Born Symere Woods, Lil Uzi Vert has rose to prominence as the leader of the youth in part because of his refusal to conform and marginalize his unique persona. Hailing from Northern Philadelphia, Uzi carved out a lane for himself as more of a rock star than a conventional hip-hop artist, striking fear into older rap heads.
With co-signs from producer Don Cannon and DJ Drama, the 23-year-old’s SoundCloud run culminated in “XO Tour Llif3” winning “Song of The Summer” at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, where he showed off his signature shoulder shrug. The anthem peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Since 2015, Uzi has built quite the fanbase leading to his latest installment, the highly-anticipated and much-delayed Eternal Atake, which dropped on Friday (March 6). The Philly emcee isn’t afraid to embrace his diverse set of musical influences ranging from Marilyn Manson, who he is reportedly collaborating with on an album, to the controversial GG Allin.
Small in stature, but his ability to take over a concert venue cannot be denied, as his rock star stage dives have become a dangerous mainstay at the 25-year-old’s shows. His risky fashion choices and different colored dreads are just a part of the reason the youth embraced Uzi. While it remains early in his career, it’s hard to ignore Uzi’s superstar presence, especially with the surprise release of his sophomore album, Eternal Atake. Let’s take a detailed look at his discography in an attempt to narrow down the 15 best Lil Uzi Vert songs.
15. Lil Uzi Vert – “Super Saiyan”
Paying homage to one of his favorite animated shows, Dragon Ball Z, the Saiyan race has the power to go focus its energy and go “Super Saiyan.” The Slade Da Monsta-produced record appeared on Luv Is Rage and the subsequent visual sees Uzi donning an Off-White hoodie while dancing around holding a white Styrofoam cup. Music critics credit the “Super Saiyan” artist with creating the flow to which was ripped by Drake on “KMT” and used by XXXTENTACION on his hit song, “Look At Me.”
14. Lil Uzi Vert – “Money Mitch”
With popular Atlanta producer Zaytoven on the boards, “Money Mitch” may be one of Uzi’s most underrated performances. From a rapping sense, the high quality bars are there, which shows off his diverse array of flows. “Money Mitch” is actually named after Paid In Full’s Mekhi Phifer, who played Mitch in the 2002 cultural classic film. Former Atlanta Falcons running-back T.J. Duckett somehow finessed a shout-out on the track, even though he hasn’t played an NFL down since Symere was in the 9th grade.
13. Lil Uzi Vert – “New Patek”
The ubiquitous “New Patek on my wrist” tagline from Uzi powering the chorus could’ve served as Patek Phillipe’s slogan for the brand’s 2018 campaign. The 25-year-old shortens up his punch lines and floods the Dolan Beats production with an uptempo higher-pitched flow. Instead of saying he’s alien like on Eternal Atake, Uzi transforms into an underwater creature. “I am a octopus, I cannot breathe without water So I put diamonds on my tentacles,” he jokes.
12. Lil Uzi Vert – “Sanguine Paradise”
After signing a management deal with Roc Nation in March 2019 to help untangle him from label issues with Generation Now/Atlantic Records, Uzi rose from the trenches to feed the streets with a pair of tracks, that actually leaked out weeks prior. “Sanguine Paradise” went right to the Billboard charts, with a creatively rejuvenated Uzi sounding more inspired than ever.
11. Lil Uzi Vert – “7AM”
A stand-out on Luv Is Rage, “7AM” begins with a conversation between Uzi and ex-girlfriend Brittany Byrd. As he tries to pry an answer about their future together, Byrd continues to avoid the point and talk about mindless posts on social media and Chanel shoes. On the Lex Luger & DP Beats produced-record, Uzi claims now that he’s a star rapper, he can steal your girl the same day you take her out to brunch without you even knowing: “Like 7 a.m. I was f–king your love/ 11 a.m., you took that bitch right to brunch /Like oh god damn, that’s the b–ch that I want.”
10. “Futsal Shuffle 2020”
Lil Uzi closed out the decade with a track that sent the hip-hop community into a dance frenzy. Even though he was deeply entrenched in label issues with Generation Now and Roc Nation, the 25-year-old calmed fans’ worries that his creativity would not suffer. “Futsal Shuffle 2020” cracked the final Hot 100 chart of 2019’s top five.
