Photo courtesy of Marc Jacobs | Mario Sorrenti
After a busy 2020 that gave us his solo studio album Eternal Atake, a subsequent 14-song deluxe and a collaborative album with Future in Pluto x Baby Pluto, Lil Uzi Vert took some time off in 2021 to prepare for his Pink Tape era.
Since the start of last year, The Pink Tape has been on every Uzi fan’s mind, as the eclectic, diamond encrusted Philly native would periodically give updates about the album, whether it be song snippets, potential features or just his mindset while making the project.
It all began around January 2021, when he hinted at collaborating with avant-garde electronic-pop artist Grimes. In the following months and throughout the rest of the year, Uzi had discussed collaborating with Travis Scott and Playboi Carti, who have long had a beloved history of making music together. Uzi teased about the Carti collab by tweeting “16*29” in August 2021, which was the presumptive title of their rumored joint album that will likely never surface. Once this tweet sparked speculation, Uzi told his fans to direct any further question towards Carti.
The Pink Tape began to take form that summer, after he not only tweeted the album’s title in July, but debuted a song off the album at his Rolling Loud Miami set a week later.
As Fall rolled around, Uzi made another statement about the album, claiming it was going through the mixing process, explaining how he is aiming for an “experimental” sound and succinctly saying “this time, this is it.”
This would eventually lead him to promise the project would arrive before Halloween 2021, which he would soon rescind, asking fans to “let me take my time.” He was rightfully weary of fans’ reception of the album, and wanted to continue to perfect it.
To make up for this delay, Lil Uzi Vert dropped the album’s first promotional single “Demon High” on October 29, debuting a fresh, upbeat pop-rock sound that may explain his “experimental” approach to The Pink Tape.
Once the new year rolled around, Uzi seemed hyper-focused on crafting the project, as he was seen working on new music with SoFaygo and Yeat, which manifested into two collaborative tracks on Yeat’s 2 Alivë (Geëk Pack) from early April.
Along with these collaborations, Uzi’s spontaneous hairstyles have also been a point of emphasis in throughout his album’s process. After donning vibrant pink dreadlocks in December 2021, Uzi switched it up to a punk-inspired spikey-haired look, giving insight to his Pink Tape mindset.
The months of March, April and May have inspired tons of hope in Uzi fans, as Uzi has been using his Instagram stories to directly tell his fans his excitement and motivation about the project. Whether it be him re-igniting “Evil Uzi” which he claimed in early March, him “putting his all” into Pink Tape which he promised in April or him saying he’s “going back into classic mode” on May 10, it seems the official rollout for the album could begin any second.
While there aren’t any confirmed features, track list, cover art or release date, clearly a lot has gone into The Pink Tape up until this point. While it is thrilling for Uzi fans to hear that they are getting the best he has to offer, it will also garner massive expectations, which Uzi seems to be gladly accepting.
Check out some recent snippets of new Lil Uzi Vert music below!
