But claiming he can turn a gay girl straight on “Venetia” is another.

Immaturely lamenting girls for only liking him for his fame on “Bust Me” is forgivable, and so is bragging about watches, bags, money, and guns they’ve been done before. Uzi inhabits the uglier sides of Pluto, previewing the third character, named simply Uzi, who isn’t so different from Pluto. Unfortunately, this section is also where the momentum generally stalls. What stands out here, for the most part, is the production: the gentle guitar noodling and gospel vocal samples on “Bigger Than Life” and the soulful R&B-meets-drill of Chief Keef’s “Chrome Heart Tags” are the two best-sounding tracks on the record. On “I’m Sorry”, he apologizes to an ex for his behavior, cooing with auto-tune over a playful arpeggio beat. Uzi occasionally shines on the Renji section of Eternal Atake, a character supposed to represent his sweeter side. And on “Homecoming”, he goes so hard trying to outdo Bugz Ronin’s interweaving bass beats that he’s hoarse by the end, a visceral display of dominance. On “Lo Mein”, he’s more melodic among washes of spacey production. “POP” is perhaps most impressive, with Uzi rapping off-beat and adlibbing, at one point repeating “Balenci” more times than Jeff Tweedy screams “Nothing” at the end of “Misunderstood”, evoking the mania required to shop for loads of expensive shit more than if he were to narrate his binge. On opener “Baby Pluto” (the introduction to the first third of Eternal Atake, where Uzi inhabits his superego alter ego Baby Pluto), he fills the space between cascading chimes with his forceful, driving bars. Indeed, Uzi’s production style-adaptive rapping is far better than his lyricism. Where Uzi excels unlike any other rapper is in his head, a tornado of emotion and cultural milieu, and how he’s able to skip the page and put it out in the open at the drop of a pin.

Sure, Kendrick Lamar covered the personified braggadocio in a more interesting and complex way in “Backseat Freestyle” than Uzi has in his entire catalog, but Lamar’s an unfair comparison. But at least the first comes close, and on both, the highs have never been higher. The same goes for the long-awaited Luv Is Rage 2 follow-up Eternal Atake, and especially its bonus album Lil Uzi Vert vs. While tracks like “XO TOUR Llif3″, the Pharrell-assisted “Neon Guts”, and last year’s “Free Uzi” show him at the top of his powers, he’s never been able to sustain the momentum across an entire record. Lil Uzi Vert has always been a singles rapper. Lil Uzi Vert Album Review: Eternal Atake/LUV vs.

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