When you think of summer 2016, what immediately comes to mind? Late millennials and early Gen Z adults fondly remember where they were in such a monumental year. It felt like the last time life felt even relatively normal. There were lots of new, fresh artists challenging our understanding of mainstream hip-hop, all centered around a unanimous Big 3 of Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole. When looking back at that time with rose-tinted glasses, it’s impossible not to hear Lil Uzi Vert somewhere in that soundtrack.
One of the formative mixtapes for that infamous summer ’16 was The Perfect LUV Tape, which released on this day in 2016. The Philadelphia rapper was operating at the peak of his powers, rapping with incredible dexterity and elasticity. He’d rattle off machine gun flows while bending syllables and pronunciations to fit a rhyme scheme. Lil Uzi Vert hopscotches through buoyant, Donkey Kong Country-style drums on “Ronda (Winners)”.
But his greatest skill was his knack for songwriting. “Erase Your Social” is ridiculous in concept, as Uzi essentially rattles off his preferred social media platforms to pick up women. Rapping about Snapchat feels like a time capsule for all the kids who put the dog filter on their selfies. “Do What I Want” is delightfully juvenile, like a defiant kid mocking their elders. Detractors tried to toss him aside in the mumble rap category. But Uzi was just too infectious to ignore.
Lil Uzi Vert Releases The Most 2016 Mixtape of All Time on This Day 10 Years Ago
While it may not top Lil Uzi Vert vs The World earlier that year, critics were pretty kind to The Perfect LUV Tape. They cite his uncanny ability for melodies as his greatest strength, the project serving as further proof that he was one of hip-hop’s great stylistic artists.
Writer Sheldon Pearce wrote for Pitchfork that Uzi was one of the leaders in synthesizing the moment’s trends into infectious pop-rap. “Though it doesn’t have the highs or the hits of vs. the World, it is sequenced more carefully, and it foregrounds his central appeal,” he wrote. “In the spirit of one of his cosigners, Yams, he synthesizes catchy sounds from rap’s most dynamic corners. It might not make him a visionary, but it could make him a star.
Patrick Lyons of HotNewHipHop loved the “gooey melodies” but largely shrugged that it mostly felt additive to his discography instead of fresh and exciting. “Uzi’s perfectly capable of coloring within the now well-established trap lines,” he argued. “But if he really wants to make an impact, he’s got to free himself of those confines and let his voice run wild.”
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