Image via Getty/Erika Goldring
It’s been a very long, complicated journey to the release of Lil Uzi Vert’s next album. A year and a half has passed since he teased the title of Eternal Atake, and it’s been nearly a full year since he first claimed the project was finished. At times, it looked like the album would never come out (like the moment he announced his retirement), but there have been signs of progress over the past couple months, culminating with the release of a single and music video for “Futsal Shuffle 2020.” As we wait for Eternal Atake to finally arrive, let’s retrace the many important steps on the road to Uzi’s forthcoming LP.
July 17, 2018: Uzi teases album title
Nearly a year removed from the release of his debut album, Luv Is Rage 2, Lil Uzi Vert sent out two cryptic tweets that led fans to believe he had revealed the name of his next album. “Eternal Atake,” Uzi tweeted. In a separate tweet, he added, “Eternal means forever. Atake means 2 overtake.”
July 31, 2018: Uzi shares cult-referencing ‘Eternal Atake’ artwork
Lil Uzi celebrated his 24th birthday by uploading possible artwork for Eternal Atake on Instagram. The post featured colorful cosmic imagery as well as two lines of text that read, “As was promised - the keys to Eternal Atake are here again in Luv and Rage [The UFO 2] as Lil Uzi Vert and his Father 2000 yrs.” Uzi included a mysterious IG caption that said, “Wanna hear? Do you think This is Track list cover or real deal.”
Fans on Twitter were quick to point out that the artwork is a direct reference to imagery used by the Heaven's Gate cult: a UFO-based religious cult that existed in America for decades before leading to a mass suicide of 39 members in 1997.
August 3, 2018: Heaven’s Gate threatens Uzi over artwork
Just days after Uzi teased a reworked Heaven Gate’s logo as the possible cover art for Eternal Atake, the surviving members of the cult denounced Uzi’s artwork as a violation of the group’s intellectual property rights. Speaking with Genius, a representative of the group stated in an email: “He is using and adapting our copyrights and trademarks without our permission and the infringement will be taken up with our attorneys. This is not fair use or parody, it is a direct and clear infringement.”
September 18, 2018: Uzi releases “New Patek”
After teasing the track for months (previewing snippets on Instagram in June, followed by performances at Lollapalooza and Rolling Loud in August and September) Uzi released “New Patek” on September 18. At the time, it was presumed to be the first single from Eternal Atake, but it hasn't been confirmed whether the song will actually end up on the album or not.
December 8, 2018: Uzi says ‘Eternal Atake’ is finished
During his Lil Uzi Vert & Friends concert in Philadelphia last December, Uzi announced that his long-awaited album was finished and pending release. “I know y’all wonder when I’m gonna drop my album. I’m finally done with that joint,” he told the crowd. Amidst cheers, he continued by saying, “I’ma drop that joint,” but never revealed a release date.
January 11, 2019: Uzi announces he’s ‘done with music’
At the top of the year, Uzi shocked fans when he announced his decision to retire via Instagram. “I wanna take the time out to say I thank each and every one of my supporters but I'm done with Music,” he wrote. “I deleted everything. I wanna be normal ... I wanna wake up in 2013. You are free.”
January 13, 2019: Uzi hints at label woes on Instagram Live
Shortly after announcing he was stepping away from music, Uzi hinted at problems with his label during a broadcast on Instagram Live: “Y’all talking about ‘drop something.’ I’m tryna drop something. I dropped ‘New Patek.’ That shit ain’t getting leaked. I’ve been tryna drop something new. Bro, this is my life now. All I can do is make music, and sit back and wait for y’all response, and make visions to this shit.”
Uzi continued by elaborating on the obstacles his career is currently faced with. “You think I don’t wanna drop music?” he explained. “You just gotta understand, when people don’t love you, they’ll hold your life if you sign a motherfucking… Hold that shit against you, and that go for the streets, too. You ain’t supposed to sign no motherfucking paper in the streets because that’s ratting. How the fuck I even sign this shit as a deal? Motherfucker set myself up. What other way I was suppose to let this shit go? Shit, it be all good at first, just like them motherfucking rats. Motherfuckers be right out of jail.”
March 12, 2019: Uzi says he wants to leak ‘Eternal Atake’ on SoundCloud
Nearly two months into his retirement, Lil Uzi addressed fans on his Instagram Story, stating that he wanted to leak Eternal Atake on SoundCloud. “I don't care about no money,” he said. “I wish I could just give it to ya'll for free on SoundCloud. I got all the songs. I could just drop everything on SoundCloud, huh?”
