Friday, March 20, 2020 — 5
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

I originally intended on starting this

review of Eternal Atake with a discussion

of all the good things that come in small

packages, like smartphones, Danny DeVito

and Mini Coopers (which aren’t even that

great on second thought). I was somehow

going to tie it all back to Lil Uzi Vert, the pint-

sized Philadelphia energy bomb who is the

rapper embodiment of good things coming

in small packages. Uzi

just
surprise-released

his
highly
anticipated

sophomore album Eternal

Atake last week, so I

planned
on
discussing

all the ways such a small

man could hold so many

excellent ideas inside of

him. Now, though, that

all feels pointless because

Uzi just dropped another

bomb on us. After a

steady stream of Twitter

promotions, Lil Uzi Vert

has just released the deluxe edition of Eternal

Atake. Normally this would not be earth-

shattering news because a deluxe edition is

typically just a couple of new songs tacked on

to the end of an album in an effort to boost

sales. Not this time. Uzi released fourteen

new songs (an entire new album!) called

LUV vs. The World 2 as the deluxe edition of

Eternal Atake, and it has rocked the world.

The diminutive rapper has been trying

to release Eternal Atake for almost two and

a half years, but for some reason, his label

bosses DJ Drama and Don Cannon kept

blocking him from doing so. After countless

leaks, several failed rollout attempts (which

gave listeners gems like “Sanguine Paradise”

and “That’s a Rack”), threatening to quit

music multiple times and signing a new

management deal with Roc Nation, Uzi has

finally dropped the album. By dropping a

deluxe edition, he definitely made sure it was

worth the wait.

Uzi claims that with the deluxe edition,

we finally have the album’s intended track

sequence. That is to say, LUV vs. the World

2 comes before Eternal Atake, and it makes

sense. LUV vs. the World 2 is composed of fan

grails and Uzi’s most hyped snippets, some

of which date back as far as 2016, whereas

Eternal Atake is all new songs that are, to be

blunt, fresh as hell. LUV vs. the World 2 is

by no means bad, but it doesn’t really sound

new. It sounds like Lil Uzi Vert circa 2016.

Still, it’s got some excellent songs. “Myron”

is the clear standout and most hyped by fans,

but deep cuts like the frantic, violent, Lil

Durk-assisted “No Auto” and the brooding,

contemplative “Moon Relate” keep the ball

rolling.

As a standalone album LUV vs. the World

2, despite the quality of the tracks, lacks the

cohesion needed to stick with people, but that

doesn’t matter. LUV vs. the World 2 is not a

standalone album and it doesn’t have to be.

Rather, it is something of an appetizer to the

main course that is Eternal Atake.

Loosely connected by several unclear,

largely forgettable skits and divided into three

distinct parts, Eternal Atake describes Uzi’s

alien abduction and his

eventual return to Earth.

It kicks off with “Baby

Pluto,” which introduces

Uzi’s deliriously quick-

tongued alter ego Baby

Pluto to the world. On the

track, Uzi raps and he raps

and he raps, as if he has

bottomless lungs, about

nothing in particular. For

the next five songs, there

is no Lil Uzi Vert: Baby

Pluto reigns supreme. Uzi

rarely shows this side of

himself, so this part of the album is a real

treat. He’s not the best lyricist (see lines like

“Hit your bitch, yeah, she make me wan’

body rock / Yeah, your bitch, she a thotty, old

thotty-thot”), but he doesn’t have to be when

he flows like he does on “Homecoming” and

the Full Tilt! Pinball-sampling “You Better

Move.”

After
“Homecoming,”
though,
Uzi’s

focus abruptly shifts. On the next portion

of the album, from the somber “I’m Sorry”

to the triumphant “Prices,” he moves from

breathing fire to healing spirits as he assumes

a new persona he calls Renji. This new

persona is defined by saccharine flows and

restorative instrumentals. He’s still rapping,

but he’s not spitting. Uzi stretches his words

and twists his flows, focusing on creating

and manicuring the desired and more

cathartic vibe. The Renji portion of the album

certainly stands out, because Uzi has never

really done anything like this before. Hell,

he even connects with none other than Chief

Keef over “Chrome Hearts Tags” heavenly,

ethereal beat. However, in this stretch of

standouts, no song sits more prominently

than “Bigger than Life.” On this track, Uzi

finds himself in uncharted territory as he

reflects on his life over a guitar-driven beat

that sounds like he’s floating miles above

Earth. It’s unlike any other Uzi song, and it’s

all the better for it. Truly, it is a must-listen on

an album filled with must-listens.

