Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape brings many fresh and innovative ideas to the table with Pink Tape. This light-red tinted album marks Uzi’s first full-length LP since their collaboration project with fellow rapper Future, boasting a large amount of hype and expectations to its name. Pink Tape has been teased since 2020, fans have been waiting quite a while to hear the Philadelphia rapper’s new project. Speaking on the album’s creation, Uzi spoke with TMZ about how they recorded these songs completely sober, saying “I didn’t play off the beat. I actually made songs with topics this time.” Uzi also said that they recorded nearly 700 tracks for the record.
The album opens with Flooded the Face and Suicide Doors, two braggadocious songs that immediately pulled me in with a really hard energy to them. The overall aesthetic and energy of this record are some of its high points. The production on these songs also lend to the feel of the album.
Uzi definitely experiments with their sound on the record, with songs like Suicide Doors and Amped featuring samples of electric guitar within the beats. On top of that, the song Werewolf, (which I believe to be the best song on the record), features metalcore band Bring Me The Horizon, basically making it a BMTH featuring Lil Uzi Vert. I will say, a new Lil Uzi Vert record giving me Nü-metal vibes was not on my bingo card for this year. They must be a fan of the genre, because the song CS, (which I believe to be the worst song on the record), is a straight cover of System of a Down’s mega hit, Chop Suey.
The album’s features are a high point, and a low point, depending on the song. Travis Scott’s feature on Aye and Don Toliver’s feature on Patience are highlights of those respective tracks, but Nicki Minaj’s feature on Endless Fashion leaves a lot to be desired.
A highlight of Pink Tape for me was the song Nakamura, a song that samples the entrance theme of WWE superstar, Shinsuke Nakamura. This is clear bias due to me being a wrestling fan, but it still works a lot more than one would expect.
One gripe that I have with the record is its length. While there are many highlights, Pink Tape carries a feature-length runtime of 1 hour and 27 minutes. With a runtime like this, it’s to be expected certain tracks are more forgettable than others. And to me, the record has a far stronger first half than its second half.
The album wraps up with The End, featuring BABYMETAL, a Japanese metal band led by 3 female singers. This is definitely one of the songs of all time. Its blazing tempo mixed with its cutesy vibe have divided some fans. Personally, I think it would go pretty hard in a live setting. And I know Uzi stated that they were sober throughout the album’s making, but this one makes me wonder if they forgot to mention that this was the exception.
Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape is a wild ride that has some boring lows, but some absolutely nutty highs. The directions that Uzi takes with this project definitely make me excited for what they have coming in the future. Pink Tape’s eccentric nature keeps me coming back to it, and it still leaves me surprised every time with the roads it takes.