March 23, 2019: DJ Drama claims Uzi can drop ‘Eternal Atake’ whenever he wants
Two months after Lil Uzi Vert blamed his label for not allowing him to release new music, Generation Now co-founder DJ Drama took to Instagram to share his perspective. In a comment on an Instagram post from DJ Akademiks, Drama explained, “Uzi should put EA out tomorrow or any day he wants. He has me & Cannon's total support and blessings to drop it.”
March 26, 2019: Roc Nation steps in to manage Uzi
Alas, Lil Uzi Vert returned to the studio. In an Instagram Story on March 24, Uzi posted a picture of himself in the booth with a caption that read, “Free Uzi.” Moments later, he previewed a new verse and mysteriously thanked Roc Nation for granting him access to the studio. A few days later, a source close to Lil Uzi confirmed to Complex that the rapper was officially being managed by Roc Nation. The following day, Uzi’s name and photo were added to the artist management tab of Roc Nation's website.
March 28, 2019: “Free Uzi” hits streaming services and is subsequently removed
Fresh off a studio session earlier in the week, Uzi quietly uploaded a new song, “Free Uzi,” to SoundCloud and Tidal. He later posted the cover art to his Instagram, before Atlantic Records denied that it was a single, writing in a statement, “This is a leaked record. Not official.” The following day, March 29, the song was removed from all streaming platforms. Despite the label woes, though, it seems “Free Uzi” was taken down for an entirely different reason: Uzi rapped over the beat from G Herbo’s song “Gangway,” and according to TMZ, he didn’t clear the sample.
March 31, 2019: Hackers leak songs on Discord, Uzi responds
As if March hadn’t featured enough drama for Lil Uzi Vert, a pair of unreleased tracks under the titles “Money Keep Coming” (now known as “Sanguine Paradise”) and “That’s a Rack” were uploaded to YouTube and SoundCloud on the final day of the month. Later that night, Uzi addressed the leaks in an Instagram Story, writing, “Everytime something leak you know everything takes longer ... so have fun.”
Two days later, on April 2, FADER confirmed that hackers were responsible for the songs being leaked, reporting that members of a Discord server called “Groupbuys” raised $1,250 on CashApp and Venmo to buy an unreleased song by Lil Uzi Vert, before repeating the crowdfunding process to get their hands on the pair of aforementioned tracks.
April 9, 2019: Uzi officially drops singles “Sanguine Paradise” and “That’s a Rack”
Finally, the first official sign arrived that Uzi and his label were trying to work through their issues. Less than 24 hours after DJ Drama took to Instagram to announce the imminent release of new Lil Uzi Vert music (“2 new uzi songs. monday. noon. generation now/ atlantic records. on all dsps”), Uzi returned with the official release of a pair of singles: “Sanguine Paradise” and “That’s a Rack.” It seems the songs are tied to Eternal Atake in some way, but only time will tell whether that means they’re merely promo singles or if they’ll ultimately make the final tracklist.
April 11, 2019: Uzi collaborator says they’ve gone through 11 different versions of ‘Eternal Atake’
Brandon Finessin, one half of the Philly-based collective Working On Dying (which produced “Sanguine Paradise”) sat down with Genius to give a bit of insight on the behind-the-scenes moves that resulted in the track’s short delay. During their conversation, Finessin reported that they have gone through 11 different versions of Eternal Atake. “It's tough because he's such a perfectionist that we've probably had 11 versions of Eternal Atake,” he said. “He records every day. But he's not gonna put it out until he feels like every one is to his liking, and sometimes that pace is gonna be slower than what his fans like. So we get it. We understand, but equally speaking he's working on the best music of his life. That's gonna take time.”
April 24, 2019: Uzi releases music video for “That’s a Rack”
One of the most encouraging signs that we’re getting closer to the album’s release came in late April 2018, when Uzi released the music video for “That’s a Rack.” Granted, he also dropped a music video for “Free Uzi” in late March, but given the high production value seen in the visuals for “That’s a Rack,” it appears that his label is treating this one like an official single.
April 27, 2019: New Uzi songs previewed on the Weeknd’s Beats 1 Radio show
The Weeknd’s co-manager and XO Records boss Amir “Cash” Esmailian reportedly premiered four new Lil Uzi Vert songs on the Weeknd’s Beats 1 show: “Memento Mori: Mistake” featuring Nav, a Gunna collaboration titled “Valentino,” a song with Lil Durk called “Hair,” and a new version of Young Thug’s “Chanel (Go Get It)” featuring Uzi.
May 12, 2019: Uzi says the album's final song is finished
Five months after first claiming that Eternal Atake was finished, Uzi told the crowd at Rolling Loud Miami 2019 that he had finally (for real this time) finished the last song. “I ain't gon' lie, the other night I finished the last song to the album,” he revealed. “Ain't this about a bitch? So y'all ready for this motherfuckin' album? Nah, it don't sound like y'all ready. That sound like y'all ready for somebody else's album. I said, y'all ready for my album? OK. Bye.”