Lil Uzi Vert takes listeners
to Pluto on ‘Eternal Atake’

JIM WILSON
Daily Arts Writer

RALPH ARVESEN VIA FLICKR

Commitment is difficult — it is much more

fun to flirt and keep conversations at surface

level than it is to actually connect with

someone. Even more fun than flirting, however,

is setting up other people. To be the person that

can say they just knew two people would love

each other is a feat that most cannot claim. In

its newest iteration, Jane Austen’s classic novel

“Emma” is once again brought to life, this time

with the comically expressive eyes of Anya

Taylor-Joy (“Glass”) as the heroine and with a

luxurious English estate covered in pastels.

We all know the story. Emma Woodhouse is

a spoiled, lovable, conceited and strong-willed

young woman who loves nothing more than

pairing up her friends and caring for her father.

She is, and always will be, completely oblivious

to the world around her, and it’s impossible

to blame her. When you’ve grown up with

everything you could ever ask for and most

everyone in your life bending to your every

whim, what of the world do you really need to

know?

Anya Taylor-Joy takes every facet of

Emma’s personality and makes it her own.

None of the beloved character is ever lost —

Taylor-Joy’s light and airy voice lends itself

to condescension and Emma’s aloof nature

when necessary. Though her cheekbones and

pursed lips are the perfect accompaniment

to her character’s skewed vision of the world,

it is her eyes that push this new Emma into

the spotlight. Large and expressive, Emma’s

emotions become clear as her eyes flit around

the room nervously, her irritation obvious as

they roll into the back of her head. There is

little left to the imagination with Taylor-Joy’s

depiction of Emma, and I wouldn’t have it any

other way.

But even though Emma believes the world

revolves around her, the film itself is careful to

acknowledge the opposite, developing complex

relationships between all the characters.

Specifically, “Emma” displays the carefully

choreographed social dances of the English

elite, both literally and figuratively, throughout

the film. The best part of these performances,

however, is that the majority of them occur in a

hat shop. With hat stands and lounging couches

as key points on the stage, we watch as Emma

barely tolerates Mrs. Bates (Myra McFadyen,

“Mamma Mia”). And with each step around

the shop, Emma moving as far away as she can

with Mrs. Bates trailing behind her, it becomes

almost unbearable to watch. I was surprised

that Taylor-Joy didn’t break the fourth wall.

The irritation was that palpable.

This
new
“Emma”
also
comes
at
an
opportune

time for Hollywood — Harvey Weinstein was

recently sentenced to 23 years in jail, and many

were upset by Greta Gerwig’s lack of an Oscar

nomination for “Little Women.” And though

an Oscar snub is nowhere near as awful as

the actions of Harvey Weinstein, both events

represent a larger conversation surrounding

women in Hollywood. And what better person

to remind us of the importance of a strong will

than Emma Woodhouse? Despite her flaws,

Emma knows what she wants and how to get it.

She has a deep understanding of the nuances of

high society and is running a larger estate than

many of the married women in her community.

As she herself says, “few married women are

the mistress of their husband’s house as I am

of Hartfield.”

At this point, it is unsurprising that another

adaptation
of
“Emma”
is
entertaining,

especially when the source material is already

fantastic. The layers of intrigue that come

from this new “Emma” have nothing to do

with the story and everything to do with who

is portraying it, and how. Bill Nighy (“Love

Actually”) ensures the lovability of Mr.

Woodhouse, while Adam from “Sex Education”

(Connor Swindells) turns my understanding of

Mr. Martin on its head. “Emma” is a lovely new

adaptation that I can’t wait to watch again.

The beauty of ‘Emma’ is
that it hasn’t changed much

EMMA CHANG
Daily Arts Writer

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“Eternal Atake”

Lil Uzi Vert

Generation Now &

Atlantic

When you’ve grown up

with everything you
could ever ask for and
most everyone in your

life bending to your every
whim, what of the world

do you really need to

know?

I was surprised that

Taylor-Joy didn’t break

the fourth wall: the
irritation was that

palpable