they’re not going to understand the process. So it’s certain things that your mother and your father don’t show you, so you are going to frown upon them.
You have a ton of fan accounts. It seems like every time there’s a candid video of you, you show love.
Yeah. I pay attention to everything. I have no choice, but they love them. Because if they don’t love me, then who will? Probably JT. But other than that, I love them at the end of the day. The fans could say anything. They never said anything worse. When I made my mom mad, they ain’t say nothing worse than that. Not anymore, but when I was young.
I think I saw a video the other day where somebody handed you a chicken.
Crazy. The chicken had on some skinny jeans.
What’s the wildest fan interaction you’ve had?
Two of them: I had this one kid follow me from America to Portugal and stayed outside my hotel for maybe… Bro, I’m not going to lie, bro. I was kind of living in a hotel. Bro, the kid was out there for a month every day. It was creepy. I’ll never forget that kid’s face. He’s an orange-haired kid. In my life, I’ll never forget his face. He’s probably grown now. I saw him a year and a half ago, trying to act normal. It was so crazy. I saw him at Guitar Center a year and a half ago.
Guitar Center?
Bro, they were having a sale in Guitar Center out here. And when I go to Guitar Center, I’m there, and I don’t know how he got the drop on me. He came in there with his friend, and he was looking around with a Corona mask on. And he went, “I didn’t even know you were here.” I’m like, “Man, come on.” I don’t really want to say this, but I kind of appreciate him. I don’t, but I do because he obviously saw something in me that I don’t see, but just see it from a distance.
All my fans are boys; they are like 14-, 15-year-old boys screaming at me. And I’d just be like, “This is what it is.” But there was this one girl, and she was very different. I don’t know what she believed in, but she was leaving weird stuff in my car. Weird stuff: Different types of little dolls and shit. It’s so nutty because she looked cool, though. She looked cool in a way that was scary, but she looked cool. She had a look. But it was like I could almost smell the look. But it was swaggy. She was like… I don’t know. I fuck with her too. You know what’s crazy? I probably stole some of her swag. No stink, though. No stink, though.
I think a lot of people look at Carti, and they see his influence. They look at Kanye and Drake. I feel like you are right there with a lot of those guys when it comes to influence.
Mine’s different. Mine’s different than all of those guys.
How so?
It’s like I gave them 50 artists in a matter of nine years. And that’s why I always would be like this. I’m always going to make big songs. Always going to make hits. Always going to be who I am, and by being focused, I’ll be even bigger. But this is me. There’s something about me. I know it first before a fan could know it because it’s me. It’s just something about my lifestyle that all the way couldn’t change that. Usually, a big star has to change. I will make a big hit, and you will find me in your local park. It’s really like that.
You had the Super Bowl joint, “Just Wanna Rock.” I remember that song leaked at some point, and then it went crazy on TikTok. The next thing I knew, it was literally on the Super Bowl.
I recorded that song in my friend’s apartment. It was Labor Day or something. The studio was closed. I don’t like recording in my house. I don’t like doing any of that. I like going to the studio, the feeling of having a job. Everyone was asleep. It was like 4:00 in the morning. I recorded on… some of the little speakers, you know, the little ones. My friend and I will be dancing on TikTok. I made it just for that. I wanted to have my own theme song. So I’m like, “I’m just going to make it.” And everybody, they liked it.
Is that kind of a thing for you where you kind of make something for yourself, and then the reaction determines what you do with it?
Not anymore. I have a tight house now, and my life is totally different, but I’m still the same me. But 80 percent of my music that people know… Well, I’ll say 20 percent officially is put out by me. Most of my music that people know, it’s all leaks. So I just had to tighten the house up, and I hate that people judge me on my leaks because leaks are obviously unfinished, but it is what it is. I’ve had some hidden gems on leaks. People definitely helped me decipher, like, “Oh my God, this is a hit.” And I’m like, “Ew, this?” I’m like, “Oh, all right.” And I’m listening to it. I’m like, “Oh shit. My ears just fried, not theirs.”
You almost get to test it out in public.
Yeah. Always remember that my ears are fried, not yours.
Speaking of all the leaks that have kind of floated around, is there an unreleased song of yours that you wish you were able to release officially?
Not really, because if I ever get the urge to put it out officially, I’ll do it.
Not even “Can’t Save Her?”
Do you like that one? I ain’t going to lie. I ain’t going to lie. You got me on that one. That’s the one, bro. I ain’t going to lie. It’s crazy because they leak that, and it’s a difference when you leak a song that’s so much of a grail. Sometimes you can’t put it out.
Is everything on this new album newly recorded, or is there any old stuff?
Yes. Everything is newly recorded up until you get to the bonus track, and I went 50/50.
How long have you been recording it?
For a while. I went through different phases right after Pink Tape.
So there was no overlap between Pink Tape and this one?
No. Not at all. I had to clear space; that’s why this was that.
I noticed you mentioned music almost as a job, and it seems like you’ve been treating it more officially in the past few years. Has a shift happened for you?
Not the past few years. I just started last month, bro. I ain’t going to lie. I told you, I just was in another space; I had to chill and get back right. I just have to provide for my family. And it’s a difference between providing for yourself and providing for your family. And that’s all it’s about. And I always want my family to be comfortable simultaneously as I’m comfortable. So just got to make sure I put in a lot of effort so I don’t make anyone look bad. Or at least, if I make them look bad, at least they put up and rich.
You dropped Pink Tape last year, and you got this album this year. Are you in that flow now where we’re going to expect more frequent releases from you?
Yeah. I’m on go. I’m not even lying. They thought I was lying a few minutes ago. Now the tape is coming, everybody’s like, “You weren’t lying.” They swore I was lying. They were cursing me out.
I mean, it took how long for Eternal Atake? Because we were hearing about that for a minute.
That was different. That was different. I didn’t have a point to prove. Eternal Atake One, it makes so much sense, bro. It’s so crazy how it followed along. Eternal Atake One was the introduction of me going to a new realm. I went to a new realm, and everything was amazing. It was crazy. It was nice. Then I realized, “Wait, it’s too nice.” And I had to make myself uncomfortable real quick to realize what I used to realize before I was rich. And when I realized it, I was like, “Okay, back to square one musically.” Not bank account, but musically. So, back to square one musically with what you’ve got going on. Sounds like some shit.
Do you plan on touring this record?
Yes, 100 percent. This time, before I even know any official dates, I’m already locked in to start rehearsing.
What kind of experience are you trying to bring into the live performance in this era?
I’m trying to be a human visualizer. I’m going to try this time. I want it to be a point where everyone can get it. I want it to be in the middle of high fashion and normal every day.
