The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Thursday, September 7, 2017 — 5
Arts
ATLANTIC
Lil Uzi Vert in a crowd
Lil Uzi Vert’s ‘Luv is
Rage 2’ is the new emo
Lil Uzi Vert returns on his newest release and exposes his
mastery of hip hop and emo despite the album’s weak links
Above all else, Lil Uzi Vert’s
new album Luv Is Rage 2 is
present. It is simultaneously
the best indicator of where rap
is today and a perfect harbinger
of where it will be, for better or
for worse.
It’s funny to think how
Uzi’s skyrocket to fame largely
came from a place of derision.
His verse on Migos’s “Bad and
Boujee” was the target of plenty
of memes — particularly that
ubiquitous,
croaking
verse-
opener, “yeah yeah yeah.” It’s
comparable to how Young Thug
blew
up
after
the
widespread
confusion
over
what the hell he
was saying on
the Rich Gang
hit
“Lifestyle.”
But
many
mistakenly took
that
emphasis
on
style
as
an
omission
of
content.
Sometimes
it
was
true.
Plenty of Young
Thug’s
lyrics
are simply non
sequiturs. Plenty
of Uzi’s lyrics are
pointless.
Plenty
aren’t
though,
and
what Uzi has done better than
nearly
any
other
up-and-
coming rapper now is marry
that focus on an aesthetic style
with lyrics and a delivery that
are
deceptively
profound.
It’s an approach that feels
particularly fitting for the rap
scene today, where personality
and
style
seem
constantly
at the forefront. With the
overabundance of Soundcloud
rappers and the ease with which
a flow can be co-opted, rappers
who are going to truly make it
need to separate themselves
from the pack. A consuming,
recognizable persona is one of
the best ways to do that.
Uzi
could
have
stopped
there. His sing-song voice has
a way with melody, and it’s
often easy to remember the
rhythm of his tracks because
of how well he can simply
ride a beat. It’s reminiscent
to how Young Thug’s voice
can function more like an
instrument than spoken word.
Uzi’s voice, though, actually
blends with his production in a
slightly different way, seeping
into the bass lines and synths,
whereas Thugger’s voice often
stands on its own plane. He
works particularly well with
producers who fill rhythm
into every gap and let Uzi slide
along within the space between
percussion.
Burgeoning producer Maaly
Raw certainly has such an ear,
and has managed to achieve
turn up perfection more than
once with Uzi; the A$AP Mob
track “Runner,” for example,
and
“Money
Longer,”
from
Uzi’s well received
Lil Uzi Vert Vs.
The
World,
are
two of the most
infectious
tracks
I’ve heard in years. Raw’s beat
pattern has a strong influence
here, and he lends a hand on
track two, nine, 10, 13 and 15.
But his newest release, Luv
Is Rage 2 (the follow-up to his
debut mixtape Luv Is Rage),
manages
to
solidify
Uzi’s
reach past just
club
anthems.
Nowhere
is
this
better
exhibited than
the
last
two
tracks,
“Dark
Queen”
and
“XO
TOUR
Llif3.”
The
latter,
released
as
a
single
in
March, became
an
enormous,
unexpected
hit,
and
is
certainly
one
of Uzi’s best.
All
of
those
inherently
messy thoughts he has tried to
articulate before — listlessness,
solitude,
sadness
—
come
to fruition in what equates
to a shimmering scream for
help, equal parts Future and
Bright Eyes. It’s a direct and
compelling expression of a
rapper’s struggle
with depression
and
substance
abuse,
tackling
his
mental
state
after
his
breakup
with
ex-girlfriend
Brittany
Byrd.
His only friends
are
Xanax
—
“Please, Xanny,
make
it
go
away”
—
and
dead presidents
(money) — “All my friends are
dead.” The track is unflaggingly
honest and cuts right to the
heart, Uzi’s voice breaking
with exhaustion at the chorus
(a hallmark of emo bands from
the ’80s and on, which this
track is reminiscent of).
The former, “Dark Queen,”
deals with the complexity of his
relationship with his mother
over
a
brooding,
spacious
beat produced by Maaly Raw
and Rex Kudo. He addresses
her
directly,
talking
about
her concerns for him and his
appreciation for her. It’s a
clear stand out on the album,
showcasing the same kind of
straightforward honesty that
he does on “XO TOUR Llif3.”
This is where Uzi truly
excels. He has plenty of fun,
bouncy,
loud
tracks, and these
aren’t
too
far
off
from
that
formula.
But
instead of simply
flexing over the
beat and repeating the same
clichés we’re so used to in the
genre, Uzi turns that on its
head.
We haven’t seen work quite
like this since his debut, so
it’s fitting that Luv Is Rage 2
marks its follow up. Uzi’s last
two releases, Lil Uzi Vert Vs.
The World and The Perfect
Luv Tape, while both well
merited as party music, didn’t
scratch too far below the
shiny rhinestone surface, with
perhaps the exception of “You
Was Right.” But even on that
track he sounds like he’s in a
haze, attempting to make an
apology but getting lost in his
fame on the way.
Rather, the best precursor
to this album is the final track
from Luv is Rage, “Paradise,” a
pop-inspired song that walks
the line between optimism
and sadness: “Paradise / It’s
somewhere that I’ve never
been before / I just wanna be
there when I wake up.” Uzi
wants better, but lets himself
play in the limbo. That gray
area felt lost in some of his later
tracks, replaced with material
obsessions, but it comes back
in full force on this release, and
the result is songwriting that is
at once nuanced and controlled.
