tupacarti

3y

if Uzi actually went to the source of the "Hyperpop" sound, whatever you wanna call it, it'd work out for the better. The fruity beats he keeps getting from Brandon don't cut it most of the time, and are gimmicky like you said. That type of sound is temporary and is only here today and will be gone tomorrow. If Uzi linked with producers like Fortuneswan, Glasear, KimJ, Vvspipes, Blackwinterwells, thislandis, Gab3, etc. then he'd have something. Hell, Uzi should link with Surf Gang--they're also making some of the best production in the underground right now.

That's really all in my eyes, I think he's evolving vocally and with his rapping, but it's the production holding him back (Thug and Future face this issue as well). He gets beat packs sent from so many great producers too, he even showed that he had beats from Lukrative (who produced on 2 tracks on WLR and is in Neilaworld), so it's on Uzi if he wants to do something risky for once.

I think he will, he's made another song over a Ripsquad beat (It's Over), and that Demons snippet shows promise like you guys pointed out (Uzi himself is hype over that song which intrigues me). Also, I think people have been overlooking that Movie snippet--this is a great sign in the right direction. It pretty much confirms that Uzi's next project will be personal, like Joe Budden said he heard from an industry guy on his podcast. That snippet is the most vulnerable Uzi's been since Lullaby.

This project really is make or break for Uzi, to see if he'll continue being a forward thinking legend who's going to have another decade long reign at the top, or if he'll stay stagnant and play it safe.

RIP_Actavis

3y

Really hope this next one is his best yet

Spun EA earlier today and yeah it's still great but as a fan who has followed him since 2016, listening to it made me notice the lack of progression in his sound

LIR2 still stands as his best work to me because of the risks, both sonically and autobiographically, he took on that project. The production on LIR2 had its moments of experimentation - Early 20 Rager, Pharrell's input on Neon Guts, the Oh Wonder sample-flip on TWLG. As well as featuring tracks that were more introspective in tone like Feelings Mutual & Dark Queen. Even if some of these moments didn't work for you personally, I still think they contributed to giving the album a lot of character and by extension, memorability.

The most unconventional thing he's done in recent memory is popularise the Hyperpop sound by pushing Fustal Shuffle as Eternal Atake's lead single. Don't get me wrong, those Hyperpop beats are really cool, and I think there's still a lot of untapped potential within that sound, but I'm just not sure those beats are equipped with the depth to allow an artist to get introspective on them. Although the sound is super unique, it has a tendency to also feel a bit gimmicky - there's a reason that those fruity-beats haven't provided Uzi a substantial hit yet.

I'm aware I'm in the minority here, but that's why I loved Lullaby so much. Not only was the beat dynamic (shout-out BobbyRaps fr hope him & Uzi link again in the future), but it allowed Uzi to just talk his s*** for like 5 minutes over it. The transparency Uzi showed on Lullaby felt so refreshing and was a detail sadly absent from EA.

Being his closest contemporary, it's difficult to not compare him & Carti. Even if you didn't vibe with the sound of WLR, you have to respect Carti's pursuit of artistic growth on it. Carti sacrificed the comfort of his old sound, a style widely imitated at this point, in order to explore a new creative direction. I'm not saying Uzi has to take a creative jump as dramatic as Carti did, but ultimately I think the sound of this upcoming project will be very telling as to if Uzi is someone seeking progression, or rather just an artist who wants to remain in the comfort of their own sound

Bill

3y

As a polished type of project I think LIR2 is best but personally I prefer LUVTW for being his most consistently great effort and LIR for being I think the most raw to his sound and really showing off all his strengths the best.

EA was clearly rushed out (shit Kesha said multiple times she basically had to mix the project in a week so its clear there was a pretty big shift in some tracks on the tracklist even if some were always planned).

The Hyperpop sound would be cool, Uzi used to do more melody based EDM songs in like 2014-2016 occasionally so it would def be somewhat down his lane. I think he just needs to spice that in with his hard rapping songs.

I think my big thing is the songs he raps hard on nowadays dont have crazy good beats, like Free Uzi over Gangway and Rich Forever over Where were already classic drill songs so the beats were basically already iconic, but that was his biggest strength like LIR era. He had great producers where he could just go off over more nonconventional trap beats that were more ethereal or weird.

I'd love some songs that bring the energy like WLR did for Carti where it feels like his soul is in it, but realistically just based off most his features recently (not his solo snips) he seems to just be putting in minimal effort (maybe thats not a fair comparison but still its a noticeable step down from previous years where his feats were project highlights).

