Now to start these write-ups, I usually give a little background on the artist. Lil Uzi Vert is an artist who really needs no introduction, though. They have been immensely popular for so many years and their impact transcends all throughout Pop culture. Lil Uzi Vert is the kind of artist you can go ask your parents or even your grandparents if they have heard about it, and I almost guarantee they would know who Lil Uzi Vert is. Over the years, Lil Uzi Vert’s releases have always been shrouded in mystery. It seems like no one truly knows what is coming next from this person. According to the rumors last year, they were actually supposed to release LUV Is Rage 3 in 20224, and it was supposedly supposed to be their last album ever. As we see now, this is obviously not the case. There is a reason why Lil Uzi Vert has been so wishy-washy with their release schedule lately. Throughout their career, they have been subject to so many leaks. It has been tough for Lil Uzi Vert to put out new music that has not been heard somewhere online already, as people are always somehow getting access to their music before it is supposed to come out. Lil Uzi Vert has always been someone who is known for pushing boundaries with everything they do; from their music to their fashion to their overall presence, they have always stood out. Their music has become increasingly weird and outside the box over the last few years, though. This started with 2020’s Eternal Atake. This album was sonically and thematically unlike anything their peers have been doing. It has been praised for its vibrant sound, becoming beloved by music fans and critics and serving as inspiration for many artists who have risen in the 2020s. Lil Uzi Vert continued to go beyond the limits with their next two releases, 2022’s Red & White and 2023’s The Pink Tape. The latter was especially out of the ordinary; The Pink Tape dove into sonic themes of Metal, Industrial, and Electronic music. I personally enjoyed this album a ton, but I can see how some people were not as into it, as its sound is all over the place. About two weeks ago, literally out of nowhere, Lil Uzi Vert started promoting a new album, Eternal Atake 2. Considering how beloved the first one was, fans were very excited by this announcement. If this one is anything like its predecessor, we are in for something legendary. Now, the reception of Eternal Atake 2 has unfortunately been underwhelming, to say the least. I do not know what fans were exactly expecting out of this surprise release, but it is clear to see that this was not it. Now, the album does have some redeeming qualities for sure, though. Below, I wanted to talk about a few of my favorite songs from EA2, then go over my thoughts on the entire album to close things out. Please let me know in the comments what your favorite songs are from EA2, and also comment on how you feel about the record as a whole. 

NOT AN OPTION

It probably is not a good sign that my first song for this list comes six songs into the record. This is honestly because there is nothing very redeeming on the record before this track. To the point where I was almost wondering what the hell happened with this record for me to just not be into anything. I am not even going to lie and say ‘Not An Option’ is some amazing track that turns things around, because it is not. ‘Not An Option’ is the best song this early in the album, and does have some enjoyable elements. The instrumental for this track is pretty high-key, but not anything that we have never heard before. It sort of has the energy of some of the music that they were making early in their career. The track is driven by majorly saturated synths with a melancholy tone that is put on a pretty intense Trap beat. This instrumental is okay, but what makes ‘Not An Option’ enjoyable are the vocals from Lil Uzi Vert. I do like their rapid-fire flow on this track a bunch, and the moments in which he fluctuates their tone a bit do give the song life. ‘Not An Option’ is not anything special in the grand scheme of Lil Uzi Vert’s music, but it is in terms of this record. 

MR CHOW

Most of the album to this point has a pretty negative tone, driven by melodies that feel very low and sour. ‘Mr Chow’ has a sound that is a lot more positive and uplifting. The synths that drive this melody are powerful and effervescent. These synths have a tone to them that reminds me of horns, which makes the melody feel triumphant. I like the way that the drums crash on this track. This beat is pretty hard-hitting and brash, which gives the song a level of emphasis that makes it stand out. Lil Uzi Vert’s vocals on ‘Mr Chow’ are not extremely special, but they are still solid and fit the track. The tone with which Lil Uzi Vert sings with on this track makes the song feel heavy and powerful. Their vocals add a level of emphasis to ‘Mr Chow’ that makes it memorable. Like ‘Not An Option,’ Lil Uzi Vert reverts back to a sound he has excelled at in the past, and although this one does not live up to some of their best music in this style, it is still pretty fun to listen to. 

LYFT EM UP

‘Lyft Em Up’ has one of the more interesting and low-key instrumentals of the project. Even though this instrumental does not hit nearly as hard as a lot of the other ones here, it stands out for its quirkiness and intricacy. The best way to describe this piano-driven melody is that it makes me think of anime battle scenes. This melancholy and almost foreboding instrumental has a sound that makes me think of the music that plays in shows like Naruto or Demon Slayer when a battle is about to commence(or rather, a flashback right before a battle). The beat on this song has a crashing quality to it but does not drown out the melody. This beat has the perfect level of power to emphasize the anxious feeling of the melody but not drown it out. Unfortunately, Lil Uzi Vert’s vocal performance on ‘Lyft Em Up’ does not match the quality of the instrumental. Their flow on this song is pretty cool and their tone is fine, but they do not do quite enough to take the song’s quality over the top, which is a shame because this one has so much potential. Regardless, ‘Lyft Em Up’ is solid compared to the other tracks on this list, so I had to include it here.  

