For months, we’ve been following the very public jiu-jitsu match that rapper Lil Uzi has been engaged in with his labels Atlantic Records and Generation Now over the delayed release of his second studio album Eternal Atake. In January, the 24-year-old famously “retired” from music, only to return shortly thereafter and release the single “Free Uzi” seemingly without his label’s permission. That same week, he was also added to the roster of artists listed on Roc Nation’s website, fueling further suspicion that full-on coup was in the works. The embers of that flame seemed to die in April when Uzi released two official singles through Atlantic. A few months and another erratic Nardwuar interview later and there’s still no album.
This lack of clarity on the situation made a recent run-in with a fan all the more awkward. In a video posted to Instagram by the Lil Uzi Vert fan account @eternalatake, Uzi is approached on the street. “When Eternal Atake dropping,” the kid asks recording the interaction. “Um,” Uzi ponders for a second. “I don’t know, honestly,” his voice dropping slightly at the end of the sentence.
The Philadelphia rapper looks genuinely disappointed that he couldn’t provide a more promising answer. Even though, Eternal Atake is allegedly completed and ready to be released , there still seems to be a significant amount of confusion surrounding how exactly that will occur.
Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. .
