There were plenty of reasons to believe that Lil Uzi Vert, every bit a creation of the Soundcloud wave, wouldn’t still be around these days. He seemed to keep bagging co-signs and leaping on big-time tracks, not least of which the Migos’ “Bad and Boujee”. But he often seemed like an odd star. Objectively, he was a lazy, unimpressive rapper and a painfully nasally singer. Frankly, it shouldn’t have worked.
It did work, though. That was largely on the back of his breakout hit, the batshit weird but genuinely good “XO Tour Llif3”. “P2” feels every bit the sequel to that track (and samples it), and while it might not be striking gold twice, it’s a clear reminder as to why this artist is still around.
Where the breakout hit leaned hard into its emo trappings, “P2” feels like the hangover (“I don’t really care cause I’m done/On the real our love is not fun”) – the closing track from an artist who tried to retire in 2013 and was stuck in label hell. Old-school synths zip through it and muted horns bleep alongside stringy guitars. It sounds right at home in Uzi’s catalogue.
All of the best parts of “XO Tour Llif3” still work here as well. The way Uzi leans into the back of the chorus lines (“There’s no emotion on my face cause I’m nuuuumb“). The way he croons over the second verse like he’s crying in the bathtub. This is someone who’s mastered their craft and proven a lot of music critics wrong.
Eternal Atake, which sounds like the musical equivalent of a Japanese arcade, is an odd collection of songs. It’s first third (called “Baby Pluto”) feels like a weird place to start – basically Uzi trying to show off his lyrical chops. It’s his worst look, and his stringy voice struggles to take centre stage over the synth-heavy production. He sounds infinitely more at home when he enters emo-broken lover mode. Eternal Atake, then, is exactly what we should expect from him by now.
THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL 