Tyler Krenzin
Lantern Staff
Being the self-proclaimed, modern day rock star Lil Uzi Vert has swept his way into the mainstream audience accompanied by his weird tones and vocals that set him on his own level. If we were to list out the best rap artists of the last two years, the top 10 would consist of the big names including Drake, Kanye, Future, Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar.
“He calls himself a rock star, and that is mostly because he is.”
This leaves little room for outsiders as the big names hardly move because of their consistency. This makes new artists have to do something special to make themselves stand out, so what makes Uzi different? Well it’s mostly the aura that passes over him. He calls himself a rock star, and that is mostly because he is. Stories of him showing up hours late to concerts, jumping into raucous crowds and performing the daily duties of what we describe of a rock star proves that Uzi doesn’t have to fight anyone on his self-given title.
Uzi’s newest album Luv Is Rage 2 is the penultimate of his career. Luv Is Rage 2 is Uzi’s first major swing at a full-fledged album. With 16 songs totalling about 56 minutes, Lil Uzi Vert can catch up with his high budget competitors with song length. Lil Uzi Vert has used his quirky, fast style of rapping to give the people a song that they can listen to and not have to think to deeply, but to possibly just enjoy the song. The biggest surprise of Luv is Rage 2 is not the styling of the music, as for the most part, it is the same as his earlier works, but the features, or lack thereof, on this album.
“Uzi has proven that he is indeed a rock star,”
With two total features you may be guessing that A$AP Ferg or Playboi Carti because of their influence and relationships with Uzi. You would be dead wrong. With Pharrell Williams and The Weeknd coming in on “Neon Guts” and “UnFazed” respectively, we get the idea that Uzi didn’t want a predictable artist line up. The Weeknd’s performance on “UnFazed” was by far the most impressive part of the album. The mix of The Weeknd’s soulful, classic R&B nature, and Uzi’s ad lib styled mumble rap, shouldn’t work, but as The Weeknd’s mix with Future, it works just enough to put the song on watch for a top 100 list appearance. More of the same seems like a harsh review to this album; however, I couldn’t be further from the case. Uzi knows what’s keeping him inside that top 10, and like most artists, he intends to stay where he’s at. Why bridge out and do something different when what he is would be the equivalent to the lead singer of the mumble rap band? Uzi has proven that he is indeed a rock star, and one that is far away from falling off.