June 26, 2019: Uzi claims he doesn’t know when ‘Eternal Atake’ will be released
After Uzi suggested that Eternal Atake would be dropping in “three weeks” in early June, our hopes were dashed once again at the end of the month, when the rapper offered another less-than-definitive update on the album’s release. Speaking to a fan who stopped him on the street, Uzi said he “doesn’t know, honestly," when it would arrive.
July 3, 2019: Uzi drops video for “Sanguine Paradise”
Nearly three months after “Sanguine Paradise” hit streaming services, Uzi released the music video for the promotional single over July 4 weekend. Co-directed by Uzi and Daps, the horror-themed visual is inspired by Wesley Snipes' 1998 vampire flick Blade, and sees the rapper escape a club of bloodthirsty vampires. At last, progress!
July 4, 2019: Uzi cancels international festival dates
Fresh off the release of his vampirical “Sanguine Paradise” video, Uzi mysteriously canceled multiple show dates overseas—most notably his forthcoming performance at the Wireless Festival (which was scheduled for the weekend of July 6) as well as once-imminent shows slated for Longitude Fest in Ireland and Woo Hah! in the Netherlands. Some believed the cancellations were a sign that Uzi was in the process of completing his sophomore LP, while more cynical fans saw the news as another bad omen on the long, complicated road to Eternal Atake.
September 18, 2019: Uzi says music is ‘just to make my family happy’
In a rare interview with GQ, Uzi opened up about the possibility of retirement, and why fashion is more important to him than music. “The music shit is effortless. I actually take my time with this,” Uzi said about his obsession with fashion. When asked about his love for music, however, the Philadelphia rapper didn’t mince words: “I really do it just to make my family happy. Like, it’s just something for my family to talk about.”
December 12, 2019: Uzi drops “Futsal Shuffle 2020”
After teasing a new record with soon-to-be-viral choreography in November, Uzi made good on his promise weeks later, with the release of his new song “Futsal Shuffle 2020.” Following promo singles, “That’s a Rack” and “Sanguine Paradise,” the dance-inspired earworm is rumored to appear on Eternal Atake. An immediate success, the song debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, earning Uzi his highest Hot 100 debut as a lead artist.
December 18, 2019: Uzi vows to ‘flood’ 2020 with new music
As “Futsal Shuffle 2020” racked up a heavy dose of streams in its first week of release, Uzi took to social media with a gleeful guarantee: “I think I’mma just flood 2020.” Then, a few days later, the rapper celebrated Christmas with another tease, stating that he intends to treat 2020 like 2016—the year he dropped three mixtapes over a seven-month stretch (Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World, The Perfect LUV Tape, 1017 vs. The World).
January 2, 2020: Coachella announces Uzi will play festival in 2020
Weeks after reporting that Travis Scott and Frank Ocean would be headlining Coachella 2020, organizers of the festival revealed that Lil Uzi Vert will also be performing at the star-studded affair on April 12 and April 19. With over three months to go before Coachella, fans are already speculating on whether Eternal Atake will be performed during Uzi’s shows. Only time will tell.
January 4, 2020: Rumored cover artwork for ‘Eternal Atake’ surfaces
Last Saturday night, January 4, Uzi sent his Twitter followers into a frenzy when he posted and later deleted what many fans believe to be the official cover art for Eternal Atake. The image features a large spaceship, what looks to be a Stonehenge statue and a large congregation of people marveling at both, while a figure descends from the aircraft. For now, however, no official word has been spoken as to whether or not the image will actually play a role in the rollout of Eternal Atake.
January 5, 2019: Uzi hints that he’s in ‘final phase’
Hours before the release of his “Futsal Shuffle 2020” video, Uzi took to social media to reveal a new look. Showing off his new dye-job, Uzi shared the meaning behind why he opted for orange locks: “Orange is associated with meanings of joy, warmth, heat, sunshine, enthusiasm, creativity, success, encouragement.” Perhaps the most telling hint, though, came via the caption in the last tweet: “FINAL PHASE.” If, in fact, this does point to the imminent release of Eternal Atake, it’s likely this new phase of Uzi’s career will see a departure from what we’ve seen in the past.
January 6, 2020: Uzi shares music video for “Futsal Shuffle 2020”
After hyping up the dance that goes along with “Futsal Shuffle” for a few months, the accompanying music video delivered on its promise. Even though it’s pretty much just footage of Uzi and his crew dancing to the song, the Jay Weneta-directed visual is a whole lot of fun, and, hopefully, points toward the imminent release of Eternal Atake.