Symere Woods, known better by his stage name Lil Uzi Vert, is an interesting rapper. Woods is really out there with his style not being afraid to throw in unexpected pop culture references into the trap rap he produced. Accompanying these absurd references were admittedly standard bars that had a lot of the typical “I make money” and “I fucked your bitch” phrase variations that always pulled away from his records’ qualities. Also his beats were pretty interesting with unique aesthetics hinting towards anime and other colorful vibes, but once again they were watered down heavily by basic beats that become tedious. Lastly, his hooks were very lackluster and even grating as all hell at points. With all these gripes, I never understood the hype around his music. With his second album, Eternal Atake, I think his appeal has finally clicked with me… kind of.

Eternal Atake comes with three phases defined by three personas: Baby Pluto, Renji, and Lil Uzi Vert himself. From what I can tell, Baby Pluto is Woods’s most braggadocious side, Renji is his sweeter and more personal side, and Lil Uzi Vert is his more natural personality (probably still overblown in some manners). I can sort of distinguish each segment, but with how often Woods is bragging about sex, money, and drugs on Eternal Atake the lines are admittedly blurry. I won’t say this is necessarily a bad thing; there are plenty of clever, funny, and infectious bars that provide bangers. Kind of wish there was more diversity in the lyrics though like “I’m Sorry” which is about a fan who became Woods’s girlfriend (now ex) which caused confusion and mental pain on both sides. I also wish the concepts, not just the phases but the whole spaceship story, were actually developed. As it stands it feels more of a tease of what could have been with the minimal skits.

The issues I have with the lyrics luckily do not take away from Eternal Atake too much. His carefree and at times wacky delivery is super infectious. Woods does a good job at pushing many of the tracks into banger territory like “Silly Watch” and even “Chrome Heart Tags” which is about spending money to cope over a breakup. On the other side of the spectrum he shows off his smooth and suave singing on tracks like “Bigger Than Life”, “Urgency” featuring Syd, and “Venetia”. His flows are slick, but never really differentiate from song to song which is another area I hope he touches up in the future. Also like his past projects, there are a few choruses and headache-inducing moments of repetition that ruins a few song – especially “POP”.

The beats on Eternal Atake are definitely the main attractor to the record, at least for me. Woods has had some extremely one-dimensional beats in the past, but the beats on this record are definitely my favorite from him. The bumping piano line on “Silly Watch” is bound to get you bobbing your head. “Prices” has a faint vocal line that sounds like a leftover beat from A$AP Rocky’s LONG.LIVE.A$AP with it’s sinister tone. “Chrome Heart Tags” has very uplifting instrumentals with the right amount of drills that it doesn’t water it down thanks to Chief Keef’s producing. Some of the bass lines are thick on the album, especially the pummeling “Homecoming” that has a synth line that gives me vibes of a basketball game for some reason. Hell, a few of the beats save their respective songs from mediocrity or garbage status. “You Better Move” would be pretty boring if it wasn’t for the badass synths that sound like raygun shots followed up by a distant siren. Even “POP” is saved with its grimy synths. If the beat on that song was plain, it would probably end up with the worst songs of the year.

I’ve always wanted to get what the appeal surrounding Lil Uzi Vert was, and Eternal Atake has helped a little with my understanding. There are still plenty of inconsistencies and slip-ups, but nowhere close to his other records. This is without a doubt Woods’s greatest record with easily his best beats and most tolerable lines that I am surprised I enjoy as much as I do. I will say no track stands up to his greatest single, “XO Tour Llif3” , but with his current progression as an artist I suspect his next record may just get there. If he does, that’s going to be an instant trap rap classic. Here in the present though, Eternal Atake isn’t half bad. I’m definitely gonna have to backtrack through the Lil Uzi Vert discography again at some point more in-depth to see if anything else clicks. Interested where his career will go now.

Favorite Tracks: “Silly Watch”; “Homecoming”; “I’m Sorry”; “Chrome Heart Tags”; “Prices”; “Urgency” ft. Syd; “P2”

Rating: 6/10

Released: 03/06/2020

Label: Atlantic Records

Genres: Trap Rap, Cloud Rap

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RATING SCALE

Perfect Excellent Great Very Good Good Meh Disappointing Bad Horrible Pitiful Bottom of the Barrel