Lil Uzi Vert

Lil Uzi Vert was born Symere Bysil Woods in Philadelphia in 1994 or 1995 and raised in the Francisville neighborhood of North Philadelphia. Early listening ran through Mike Jones and Ying Yang Twins, then Wiz Khalifa and Meek Mill, and by thirteen extended into Marilyn Manson, Paramore, My Chemical Romance and the All-American Rejects.

Woods began rapping in tenth grade after hearing a classmate freestyle over a Chris Brown instrumental, and formed a group with him and a friend under the name Sealab Vertical. They later renamed it Lil Uzi Vert, a reference to a flow described as fast as a machine gun. The debut project Purple Thoughtz Vol. 1 followed.

A deal with Atlantic Records, through DJ Drama's Generation Now imprint, came after the mixtape Luv Is Rage in 2015. The single "Money Longer" brought wider attention in 2016, followed by "You Was Right," their first Hot 100 top-40 entry, and a guest verse on Migos' "Bad and Boujee," which reached number one. "XO Tour Llif3" then won the MTV Video Music Award for Song of Summer.

Luv Is Rage 2 (2017) debuted atop the Billboard 200 and went double platinum, earning a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Eternal Atake (2020) also opened at number one, the same year as Pluto x Baby Pluto, a collaborative album with Future. Pink Tape (2023) made it three straight chart-topping solo releases, powered by the top-ten single "Just Wanna Rock."

Live, the music pairs sung-rapped melody with trap drums and an evident debt to emo and rock, a combination that has made Lil Uzi Vert a central reference point for the rage subgenre. Shows are known for their intensity and for the crowd movement, mosh pits included, that the songs generate.