As Lil Uzi Vert fans await news of the Philadelphia rapper’s new album The Pink Tape and Uzi makes surprise appearances at Paramore concerts, the genre agnostic, gender non-conforming artist recently appeared on the cover of 032c magazine with a feature that delved into what Uzi’s been up to since we last heard from them. In addition to working on The Pink Tape, they also got sober — an evolution that they credited to Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez, who sent them to seven months in rehab.
“I’m lucky to have people in my life who truly care about me and my well-being,” Uzi admitted. “Specifically, Desiree Perez, who helped me get into this program. I didn’t want to do it, but I had to — and I can say now that it was a great thing to do. I spent seven months in rehab. The first month and a half were hard, but after that, it was easy, because the people there became my family. They showed me so many different outlets and ways to cope with life. We did a lot of group talks, a lot of writing on whiteboards. I was so sure that it wasn’t going to work, but surprisingly it’s pretty effective.”
Perhaps stepping into sobriety is what’s helped make Uzi so productive lately. According to producer Lyle Leduff, they have recorded over 1,500 songs for the project and now have to narrow it down to a reasonable number for an actual release.
Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.