Lil Uzi is back and doing his thing (Grammy.com)
Shoulder-rolling, “XO Tour Llif3” rapper Lil Uzi Vert recently announced on his Instagram that he was quitting music. In the post featured on his story, he wrote to fans thanking them and stating that he was “done” and “wants to be normal.”
This sad news surprisingly followed his announcement of “Eternal Atake,” an album Uzi said he was going to drop soon just a month ago, according to HIGHSNOBIETY.
“I know y’all wonder when I’m gonna drop my album,” Uzi announced to the crowd at a recent concert in his hometown of Philadelphia, HIGHSNOBIETY reported. “I’m finally done with that joint, I’ma drop that joint.” A date for the album was never released.
Lil Uzi after hyping up Eternal Etake for over a year just to retire from music pic.twitter.com/n0Hhzupzla
— Noah NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 🐅 (@PrimeKorver26) January 12, 2019
Although there is confusion about this, when analyzing the way Uzi has taken a back seat, fans are putting two and two together. Maybe they should have seen it coming, considering he took a long hiatus before the recent “Shells,” a single he made with upcoming rapper Shabazz PBG. Once this dropped, the internet reacted with extreme excitement, and the anticipation for a new project from Uzi skyrocketed.
Not only did the song take off because of the hype, but also because of the speculated hints Uzi gave that he was having issues with his record label. XXL stated that the “rapper may have revealed his frustration with his current label Atlantic Records” on the song. In one verse, Uzi says, “Tryna figure out how I’m gonna get out my deal/I’m a bad boy, a reverend, I feel like I’m Mase/Your bitch with me but she got to leave by eight.”
According to XXL, Uzi spoke up about turmoil he was experiencing with production issues back in April 2017.
Uzi blamed an unnamed person (that many believed to be DJ Drama) for the delay of his debut album, “Luv Is Rage 2,” XXL reported.
“Can I honestly tell y’all why this album ain’t drop,” Uzi wrote on Twitter at the time. “It’s because of a Old Person who doesn’t Understand what’s going on right now……Can You Guess Who?”
In addition to the drama, fans have been impatient for a new album release for months. Many have taken to Twitter to vent about their frustrations with Uzi, tweeting memes and holding debates about when they think he will loosen up.
The question left in the air: is Lil Uzi Vert truly quitting or doing this as a publicity stunt before releasing new music? Only time will tell, and according to the amount Uzi has spent being silent, it might be a while before we find out.
Gabrielle Ferrell is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached by email at gabrielle.ferrell@uconn.edu.