After nearly two years of teasing, Lil Uzi Vert released his highly anticipated album, “Eternal Atake,” on March 6. While Uzi still does what he does best, the album ultimately fails to live up to its hype.
“Eternal Atake” does not deviate from the typical Uzi material. For the majority of the album, he raps about his cars, wealth and relationships. The album starts strong with “Baby Pluto,” an energetic intro with a catchy hook. Unfortunately, not all of the album keeps up with that energy and effort.
Other songs like “Silly Watch” and “POP” are almost painful to listen to. The beats are some of the best on the album, but Uzi’s lyrics are overly repetitive and his voice is drowned behind the heavy bassline.
One thing that is constant throughout the album is the production. Every track is well-produced and each beat has a unique quality. “You Better Move,” produced by Brandon Finessin, samples sounds from a 1995 computer game, “3D Pinball for Windows – Space Cadet.” The beat recaptures Uzi’s obsession with the unusual synths and sounds that make his music unique.
The production does not save the entire album, though. Songs like “Chrome Heart Tags” and “Bigger Than Life” ultimately feel misplaced among the album’s loose themes. The songs also tend to drag on, which doesn’t help matters.
The album lacks a real identity and shows little effort to create one. “P2” samples Uzi’s “XO Tour Llif3” and attempts to replicate the success it had. The drums are the same and the melody is hardly unchanged. It feels like a cheap stab at trying to make a hit and lacks the originality that made “XO Tour Llif3” successful.
On March 13, Uzi released a deluxe version of “Eternal Atake.” The extension adds 14 songs and gives 43 minutes of extra music. This brings the entire album to a hefty amount of 32 songs. The extension is titled “LUV vs. The World 2” and serves as a sequel to Uzi’s 2016 album “Lil Uzi vs. The World.”
This extension adds more life to the album. It features artists that the original tracks desperately needed. While the first 18 tracks have only one feature, the deluxe version adds nine features with high profile artists like 21 Savage, Future and Gunna.
Not only does the deluxe version add features, but Uzi also shines on his own more than he did before. Uzi seems to naturally flow on “Moon Relate” and “Trap This Way,” arguably his most original tracks on the entire album.
Still, while the deluxe version adds great tracks, it confuses the identity of “Eternal Atake” even more. It seems like Uzi dumped whatever music he could onto the one album fans had been eagerly waiting for.
To Uzi fans, “Eternal Atake” gives them music they wanted for years. However, “Eternal Atake” lacks cohesion and does not live up to the creative masterpiece it was meant to be. When you consider that the album stretches to almost two hours of meaningless music, it becomes old very quickly.
