Lil Uzi Vert
photo: icebox · cc by 3.0 ↗Symere Bysil Woods grew up in the Francisville section of North Philadelphia, taking the name Lil Uzi Vert as he moved from local battle rap toward a hyper-melodic, punk-inflected style. He broke through with the 2016 mixtape 'Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World' and the 2017 single 'XO Tour Llif3,' then topped the charts with the album 'Eternal Atake' (2020) and the beat-driven hit 'Just Wanna Rock' (2022). His rockstar image and elastic, emotive vocals made him a defining figure in the melodic rage and emo-rap currents of late-2010s and 2020s hip hop.
Lil Uzi Vert lists Wiz Khalifa among his influences, and you can hear it in the way he floats a bright, sing-song hook over a breezy, feel-good beat rather than hammering a hard-nosed flow — the melodic, good-vibes flex Wiz built his early hits around.
listen forThrow on Wiz's 'Black and Yellow' and then Uzi's 'Money Longer' — notice how both ride a springy, celebratory bounce and a catchy, half-sung chant that turns flexing into a pop hook.
Uzi counts Young Thug among his influences, and the kinship is in the voice: the yelps, warbles, and pitched-up melodic runs that treat the rapping voice as a pliable, sing-song instrument rather than a steady cadence.
listen forPlay Thug's 'Stoner' and then Uzi's 'The Way Life Goes' — listen for the same slippery, melody-first delivery that slides between singing and rapping and bends syllables for feel.
Lil Uzi Vert has named Marilyn Manson among his influences and openly embraced his goth-rock imagery; the mark is less in the sound than in a dark, rockstar-in-crisis posture — screamed hooks, doom-tinged themes, and a hip hop record that flirts with industrial and emo textures.
listen forPut Manson's 'The Beautiful People' next to Uzi's 'XO Tour Llif3' — both wrap a hooky, singalong chorus around bleak, nihilistic lyrics, delivering despair with a defiant, anthemic snarl.