Lil Uzi Vert

Symere Woods (born July 31, 1994), known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Born and raised in , Lil Uzi gained initial recognition following the release of the commercial mixtape Luv Is Rage (2015), which led to a recording contract with , to whom he signed to under 's Generation Now imprint." in 2016, which peaked at number 54 on the , and later became certified double platinum.[5]

The song would act as the lead single for the subsequent mixtape (2016); the project debuted at number 37 on the , and also contained the song "", which charted at number 40 on the Hot 100. After releasing two additional mixtapes in 2016 and 2017, including one in collaboration with , Lil Uzi was featured on the chart-topping ' single "", and later secured his first top ten single with "", which peaked at number 7. "XO Tour Llif3" acted as the lead single to Lil Uzi Vert's debut studio album (2017), which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and was certified platinum." and "". Lil Uzi's second studio album, , is scheduled to be released in March 2020.[7]

Symere Woods was born July 31, 1994, in 's neighborhood. and ; Jones' debut album was the first album he purchased. Woods later began listening to and , who influenced his future style., , , , , and when he was 13 years old, and has said he is a "big fan" and called his favorite album.[9]

Woods began rapping in 10th grade, calling himself a "regular kid, I didn't really wanna rap", instrumental. Woods, Aston and another friend created a rap group, Steaktown, which broke up when Woods was 17.[10]

Woods dropped out of school and soon started working at a store, but he quit after four days and was kicked out of his home by his mother.

2010–16: Breakthrough mixtapes

Woods began to rap in 2010 and began to associate with musical groups like Steaktown and in what he says was "just for money" He later changed his name to Lil Uzi Vert from the way someone described his rap flow, saying his flow was "Fast, like a machine gun." features Woods with a bigger focus on lyricism than most of his career and was released with the single "White Shit" which included a video. The track, which was produced by , went viral in 2017 within hip-hop circles following Wood's entry into the mainstream..[10]

The project and following features caught the attention of producer and Def Jam A&R after DJ Diamond Kuts played one of Woods' songs on a local radio station, who signed Woods to his The Academy imprint and produced his first mixtape, The Real Uzi which was released on August 5, 2014. through DJ Drama, Don Cannon's and Leighton Morrison's imprint, Generation Now.[19]

Following his signing to Atlantic Records, Woods was featured on 's single "WDYW" with and . produced "No Wait",".'s and 's "Boys of Zummer" tour in August 2015., and with features from Billboard charting rappers such as Wiz Khalifa and , was received positively and was featured on numerous music blogs such as Fader, XXL He was further called a "breakout artist of 2015" by HotNewHipHop.[28]

Woods started 2016 with a show to honor the deceased producer, ASAP Yams in New York City and the release of the single, "" on his SoundCloud following a radio debut on . On April 15, 2016, Uzi released his third mixtape and first commercial mixtape . Woods and embarked on a joint tour in May 2016, titled the "Parental Advisory" tour.[35]

He was named as one of the ten 2016 Freshmen on June 13, 2016. Woods released the video for the single "Money Longer" which debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 the following week, his first entry on the chart, at number 92 on July 2, 2016. Woods second entry on the chart, produced "" debuted at 89 on July 30, 2016 and peaked at number 40.[40]

On July 12, 2016, Woods announced his fourth mixtape, , and "Erase Your Social", both of which failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The mixtape debuted at number 55 on the Billboard 200 album chart and is certified Gold by the RIAA. In October 2016, Woods was announced to be an additional artist on singer The Weeknd's tour.[43]

Woods announced a collaboration mixtape with Gucci Mane On the 27th, Woods announced

2017–present: Luv Is Rage 2 and Eternal Atake

Uzi collaborated with the rap group in October 2016 on the single "" which in January 2017 reached number 1 on the US , becoming Uzi Vert's first number 1 single as a featured artist, and his highest charting single. whilst on tour with The Weeknd. The EP was positively received for its "nerdy" nature with themed instrumentals and lyrics referring to , and ." label due to the heartbreak-associated lyrics on the song "Luv Scars K.o 1600"".[53]

"XO Tour Llif3"'s significant popularity on SoundCloud resulted in Woods playing it live on the European leg of 's tour and peaked at number seven, becoming the rapper’s highest charting song and biggest song, being certified six-times platinum as of August 2018.[39]

Luv Is Rage 2 was delayed again on April 2, 2017 with Woods blaming it on DJ Drama. On April 7, 's "Woke Up Like This" featuring Lil Uzi Vert was officially released as a single and was performed by the pair at Coachella 2017. and was released by surprise on May 15, 2017, titled "RAF".[61]

