Lil Uzi Vert's Quest For Ambition & Innovation Falls Short On 'Pink Tape'

Lil Uzi Vert has long been known for their eccentric charisma, playfully melodic flows and unwavering ability to never overthink the creation of their tracks – and the truth is that this is when they’re at their best. In their prime, they effortlessly dropped songs riddled with R-rated flexes delivered through cartoonish cadences that resonated with a young generation amidst an ever-changing mainstream Hip-Hop sound. In Uzi’s prime years, which are already a few years behind us, they captivated their audience as a result of these characteristics melding together, as well as the fact that the popular music of that time flourished in improvisation and effortless experimentation. Although time has passed, it feels as though Uzi doesn’t want to move on.

They seemingly like to feel the overbearing pressure that comes along with finally releasing an overly-teased and built-up mainstream record. On their past two solo full-lengths, 2020’s Eternal Atake and now, the highly-anticipated Pink Tape, Uzi seems to think that the hype works in their favor – yet Pink Tape proves once again that the pressure results in a sprawling, unfocused offering from an artist who evidently possesses the potential to deliver enticing music, but struggles to package it together.

Although it’s the first Hip Hop album to go No. 1 this year, ending the genre’s longest drought of chart topping records since 1993, only a portion of Pink Tape is successful in proving Uzi’s potential as the groundbreaking artist they set out to be.

Earlier this year, DJ Drama stated that Uzi had 680 songs completed and in contention to make the cut for Pink Tape – after considering the built-up anticipation and hearing its 26 tracks, it’s puzzling to reflect on how they ended up with these specific ones. Especially when the first quarter of the tracklist is full of surface-level extensions of Uzi’s earlier work and the majority of the rest is a result of failed experimentations that lean too heavily on their outside influences to be interesting on their own.

Across Pink Tape’s 26 tracks, Uzi pulls from a wide array of influences, including nu-metal (“CS”), rage (“Aye”), futuristic trap (“Suicide Doors”) and even pop (“Endless Fashion,” “Mama, I’m Sorry”), but the result is an overwhelmingly sprawling offering that lacks cohesion and structure. In Uzi’s world, they’re an outsider with a musically diverse palette who is constantly misunderstood and ahead of their time. The truth is that they fail to blend it all into a properly flushed-out project.

There are certainly gems sprinkled throughout it and the left-field sonic textures are the most engaging aspect of the album, but it’s ultimately Uzi’s performances that don’t quite live up to the hype. The first half features the bulk of the highlights.

“Endless Fashion” finds Uzi and Nicki Minaj interpolating Eiffel 65’s infamous dance/electronic hit “Blue (Da Ba Dee),” which results in the interesting use of hyper-melodic flows and designer fashion references to deliver a stand-out. “Mama, I’m Sorry” has Uzi reflecting on an out-of-body experience induced by a concoction of drugs – backed by Gotye & Kimbra’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” interpolation results in another stand-out that not many of the other tracks are able to benefit from.

On “Suicide Doors,” Uzi borrows from Playboi Carti’s “vamp” aesthetics with the use of shredding guitar loops, gothic superhero references, growling adlibs and baby-like vocal inflections. The dull, repetitive hook of “Crush Em” is allowed to linger for far too long. Along with other tracks like “Amped,” “Spin Again,” “x2” and “Died and Came Back,” it finds Uzi riddling off a cannon of cringey lines that don’t stick regardless of how much they try. This is also partly due to the fact that we’ve heard variations of them before, and were more inclined to catch your ears in a time where young Hip Hop fans were eating up the abstract, futuristic sounds of the modern-day genre.

“Patience” with Don Toliver provides a much-needed sonic shift and slows down the pace due to its ethereal vibe that contradicts the rest of the album – but this deep into the tracklist, it’s almost too late to save the album as a whole. “Days Come and Go” provides some welcomed introspection where Uzi addresses topics like their absent father, longing for someone to vent to, the associated stress that comes along with fame and personal insecurities. The same is true about “Rehab,” which they use to address an important figure in their life who helped them through the rehab process.

“My neck is filled with the water / I might just fuck around and take your daughter,” Uzi belts out on the hook of the Travis Scott-assisted “Aye.” This is a couplet that would’ve been much more effective in the 2016 era of spacey, braggadocious SoundCloud rap – not here. It’s not even that Uzi needs to be a dynamic lyricist, but there are often times on Pink Tape where at least expanding upon his signature sound would be beneficial, rather than committing to its outdated qualities.

No matter how many Ice Spice references or self-induced “clever” punchlines or dainty vocal deliveries they use, it doesn’t change the fact that Pink Tape is a misstep – and they’re still attempting to make hits off of their prime-era sound. The sound has proven to be not that difficult to replicate (see the new crop of Soundcloud rappers) yet it seems the innovator is struggling to push it past the cliches he helped birth.

Pink Tape is a sprawling listening experience that struggles to ever find its footing – and tries to be too much at once without taking the time to offer much of any substance. As Uzi continues to make hits so fans don’t remember the allegations of assault brought forward from their ex-girlfriend, their legacy remains at risk based off of both their personal life and continuous struggle to deliver a solid project.

Pink Tape is commendable for its desire to experiment with different sounds, but these influences are ultimately scattered throughout the project sporadically – resulting in a bloated offering from one of Hip Hop’s most complicated yet ambitious firestarters.