His biggest strength has always been his emotional songs melodic or not, seems like hes in his bag which is a very good thing, but thats not really moving the sound forward, just more of the same. In a lot of ways hes made many great tracks in many dif styles already so I think its going to be harder for him to astound and amaze or really surprise. I'm just looking for solid songs that dont sound like filler throwaways, if his next project can accomplish that, hes golden and can continue his reign as one of the best artists out currently.

Hate to say it cause I'm a Future and Thug stan but both have definitely become extremely derivative of their old stuff and even dumbed it down, and while theres still standouts, I dont get the same excitement like I used to. As long as Uzi doesn't get comfortable and puts his heart in it, I have faith it'll be at least good if not great.

Bill

3y

As a polished type of project I think LIR2 is best but personally I prefer LUVTW for being his most consistently great effort and LIR for being I think the most raw to his sound and really showing off all his strengths the best.

EA was clearly rushed out (shit Kesha said multiple times she basically had to mix the project in a week so its clear there was a pretty big shift in some tracks on the tracklist even if some were always planned).

The Hyperpop sound would be cool, Uzi used to do more melody based EDM songs in like 2014-2016 occasionally so it would def be somewhat down his lane. I think he just needs to spice that in with his hard rapping songs.

I think my big thing is the songs he raps hard on nowadays dont have crazy good beats, like Free Uzi over Gangway and Rich Forever over Where were already classic drill songs so the beats were basically already iconic, but that was his biggest strength like LIR era. He had great producers where he could just go off over more nonconventional trap beats that were more ethereal or weird.

I'd love some songs that bring the energy like WLR did for Carti where it feels like his soul is in it, but realistically just based off most his features recently (not his solo snips) he seems to just be putting in minimal effort (maybe thats not a fair comparison but still its a noticeable step down from previous years where his feats were project highlights).

His biggest strength has always been his emotional songs melodic or not, seems like hes in his bag which is a very good thing, but thats not really moving the sound forward, just more of the same. In a lot of ways hes made many great tracks in many dif styles already so I think its going to be harder for him to astound and amaze or really surprise. I'm just looking for solid songs that dont sound like filler throwaways, if his next project can accomplish that, hes golden and can continue his reign as one of the best artists out currently.

Hate to say it cause I'm a Future and Thug stan but both have definitely become extremely derivative of their old stuff and even dumbed it down, and while theres still standouts, I dont get the same excitement like I used to. As long as Uzi doesn't get comfortable and puts his heart in it, I have faith it'll be at least good if not great.

Pluto Vert

3y

Legendary live

tupacarti

3y

if Uzi actually went to the source of the "Hyperpop" sound, whatever you wanna call it, it'd work out for the better. The fruity beats he keeps getting from Brandon don't cut it most of the time, and are gimmicky like you said. That type of sound is temporary and is only here today and will be gone tomorrow. If Uzi linked with producers like Fortuneswan, Glasear, KimJ, Vvspipes, Blackwinterwells, thislandis, Gab3, etc. then he'd have something. Hell, Uzi should link with Surf Gang--they're also making some of the best production in the underground right now.

That's really all in my eyes, I think he's evolving vocally and with his rapping, but it's the production holding him back (Thug and Future face this issue as well). He gets beat packs sent from so many great producers too, he even showed that he had beats from Lukrative (who produced on 2 tracks on WLR and is in Neilaworld), so it's on Uzi if he wants to do something risky for once.

I think he will, he's made another song over a Ripsquad beat (It's Over), and that Demons snippet shows promise like you guys pointed out (Uzi himself is hype over that song which intrigues me). Also, I think people have been overlooking that Movie snippet--this is a great sign in the right direction. It pretty much confirms that Uzi's next project will be personal, like Joe Budden said he heard from an industry guy on his podcast. That snippet is the most vulnerable Uzi's been since Lullaby.

This project really is make or break for Uzi, to see if he'll continue being a forward thinking legend who's going to have another decade long reign at the top, or if he'll stay stagnant and play it safe.

RIP_Actavis

3y

Really hope this next one is his best yet

Spun EA earlier today and yeah it's still great but as a fan who has followed him since 2016, listening to it made me notice the lack of progression in his sound

LIR2 still stands as his best work to me because of the risks, both sonically and autobiographically, he took on that project. The production on LIR2 had its moments of experimentation - Early 20 Rager, Pharrell's input on Neon Guts, the Oh Wonder sample-flip on TWLG. As well as featuring tracks that were more introspective in tone like Feelings Mutual & Dark Queen. Even if some of these moments didn't work for you personally, I still think they contributed to giving the album a lot of character and by extension, memorability.