At the start of August, it was claimed by social media personality and hip-hop media personality DJ Akademiks that is dropping within 30 days. The album debuted at number one on the albums chart, with 135,000 " featuring Oh Wonder and "" becoming singles. During Ed Sheeran's set at the VMAs, Woods was brought out for a remix to "XO Tour Llif3" featuring Sheeran.[67]

In September 2017, Woods teased a possible sequel project to Lil Uzi Vert vs The World possibly titled Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World 2 and a collaboration project with Playboi Carti titled 16*29. further promoting the possibility of a collaboration project. The tour was cancelled shortly thereafter due to Woods claiming he needed to "focus".'s annual Powerhouse music celebration, alongside , , and , at the in Brooklyn, New York.'s platinum-certified single "" in November.

On December 4, 2017, "The Way Life Goes" music video was released with a remix featuring Nicki Minaj. performing "The Way Life Goes" on February 6, 2018 on 's song, "", which was released on May 3, 2018.'s single "Like a Farmer".[83]

In May 2018, Don Cannon confirmed that a new Lil Uzi Vert project was dropping in 2018", pinning it and announcing it was "coming soon" The cover art for references cult Heavens Gate. The art was the source of a threat from the two remaining members of the organization over legal attack." was released on September 18, 2018.'s single "".. from his highly anticipated studio album, Eternal Atake. On 13 December 2019, Lil Uzi Vert released a new single entitled, "Futsal Shuffle 2020" to promote Eternal Atake.[94]

called Uzi "one of those names to pay attention to in 2016", wrote "the 22-year-old has solidified his spot as one to watch...[with] his signature rapid delivery." called him "articularly charismatic", a "natural entertainer" who is "for better or for worse, yanking people into the future."[97]

Lil Uzi Vert's style of rap has been compared to ,. rapper.[100]

Influences

Lil Uzi Vert calls "his greatest inspiration"., specifically citing frontwoman as an influence., , , , (both artists collaborated for the song What's The Move), (which he also collaborate with him for the song Pull Up), Lil Wayne, and the as influences.[19]

Woods dated fashion designer Brittany Byrd from 2014 to 2017. Byrd, a popular figure among Woods' fans, after moving from California to attend the school when she met Woods. and has since made multiple songs about the designer, On June 26, 2017, the couple broke up with Woods announcing the news with a new song titled "Stole Your Luv".

Following the death of rapper , Woods announced he was quitting drugs and was attempting sobriety.[109]

After the death of rapper and friend , Woods asked for help on social media from other rappers for helping to build a foundation against gun violence which would help to keep XXXTentacion's family and future child provided for.[112]

Controversies

Woods has been accused of being a , Woods has been said to be inspired by Marilyn Manson's worship and support of ,

In August 2017, Woods created controversy by adding satanic imagery to his social media accounts and saying phrases often associated with Satanism such as " Woods frequently promotes Satanism on his social media, which went far enough to warrant his Instagram access being taken from him by his record label.[118]

Legal issue

On December 8, 2016, Woods was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia for recklessly driving a dirt-bike. Woods and a friend was driving a dirtbike without lights and helmets before being noticed by police. While being chased by the police, Woods fell off his dirtbike and attempted to run away on foot before being caught and held on $6,500 bond.

Feuds

Woods has had a long-standing stand-still with Generation Now imprint owners Don Cannon and DJ Drama over his music. Woods has insulted Don Cannon and DJ Drama over the delays to his Luv Is Rage 2 album,

On April 29, 2016, Atlanta rapper went on a rant on social media where he claims that he "paved the way" for Woods and that Woods was "stealing his sauce", referring to his style. Maco implied there was no issue between Woods and him though Woods took offense to Maco's comment who mentioned Atlanta rapper who Woods was feuding with. In January 2018, Woods punched Reese LaFlare in the face and bragged about it on social media, later deleting the tweet.[128]

In early 2018, Woods had tweeted about how he was unhappy at 's label, Generation Now. In response, fellow rapper had replied saying that had Woods signed to his label, Rich Forever Music, he would have never had that problem. Woods responded by saying "Boy I'm not signing for 20racks" ($20,000). Rich then replied that it would have been worth accepting the offer either way. Soon enough, things escalated with disses on and between the two. between Rich the Kid and Lil Uzi Vert, who attempted to attack Rich the Kid but was stopped by security.[131]

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