CHIPS AND DIP

‘Chips and Dip’ has got to be the most intense song on this record. If you want something that you can consider “Rage Music,” look no further than this track. Frankly, the best thing about this song is its intensity. I can not say that the melody and beat are anything too special in their own right. This melody for ‘Chips and Dip’ is very mean and harsh. It sounds like something that would play in a horror movie right before a bunch of people get murdered. The beat for this track has a grating intensity to it that makes it feel so huge. The melody and beat for ‘Chips and Dip’ both have a super high level of distortion that almost gives them a Phonk music feeling. The mix on this instrumental is pretty weird, but it is also pretty cool and makes this track stand out. Lil Uzi Vert does totally match the intensity of the instrumental through their vocals. They do a solid job at adding emphasis to this track and making it feel like a true Rage track. ‘Chips and Dip’ is a good song to add to a workout playlist, because it will definitely infuse you with energy when it plays. 

CHILL BAE

‘Chill Bae’ is easily the song that sticks out the most on this record. This is because it is by far unlike the rest. If the whole album would have had this sonic theme, I guarantee I would have enjoyed it a lot. I hope that Lil Uzi Vert catches on to the love this track has been getting online because I would love to hear them go this direction more in the future. The best way I can describe ‘Chill Bae’ is that it feels like Lil Uzi Vert’s take on R&B Drake music. If you were to just play me this instrumental without vocals, I would probably say it is a Drake or a PND song. This song has a very sweet synth-driven melody that is soothing and lush. It is put on top of a fast-paced R&B melody that feels relaxed and hyped at the same time. Somehow, this instrumental makes me want to dance and kick back at the same time. I really enjoy Lil Uzi Vert’s flow on this one as well. Their tone is very sultry and pleasant, and their flow is captivating. ‘Chill Bae’ is by far the best song on this record, and I would not be surprised if it ends up becoming a sleeper hit over the next month or so. 

CONCEITED

‘Conceited’ has a sound that I figured we would see Lil Uzi Vert go with a lot more on this record. A lot of The Pink Tape was centered around Emo and Rock music themes, and this is the only track here that follows that trend. I thought a lot of the Rock-themed stuff on the last album was pretty cool and interesting, and I had wanted them to try to develop that sound more. This is really the only track where we see them try to do that. The melody for ‘Conceited’ straight up makes me think of early 2000s Emo music. This guitar-driven melody(which is complemented by bright, saturated synths) has a tone that feels dark and pensive but also somehow hopeful; it drags me down and lifts me up at the same time, which is pretty cool. The Pop-Trap beat this track has gives enough pop to make the song feel weighty, but does not drown out the melody at all. As nice as the melody is, Lil Uzi Vert’s vocals are actually even better. He shows his range on this track in a way that we do not see much of on the record, and their flow matches the energy of the instrumental very well. Lil Uzi Vert is one of the few moments on EA2 where Lil Uzi Vert thinks outside the box a bit, and it pays off majorly.

As I stated in the introduction, the public perception of Eternal Atake 2 has not been positive at all. A lot of people online, including people who I know are huge fans of Lil Uzi Vert, have had quite a few bad things to say about the album. Going into listening to this one, I wanted to try to keep as open a mind as possible. There have been a few albums in the past that received a super negative reception when they initially came out which people seemed to come around to later, and I was adamant at the time of those releases that these albums were awesome. Two that come to mind immediately which I loved at the time they were dropped despite what others were saying were the aforementioned The Pink Tape and Playboi Carti’s Whole Lotta Red. Unfortunately, though, I just can not say the same for EA2. I think it is pretty telling that on an album of 16 songs, I was only able to find 6 that I wanted to highlight as favorites. There are not many other moments on the album that I think are good. The only other song that I could have maybe included is ‘Black Hole.’ I have no idea what happened with this album for Lil Uzi Vert. It is not like them to put out bland and vanilla music like this, and it is not like them to put out albums that do not have cohesion. This album is all over the place, but it is not adventurous or zany enough to make that work. It is a hodgepodge of okay Melodic Trap songs that are just not memorable for the most part. Lil Uzi Vert does not do enough on most of these tracks to make them pop, and the instrumentals on most of these tracks are way too generic. I usually write much bigger closing paragraphs in these kinds of write-ups, but I do not have a tone more to say. I do think that ‘Chill Bae’ and maybe ‘Conceited’ have the chance to be hits. If that ends up being the case, maybe we will look back at this album more fondly as a whole. Frankly, Lil Uzi Vert dropped the ball with EA2. Let us throw this one out and forget it, and hopefully, they come back stronger in the near future.

5/10