The most unconventional thing he's done in recent memory is popularise the Hyperpop sound by pushing Fustal Shuffle as Eternal Atake's lead single. Don't get me wrong, those Hyperpop beats are really cool, and I think there's still a lot of untapped potential within that sound, but I'm just not sure those beats are equipped with the depth to allow an artist to get introspective on them. Although the sound is super unique, it has a tendency to also feel a bit gimmicky - there's a reason that those fruity-beats haven't provided Uzi a substantial hit yet.

I'm aware I'm in the minority here, but that's why I loved Lullaby so much. Not only was the beat dynamic (shout-out BobbyRaps fr hope him & Uzi link again in the future), but it allowed Uzi to just talk his s*** for like 5 minutes over it. The transparency Uzi showed on Lullaby felt so refreshing and was a detail sadly absent from EA.

Being his closest contemporary, it's difficult to not compare him & Carti. Even if you didn't vibe with the sound of WLR, you have to respect Carti's pursuit of artistic growth on it. Carti sacrificed the comfort of his old sound, a style widely imitated at this point, in order to explore a new creative direction. I'm not saying Uzi has to take a creative jump as dramatic as Carti did, but ultimately I think the sound of this upcoming project will be very telling as to if Uzi is someone seeking progression, or rather just an artist who wants to remain in the comfort of their own sound

RIP_Actavis

3y

LIR is a very close second as my favourite Uzi project in fairness, the beats on that were just so good, Top, Ballin, Paradise, Nuyork Nights, Wit my Crew etc etc.

I think I'm just a sucker for when he's on his heartbreak vibes since he seems to have a knack for it

The Thug/Future parallel is true yeah for sure, @tupacarti mentioned the same thing. Both two of my favourite artists but their tendency to oversaturate often affects the quality of their projects, specifically if they're pumping out handfuls of tracks with the same producer/style

In all honesty, I'm hoping for Uzi to come with 14 tracks or under on his next project, just make it tight and punchy with no filler

underachiever

3y

this song is f***ing incredible fr

Bill

3y

Really good point about the size of the project, I'm way more game for a shorter, better constructed project with no misses than a bloated tracklist with some misses. To me thats why his 2016 run was so successful, two shorter projects both full of great highlights and great songs with no filler (not counting the Gucci collab).

16 tracks seems to be the sweet spot where it can go either way, LIR works for me because his sound was still so fresh and was a clear step up from TRU so it felt justified being that long. At year 4-5 of his mainstream presence, the sound isnt as fresh, so 16 songs can be a slog if it isnt constructed perfect (EA clearly wasn't).

I really liked the idea of the mixtape then album, hopefully both on the 8-12 track side, where one is in that classic Uzi style that people have been craving since 2017 and Forever Young the album being where he puts his newer sound, or what he's gonna push towards. That to me would work great cause you appeal to both and instead of trying to push it all as one large package where people are mixed, you have two solid standout projects where your own taste can dictate which one you enjoy more.

It'd be like if you split EA Deluxe and cut the filler and spread out the release dates. That would have been much better to me (but I think he felt the pressure to release a lot since he was ghost for so long compared to his normal release schedule).

Streaming and the death of non streaming official releases (on soundcloud or YT) really is to me what is killing how he puts stuff together now (on top of his fame being much greater than before where basically everything is gonna be forced to go through a full teaser release cycle and be longer to garner larger streaming numbers). A bit of a tangent, lots of moving parts, but ultimately I think that has been hurting Uzi's output post 2017 as far as his release schedule and project size goes.

I miss the loosies. We got cool ones in Rich Forever (where, by my own speculation, based on his situation at the time I'm pretty sure he was getting label pressure to not do SC only single drops so he tried to say he was hacked but faced repercussions behind the scenes) and Free Uzi (where he fixed his management and was able to get back to releasing those types of tracks). New Patek basically only dropped because the snippet went f***ing insane and the label probably gave him the go ahead to drop it and not lose out on the hype (funny enough Uzi was apparently in a horrible mood the day that dropped from what was said in a WoD interview around the time, so maybe he was unhappy about the drop or other label stuff, who knows). Sanguine Paradise and That Way were probably scheduled drops but they leaked early and its kinda like chicken and the egg, did the songs only drop because of the leaks, or were they gonna drop soon anyway and people got their hands on them just prior to the official drop?

Really just preferred the loosie's / shorter project release style over these bloated albums with rollouts format overall.

innuendo

3y

· edited

Uzi for Calvin Klein

Bill

3y

Lil Cutie Vert

innuendo

3y

Uzi for Calvin Klein