He liked nerdy stuff and was open about liking it. He talked about his girlfriend, a designer named Brittany Byrd whose pink hair contrasted nicely with his purple, all the time.
As countless commentators noticed, he owed as much to the example of rock artists - whether punk, pop-punk, or shock rock - as he did to that of rappers. Like Will Smith, the Roots, and Eve before him, Uzi offered a homegrown alternative to the prevailing Philly paradigm, but his style had little in common with any of these outliers. While those artists made their names focusing on the cold, bare facts of urban violence and deprivation, Lil Uzi had opted for a different mode of presentation - one where leaping 20 feet into a sea of fans, as he did at Miami’s Rolling Loud festival over the past weekend, was considered normal. Born Symere Woods in Philadelphia, the artist had carved out a style of his own that shared little in common with the classic heritage of Philly street rap inaugurated by Schoolly D in the ’80s, sustained by Beanie Sigel and crew in the late ’90s and early 2000s, and most prominently represented by Meek Mill in the 2010s.
When Uzi rose to prominence in 2016, he seemed to do so in contrast to the dominant tradition of rap in his home city. Melding nerdy animations and rock-star habits with fashion-mongering, Atlanta trap production, and Auto-Tuned vocals, the song is the clearest proof he’s developed a distinct and inimitable sound of his own.
Popularity doesn’t always equate to quality, but “XO Tour Llif3,” along with being Lil Uzi’s biggest song, happens to be his best, as well as an ideal introduction to him.
LIL UZI VERT XO TOUR LLIF3 OUTFIT FOR FREE
Released for free at the end of February, Lil Uzi Vert’s “XO Tour Llif3” has rapidly proven itself to be the most popular song of the young Philadelphia artist’s career, racking up over 70 million listens on SoundCloud alone later rereleased on Spotify and Apple, the song’s streaming numbers have lifted it to the upper reaches of the Billboard Hot 100. Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella