I just take rock songs and mix it with hip-hop and a little bit of R&B.
— Lil Uzi Vert
I enjoy 'down South' music.
The first album I bought, I didn't even buy it. My grandma got Mike Jones and Bow Wow's 'Wanted' a little later. Matter of fact Ying Yang Twins' 'U.S.A. Still United' was the first album, but Mike Jones was the first album I really love.
I remember, when I first rapped, I was writing raps. I don't write raps at all; I stopped early. I don't know - it seems like every day I find something a little bit easier.
Wherever you're from, you adapt to your environment. It definitely made my music a little bit more explicit. Because I really was in North Philly, I listened to State Property and stuff. Everything my dad listened to, I listened to.
The thing that makes me different from any other rapper is that I usually talk real crazy in my songs.
I saw Marilyn Manson. He had, like, the platinum grills, and that's when I got my first ones. And honestly, I didn't even buy them. My grandma bought those. I paid her back right away, though.
I just want to be successful. I'm not going to sit here and be like, 'I want to win a Grammy' or whatever; if that comes, that's awesome. But I just want to be successful and provide for my whole family and get my family out the hood.
I really didn't want to rap; I was just a regular kid.
You can't say I look like this person or sound like this person exactly because I made it my own. I'm pretty, pretty influenced by myself right now.
Atlanta is down south, the club. So the most thing played down there is club music. Everybody wants a hit.
I'm just doing me, and to me, that's what got me this far.
My first CD that I had was the Ying Yang Twinz, and my grandma bought it for me. Honestly, I think my grandma got it from a thrift store or something. She just got it for me. It was in downtown Philadelphia. And I would listen to it. I liked it. None of my friends did, though, but I liked it.
If you're you, it doesn't matter if you're the most boring person in the world: someone will like you. You're not trying to be anyone else.
In my elementary days, I took a liking to rock & roll music. I dabbed into Marilyn Manson, which became my favorite.
I want to be as big as I can be. I want to be one of the biggest artists. I want to be remembered like, 'He is crazy. He is phenomenal.' I just want to be one of the biggest.
Mike Jones, Ying Yang Twins, then a little later, Wiz Khalifa and Meek Mill, too. It was the repetitive stuff with Mike Jones when he would give out his number, and I also like his style. Back then, actually, I still think du-rags, grillz, and stuff like that are cool.
I got different moods. Like, if I'm in a good mood, I listen to 'Up' by Thug. If I'm not in a good mood, I'll listen to 'King TROUP' - that's a real emotional one.
One thing I could tell you is that I'm all over the place.
Honestly, if you want me to keep it 100, Marilyn Manson has as much style as Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. He has a lot of style. I'm telling you, it's crazy. It might be a little darker, but it's crazy.
I played the coronet first, and then I upgraded to the trumpet. First song I learned on there was 'Hot Cross Buns.'
I don't know who I can compare my style to because I listen to everybody from old to new. If I hear stuff that I like, I'll definitely gravitate to it and spin it in my own way. I'm a mixture of a lot of people, honestly, but I'm myself.
I like to look cool and dress nice. Lil Uzi is a rock star. Just know that.
There's a lot of haters in Philly, but it's a lot of people that give you support - but way more haters. It's definitely a great city to be from. But it's not really a lot of people that come out of there. So when you, like, make it out of Philadelphia, everywhere else is easy.
I don't know... Philly's a little different. It's a little bit more competitive. Everybody's got something to prove. In Atlanta, you see stars every day walking down the street; it's normal.
A whole bunch of 'ayes' and a whole bunch of 'yeahs.' That's it. That's all I do. I say yeah. I tell myself that I'm not gon' go over 80. I say, like, 79 yeahs, and it works. We what you call mumble rappers. So you say 'yeah' after everything and make it rhyme no matter what it is.
I got a lot of influences. I got relevant influences today. I got influences that you wouldn't even think of. I'm very influenced by Marilyn Manson. His style is ridiculous. Like, honestly, if you want me to keep it 100, Marilyn Manson has as much style as Kanye West and Pharrell Williams.
There are always people who are into the old way of doing things. I don't think it's a bad thing necessarily, but things change - nothing stays the same. If you can stay true to yourself, you're always going to be legendary.
'Vert' is, like, straight to the top, like a vertical leap.
I really didn't want to rap; I was just a regular kid. My friend - his name is William Aston - we went to the same high school together, and he was rapping. He put out a freestyle over Chris Brown's 'Look at Me Now,' and it was fire, and the whole school went crazy.
I never wanted to be no rapper.
There's enough money for everybody. See, I can't do what Yachty does. But then again, Yachty can't do what I do.
If I'm talking about girls and stuff, it's usually the truth. So now, you know, if you hear my songs, you are gonna appreciate it differently because usually, it's the truth.
I like a lot of ratchet, trap music. Definitely 21 Savage. We need some music like that. ManMan Savage. A lot of the Atlanta scene. But Philly, too.
Some guy was just like, 'You rap fast, man. Like a little machine gun,' and from that moment, I was Lil Uzi.
I'm a real big Marilyn Manson fan. I get a lot of my styles from him. Not even musically - living-wise, too. Marilyn Manson definitely shows me you shouldn't care what nobody say. I watched a bunch of his interviews, and he's not just an artist; he's one of the most intelligent people I ever saw in my life.
One thing rap and rock have in common, a lot of it is focused on negativity. I like dark stuff.
The type of music I make, it's not just straight-up rapping. There's emotion in it. That's why people feel each song differently. I get all my vibes from rock music, you know? All my melodies and all that.
Everybody really don't rock with each other in Philly - that's a problem. 'Cause me being in Atlanta now, I stay in Atlanta, and I get to see everybody work with everybody no matter what.
Don't get me wrong: school is good and all, but school is way too slow for me. Like, super slow. So I didn't want to go. I wanted to learn on my own with real life experiences.
I'm already popular in my city. I was just trying to get rich. Man, I'm not gonna lie to you; I didn't really want to go back to school. I mean, my family was mad about that. Because, you know, you tell your family you want to rap, and they look at you like you're crazy.
I stopped thinking; I just go out, and everything is in the moment. I just stop thinking and start moving - you just gotta be you.
