American rapper Lil Uzi Vert has accumulated a large fanbase for his melodic “emo” approach to rap. Has his rhythm changed over the years?
Lil Uzi Vert’s debut song was titled Money Longer, released in 2016. It later featured on his first mixtape, Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World. Prior to this, he had released two mixtapes, but Money Longer was his first official single.
Read more below about Lil Uzi Vert’s beginnings with music, and how he morphed into the artist he is today.
Lil Uzi Vert’s Beginnings
Lil Uzi Vert was born with the name Symere Bysil Woods in Francisville, Philadelphia, in 1994.
He was always interested in rap music, having grown up listening to various rappers, starting with Mike Jones and expanding to Wiz Khalifa and Meek Mill, who he said influenced his rhythm.
The rapper also called himself a “big Marilyn Manson fan” among other rock artists.
Woods has been rapping since he was 10 years old. When he was still a teenager, he formed his first rap group Steaktown with his friends, which ended when he was 17.
He seriously started to focus on rap in 2010, going by just “Vert”, which he said stood for “vertical.”
In the beginning of 2014, he released his first EP titled Purple Thoughtz Vol. 1.
He focused on his lyricism with the EP, which he would go on to prioritize less in his career.
The EP was described as “phonk”, a subgenre of hip hop and rap, with “trippy” production. Woods has since gone on to be labeled as an “emo rap” artist.
The EP put Woods on the radar for rap music, and he was soon noticed by more famous artists such as A$AP Mob. By this time, he had changed his name to Lil Uzi Vert.
In 2014, he released his first mixtape The Real Uzi after being noticed and signed by a record label.
He subsequently signed with Atlantic Records, and went on to release various samples and collaborations on Soundcloud with popular artists such as Metro Boomin.
His next mixtape Luv Is Rage was released by Atlantic Records in 2015, and received positive reviews.
For this, Woods was named Breakout Artist of 2015 by HotNewHipHop.
Finally, Woods released his debut single Money Longer in 2016 as the first single from his next mixtape Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World.
Money Longer has garnered over 134 million views on YouTube, and was certified 2 x platinum by the RIAA. It peaked at 54 on the U.S Billboard Top 100.
The debut single also became the background track of an internet meme, boosting its streaming.
The Rise of Lil Uzi Vert
Lil Uzi Vert rose to fame after he released his first album Luv Is Rage 2, which was a sequel to his Luv is Rage mixtape.
The album was released in 2017, and met with success, debuting at number 1 on the US Billboard 200.
The song features three hit singles: XO Tour Llif3, The Way Life Goes and Sauce It Up.
XO Tour Llif3 received the most traction, peaking at number 7 on the U.S Billboard Hot 100. Since then, it has been streamed over 1 billion times on Spotify.
Woods featured on Migos’ song Bad and Boujee from Migos’ Culture album, which debuted at number 1 on the U.S Billboard Hot 100.
He has since featured alongside several other top-selling artists such as A$AP Rocky, Quavo and Frank Ocean.
Woods announced his upcoming album Eternal Atake in 2018, and between 2018-2020, he released various teaser songs for the album.
In 2020, he released the song Futsal Shuffle 2020, which debuted at number 5 on the U.S Billboard Hot 100, and went viral for a dance associated with it.
Lil Uzi Vert has certainly come a long way in both music style and sales since his first single Money Longer.