Lil Uzi Vert ‘Luv Is Rage 2'– Track By Track Album Review

“Yeah, Huh, What!” Out of nowhere last week, Lil Uzi surprised us with his debut album Luv is Rage 2 the follow-up to his breakout mixtape Luv is Rage(2015). The build up for the album felt like decades and eventually led to him firing off at his label for the delays. Luv Is Rage 1.5 released whilst on tour with The Weeknd did something to get our appetites ready(XO Tour Llif3 and Luv Scars). The leaks didn’t stop there with more songs coming out closer to release date of Luv is Rage 2.

I’m going overlook the abysmal mash-up(EP) he did with Gucci Mane and look to this as the as the project to surpass The Perfect Luv Mixtape. That mixtape was an extension pack to Lil Uzi vs the World which was stacked with bangers.

1.Two®

Very squeaky nasally auto-tune use here. It’s quite irritating to listen but at the root of it, he’s making a statement that he has been a trendsetter which very true.

2. 444+222

We can all do the math and know what this adds up to so I don’t need to explain that (#NoBadEnergy). Controversy aside, if your preference is towards the high energy Uzi you will feel this straight away. Funny throughout the hype track he says four a lot but doesn’t say two once.

3. Sauce It Up*

Woo, this is a HIT the bounce on the production is ridiculous. It’s an early standout party anthem on for certain. Uzi knew that the Too Much Sauce wave was one to run with and their previous woeful collaborations Meek Mill would’ve complimented this.

“I swear I’m a stunner like Steve Austin”

4. No Sleep Leak

The flows Uzi uses are super unconventional he goes from; high pitched, to normal and then deep. I got a bit lost in the screeching before even digesting what was going on.

5.The Way Life Goes

There’s a trend with most of his songs where there is a build up and then a high energy drop. Even with this being a slow down I was still waiting for him to get rapid. It sounds like he thought about doing the song one way and then settled for what it is. Not a fan of the production, to be honest, it says “sad and tired”.

6. For Real

What the heck is this For Real?. some songs need to stay in the studio For Real. Jokes aside this is rubbish, usually, these type of throwaways are near the end. The ad libs and the acapella chipping in and out are a miss for me.

7. Feelings Mutual

This an improvement but it’s not great For Real. I have got some high expectation for the star features coming up shortly.

8. Neon Guts(Ft Pharrell Williams)

OG Pharrell gifts Uzi with the smoothest production on the album so far. Even with Uzi really rapping on this I feel let down. He’s reaching with this like hey guys I can really rap, which he doesn’t need to do. Pharrell carries the song.

9. Early 20 Rager

I don’t know what this is but it’s the closest rock I’ve heard from him. The echoing and repetition of lyrics over and over aren’t to my taste at all though. Maybe I forgot how diverse Uzi’s styles are and got used to him merging genres more closely. The worst song on the album so far.

10. Unfazed (Ft The Weeknd)*

Ok, I’ve been very disappointed in this album as a whole so far if I’m honest. As I expected the Starboy delivers as always with his collaborations. To give him credit Uzi does flow well on this, but to avoid him sounding like the feature maybe he should’ve opened up the track like Future did.

11. Pretty Mami*

This is the merging I like, there is an underlying Hip-Hop sound layered with other genres. This one of my other standouts tracks 4-8 could’ve been cut and I would’ve got here quicker. He really pours it all out towards the end, it’s a vibe.

12. How to Talk

Save the best till last, is it? A huge improvement on what he tried with The Way Life Goes before this. It’s a step in a direction I would’ve liked to hear from earlier on no need to over cook it. This is my loop song of the album.

13. X

This has a Magnolia bounce to it and a lot of the similarities with the cadences at points from Uzi.

14. Malfunction

Ok, here comes the overkill of the same vibe.

15. Dark Queen

I can seriously feel what he’s saying the storytelling is vivid. He’s giving us an insight into the love he has for his mother and grandmother and the sacrifices he’s had to make. This here is right up there with my top songs from the album.

16. XO Tour Llif3

Who hasn’t played this to death yet? 284 Million as of me writing this, it’s a MONSTER. The high energy, infectious nature and slightly morbid concoction is the perfect mix. It’s in my 2017 top10 tracks at the moment.

Wow, what a rollercoaster that was. He goes from a rapid fire “Uzi” flow to stretching his vocals chords to the max. At points, it felt like he knew exactly what he wanted to give us and other times not so much. I guess it all comes back to him pushing the traditional Hip-Hop boundaries. He goes even further than Thug did with country music on Beautiful Thugger Girls blending in rock really well at some points.

I don’t think disappointed by this overhyped debut but with the exception of a few things I wasn’t that surprised. Ok, the production is more polished than his mixtapes and he has two big name features but is it that much better than his mixtapes? After I began to feel like a less is more approach would’ve worked better. I will definitely be on the look for his tour dates though!

Top 3 Tracks: Unfazed, Pretty Mami, Sauce It Up

7,7/10

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