Lil Uzi Vert set the internet abuzz when he debuted his new facial piercing last week. As it’s a thumb-sized pink diamond jammed in the middle of his forehead, that’s understandable. Also understandable: Fans have questions. So many questions. Fortunately, Rolling Stone got in contact with Eliantte & Co., the New York-based jewelers responsible for the implant, to clear things up. The story sounds a lot like Uncut Gems: Uzi saw the diamond, fell in love, and decided he just had to have it.
Of course, the tale departs with the gem’s use. Whereas Kevin Garnett believed the opal in Uncut Gems would grant him unfathomable good luck in games, Uzi just likes to set trends and freak people out. Since everyone seems to be used to him shopping in the women’s section (after freaking out about it early in his tenure), this was just the drastic step he needed to continue to draw attention. He’s since played up fans’ fears, claiming that he could die from removing the implant, but an Eliantte spokesman shot down that idea.
“It’s as safe as any other piercing,” said Simon Babaev. “As long as you maintain it well and have good upkeep, it’s perfectly fine. We made sure that prior to getting anything done that Uzi brought someone in to consult on everything. We didn’t just do this randomly.”
He also explained how they got the diamond to stay in place, elaborating that “We engineered a specific mounting that clips and locks in place. There’s a whole mechanism involved, it’s not a standard piercing. A specific piece and part were both engineered with millimeter precision to get this put on him.” He compared the piercing to one the company did for Young Thug once — unfortunately, Thugger lost his (in case you were wondering why you never see it anymore). Something tells me it’ll be a lot harder for Uzi to lose this one.
Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.