9. Lil Uzi Vert – “You Was Right”
Metro Boomin teamed up with Lil Uzi Vert to cook up two tracks that made the Lil Uzi Vert Vs The World mixtape. One was the confessional “You Was Right,” where Uzi admits his past mistakes in his fractured relationship with his girlfriend at the time, Brittany Byrd. The song went on to be certified platinum by the RIAA on March 2, 2017. Hopefully, more Uzi and Metro Boomin’ keep the collaborations coming.
8. Lil Uzi Vert – “Ps & Qs”
“Ps & Qs” is another melodic track that finds Uzi Vert romanticizing about his now ex-girlfriend Byrd. Here, Uzi explains stealing his girl from her ex-boyfriend, Austin. The title in essence is another way to tell someone to, “Mind your own business.” At the time, Uzi admitted, “Brittany was playing with my emotions, so I was acting all crazy and doing rock star stuff,” he annotated to Genius. For even those who were not the biggest fans of Lil Uzi back in 2015, they had to appreciate the complexity of DJ Don Cannon’s production on the track.
7. Lil Uzi Vert – “Sauce It Up”
“I’m one of the greatest to ever do it,” Uzi utters to open up the satanic themed track. Hip-hop’s Marilyn Manson then goes on to brag about his rock star lifestyle. On the outro of the party-heavy record, the 23-year-old even gives a shout out to former WWE superstar Stone Cold Steve Austin and his punishing finisher, The Stunner. The Maaly Raw and DJ Don Cannon-produced track has become a fan-favorite on Luv Is Rage 2 and is widely considered by some as a classic Lil Uzi Vert song.
6. Lil Uzi Vert – “Erase Your Social”
The enigmatic North Philly resident displays a much slower cadence to match the melodic Lyle Leduff and DJ Don Cannon-produced track, which samples Witt Lowry’s “Wake Up.” The tuneful record may go down as Twitter’s best advertisement, as Uzi shows support for the social media platform rapping, “I ain’t got no Snapchat homie/ I think it’s too personal/ that’s what I got Twitter for/ Instagram I’ll bag your hoe.” Luckily for him, Instagram stories are around now.
5. Lil Uzi Vert – “Do What I Want”
“Do What I Want,” serves as an inspiration to fans across the globe and is one of Uzi’s most mainstream hits. The turn-up track received a boost when it was placed in a 2016 Air Jordan commercial featuring Russell Westbrook. The lavish visual for this Lil Uzi Vert song was shot at a villa on a tropical island, as he’s doing what he pleases surrounded by his friends enjoying life in a way that many can only dream about.
4. Lil Uzi Vert – “That Way”
Inching toward the release of Eternal Atake, Uzi unleashed “That Way.” The hypnotizing track features an interpolation of the Backstreet Boys 1999 hit “I Want It That Way” chorus, which shouldn’t come to a surprise to listeners, as Uzi has made a habit of brilliantly blending genres.
3. Lil Uzi Vert – “The Way Life Goes”
Another melodic smash from Uzi’s 2017 Luv is Rage 2 album. The Philly native shrewdly interpolates London-based duo Oh Wonder’s “Landslide” into his emotional diatribe of a chorus. Uzi puts his chameleon skillset to the test once again, as he crafts another genre-blending hit. “The Way Life Goes” peaked at No. 24 on the Hot 100 in late 2017.
2. Lil Uzi Vert – “Money Longer”
The icy “Money Longer” introduced Lil Uzi Vert to a more commercial audience, as the Lil Uzi Vert vs The World single became his first solo platinum record in 2017. That’s quite the rise from uploading the song originally to his SoundCloud last year. The fashion god raps about how life has changed since his music career took off. “Nowadays I am on, my haters got sadder/ Money got longer, speaker got louder/ Car got faster, turned to a savage/ Pocket got fatter, she call me daddy,” he raps.
1. Lil Uzi Vert – “XO Tour Llif3”
After joining The Weeknd on his Starboy: Legend Of The Fall Tour, Uzi premiered the risky record at the London tour stop, soon after the song was leaked on to SoundCloud. What may end up being his most courageous work, Luv touches on subjects such as depression and suicide, while tapping into his own psyche. “XO Tour Llif3” finally made its way onto major streaming services and iTunes on March 27, 2017, and found mainstream success fairly quickly peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 while charting for more than the last six months.
The response from fans has turned the cathartic record into an anthem, reaching triple platinum status here in the United States and even attracted the eye of talented creative and Kanye West-collaborator Virgil Abloh to direct the daring visual.
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