E.P. review: Lil Uzi Vert: Red and White

By: Alex.

After an unusual rollout last week Lil Uzi Vert drops the E.P. titled “Red and White”.

Since 2016 people have questioned Uzi’s staying power and potential for longevity in the game. I think in 2022, all of those questions have been put to bed. After dropping 3 songs from the project in the week leading up to the release it has capped off a string of consistent releases, and features since the mixed reviews of his long-anticipated 2nd studio album “Eternal Atake” which dropped in 2020.

Lil Uzi Vert has been one of my favorite artists in this new era of hip hop ever since his classic 2016 XXL cypher verse. That freshman class was clearly a turning point in hip hop and Uzi has undoubtedly been the spearhead of this movement. This most recent project to me has been Uzi perfecting his craft while trying not to get stagnant in his creative process which he did not necessarily succeed in in my opinion. This project is filled with those ethereal and otherworldly sounds that have almost become a trademark for the north Philly rapper at this point.

This album was produced by a number of producers most notably being Sonny Digital on the song “Space Cadet”. Uzi has always had a way of bending producers to his sound, and he shows his strong sense of vision and voice by being able to create a cohesive sound trough 9 songs with many different producers. For every a-list rapper, it is not hard to achieve world class production on your songs, and this album does not lack in that element. The sounds also come together to continue to build upon this space motif that Uzi has been creating for the past few years.

While the production of the album is top notch, Uzi falls flat on a lot of his lyrics for me in this project, and if you have gathered anything from the reviews I’ve put out so far the lyrics are going to make or break a song and a project for me. A lot of the rhyme schemes and lyrical devices used in the project are just practically recycled lines and ideas while the E.P. offers almost nothing in terms of substance or new subject material that we haven’t already heard from Uzi. With that being said, I’d be lying if some of those songs don’t sound great blasting through speakers.

Substance can only get rappers so far, and at a certain point you also have to make what’s appealing to the ears. Sonically, I almost have no complaints about this album. The beats, lyrics and adlibs all mesh so well together even if it isn’t the most thought-provoking stuff. The songs “Glock in my purse” (the old heads are going to hate that one) and “F.F.” were two highlights for me. They both feature that repetitive type of hook that I feel like people like Uzi and Playboi Carti have brought back into popularity and it works really well for me. Like I said, do not come into this album expecting any new type of perspective, but if you want a calm vibe and a quick listen this album definitely will meet your needs.

Lil Uzi Vert has solidified himself in the rap game as someone who is here to stay and has backed it up with consistency and numbers. Regardless of the critical reception of what he puts out he has had the wherewithal to build a cult following that is not going anywhere and is going to continue to support him for a long time.

#LilUziVert #SonnyDigital #PlayboiCarti #RedandWhtie