Lil Uzi Vert has attempted to put their fans’ minds at ease by promising that they have new music on the horizon.
Taking to their Instagram Stories on Saturday (October 21), Baby Pluto titled each story “The Bome Back Season,” replacing the C in the word “come” with a B.
They then fired off a cryptic message calling out rappers that have been speaking about them.
“Ya’ll rappers that be saying my name, just be ready [shoulder shrug emoji],” Lil Uzi Vert said. “I don’t [know] what ya’ll think changed.”
Uzi also gave an explanation for why his recent songs may not have had the impact of his earlier work: it turns out that personal turmoil causes Uzi to make great music.
“By the way, my music wasn’t hittin the same because I didn’t go threw shit[.] i recently went threw something [red broken heart emoji] 3,” he wrote
Lil Uzi Vert’s method of letter replacement could mean that their long-awaited, Young Thug-inspired album may drop before 2023 concludes.
In September, the “Just Wanna Rock” rapper gave fans a brief update on the status of Barter 16 while showing off their new Rich Gang chain that was previously gifted by Birdman.
“I’m tryna drop that shit by the end of next week,” they said at the time.
Over the last few months, Birdman has taken Lil Uzi Vert under his wing as the Philly rapper continues to prepare for Barter 16. The mentorship makes sense: Birdman helped make Young Thug’s 2015 mixtape Barter 6, an obvious inspiration for Uzi’s project, while also serving as a mentor to the Atlanta native.
Like a method actor getting deep into character for a role, Uzi has been taking the Thugga inspiration to heart over the last few months, imitating the ATLien’s fashion sensibilities, hair styles, and even his hand gestures.
In August, several tracks from the upcoming project were leaked online – some low quality and others in perfect shape. One of the leaked cuts even features Thugga himself, so he seems to have co-signed the homage.
Furthermore, in July, Uzi was seen wearing a white suit and red bandana that Thug once famously wore.
Uzi’s new project will serve as the follow-up to their Pink Tape LP, which dropped in June and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 after earning 167,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.