On the addicting “X,” he asserts
“Yeah my life’s
a mess / But I’m
also
blessed.”
“Neon
Guts,”
assisted
by
Pharrell, is both
a celebration and
the manifesto of
an alien.
But what Uzi
loses
on
this
confessional
is
the succinctness
that
made
his
last two projects
so approachable. The first four
tracks and The Weeknd feature
could all be cut and nothing
notable would be lost. It’s the
baggage that comes from Uzi
wanting to push further but
being unsure of where to cut
back. There’s a danger that
comes when your album starts
off on such a low note — some
may
simply
stop
listening
entirely.
Nonetheless, Lil Uzi Vert
has accomplished what he set
out to do here, and if this is any
indication, his trajectory from
here is starred.
MATT GALLATIN
Daily Music Editor
Luv is Rage 2
Lil Uzi Vert
Atlantic
All of those
inherently
messy thoughts
he has tried to
articulate before
— listlessness,
solitude, sadness
— come to
fruition
ALBUM REVIEW
FINGERPRINT RELEASING
Channing Tatum in ‘Logan Lucky’
Soderbergh’s ‘Lucky’ is an
Appalachian masterpiece
Director of ‘Ocean’s 11’ brings us a film founded in
location and ingenuity with new movie ‘Logan Lucky’
There is absolutely no edge
to “Logan Lucky,” and that
might just be its strength. It’s
a heist movie without a single
gun:
simple
entertainment
where the audience is asked
to do nothing but engage
with
likable
people
doing
interesting things. It’s sweet,
soulful, energizing and, best
of all, original. It’s almost
singular in 2017.
It’s
also
fascinatingly
apolitical,
especially
considering the first 15 minutes
are nearly indistinguishable
from a Trump campaign ad.
A
hardworking,
handsome
white guy (Channing Tatum,
“Magic Mike”) loses his job at
a coal mine. Of
course, it’s not
Jimmy Logan’s
fault or even his
boss’s — an HR
employee twists
Obamacare’s
famous
buzzword,
“pre-existing
condition,”
against
him
after noticing a
limp in his leg.
It’s an excellent
little
summary
of the modern
American
financial
struggle,
and
even
kale-
munching leftists like myself
will be instantly pulled into
having sympathy for this guy.
Rather than blaming any of
the usual suspects for his crisis
(the Democrats, immigrants,
bureaucracy, brown people),
Jimmy’s brother, a one-armed
bartender
played
lovingly
by
Adam
Driver
(“Star
Wars: The Force Awakens”),
instead suspects that they’re
suffering from a generations-
old family curse. The two
have grisly injuries, and their
folks are dead. The solution?
Successfully rob the Charlotte
Motor Speedway during the
biggest NASCAR race of the
year,
thereby
lifting
the
curse. Of course
it’s
that.
Why
wouldn’t
it
be
that?
From
there,
it’s a rollicking
two hours that
feel like one, as
we
watch
the
brothers and a
steadily growing
crew
of
likable
rednecks
prepare
for
and
execute
the
aforementioned
heist.
There are of course echoes of
director Steven
Soderbergh’s
previous
work
on the “Ocean’s”
franchise,
but
not
as
much
as
you
would
expect — there’s
no cool tech, just
entertaining
ingenuity
from
the
characters.
There are weird
little
touches
like
a
heist
recruitment
at
an
apple
bobbing contest,
a
hand-off
with a mysterious man in a
full bear suit in the woods
and an explosive made from
gummy bears and a plastic
bag. Joe Bang (Daniel Craig,
“Spectre”), the bank robber
broken out of prison by the
Logan
brothers
to
guide
their heist, is a delightfully
iconoclastic
character
that
plays off of Craig’s James Bond
persona — Bang is nearly the
polar opposite of the cold,
classy Bond, but the two are
equally professional.
It cannot be overstated just
how much fun each and every
scene in this movie is. The
southern mundanity of “Logan
Lucky” is just as exciting
as
the
sexy
professionalism
of
“Ocean’s
Eleven.”
As
usual,
Soderbergh’s
muted
camerawork
perfectly
services
what
he’s
trying
to
accomplish.
Soderbergh
loves actors, and his simple,
journeyman style makes you
love them too. It’s the people
that take focus, not flashy
visuals or stunt set pieces. I
remember one of the very first
lessons I had in film school
was
about
how
directors
effectively use movie stars,
and my professor played scenes
with George Clooney from
Soderbergh’s “Out of Sight.”
I could see that lesson thirty
years from now being taught
with this movie, with Tatum.
There’s an intricate dance that
Soderbergh does with celebrity
persona, expectations, in-the-
moment acting presence and
editing rhythm that makes
his movies feel alive. More so
than any other film this year,
“Logan Lucky” feels like it has
a pulse.
“Logan Lucky” isn’t doing
very well at the box office.
It’s not part of any shared
universe, there’s no sex, no
violence, no corporate tie-ins,
no hundred-million-dollar ad
campaign. It’s just a good old-
fashioned movie, the kind that
are not long for this world.
This will probably be one of
the last ones, so enjoy it now,
in theaters, while you still can.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JOIN DAILY ARTS
?????????????
E-mail arts@michigandaily.com for more
information on applying.
JACOB RICH
Daily Arts Writer
“Logan Lucky”
w
Rave Cinemas,
Goodrich Quality 16
It cannot be
overstated just
how much fun
each and every
scene in this
movie is
FILM REVIEW
It’s a direct and
compelling
expression of a
rapper’s struggle
with depression