After his recent decision to implant a $24 million pink diamond into his forehead, Lil Uzi Vert’s fans pointed out that his accessories are clearly influenced by Marvel Comic’s superhero Vision. But when it comes to his music, some of his influences are less apparent. Lil Uzi recently named the five rappers who have impacted his career the most, and some of his picks are surprising.
Lil Uzi sat down for a conversation with Fat Joe on Instagram Live where they chatted about music, wrestling, and, of course, his new forehead bling. But the two inevitably started discussing which rappers were the most influential on Lil Uzi’s sound. Some of the rapper’s picks, like Lil Wayne, were not surprising. “When I was younger girls would say I looked like Lil Wayne, so I would run with that,” he admitted. “And I would wear fedoras, and I would wear the tight polo tees with the skinnies, and wear the Vans and sh*t.”
However, some of the other rappers on Uzi’s list are less obvious. Speaking about his favorite MC, Lil Uzi named the Houston rapper Mike Jones, who’s known for his 2004 breakout hit “Still Tippin.”
“The first rapper that I ever learned lyric for lyric was Mike Jones. That’s the first rapper I learned everything lyric for lyric and I wanted to be like him… I had a Boost Mobile and my mom would give me $15 and I’d get phone cards and shit and I would spend all my money calling Mike Jones’ number ‘cause I wanted to talk to him. I remember the number by heart. To this day: 281-330-8004. I felt that star power from him. He had that star power.”
Along with Jones and Lil Wayne, Lil Uzi said Remy Ma, Kurupt, and Young Thug were also greatly influential to his sound.
Watch Fat Joe and Lil Uzi Vert’s full conversation above.
Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. .
