Lil Uzi Vert has explained why they changed their pronouns to they/them, but admitted the act didn’t take any “bravery.”
The Philadelphia rapper spoke about this transition in a new interview with 032c magazine and said they took plenty of time to learn about gender identities before making the move.
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“No, I never hesitated,” they said. “But I did take my time to learn as much as I could about this before I was able to proceed. Taking the time to figure out who you are is a big part of what it means to be alive. Once you figure out whether you’re here with it, there with it, or both, you’re not alone anymore.
“This community offers access to a certain kind of support that you might not have had [previously during] your entire life because you weren’t raised that way. I come from a household where it’s not okay to be ‘non’ anything.”
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Uzi continued by dismissing the notion that they’re “brave” for announcing the switch, which was quietly done on Instagram last summer.
“No, because bravery has only a ten percent chance of living,” they said. “I’m not brave at all. I just think a good product [is] a good product. Think about fashion: gay and trans designers are some of the biggest talents out there, and gangster-ass guys wear their stuff without a thought. What you make is what matters, not how you identify.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Lil Uzi Vert revealed that they spent seven months in rehab, and was surprised at how effective it was.
“I’m lucky to have people in my life who truly care about me and my well-being. Specifically, Desiree Perez, who helped me get into this program,” they said, referring to the CEO and co-founder of JAY-Z’s Roc Nation, to whom they’re signed. “I didn’t want to do it, but I had to — and I can say now that it was a great thing to do.”
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“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.”
Despite Uzi’s candidness in the interview, it was the “Satanic” cover art that got people talking.
Fans flocked to the magazine’s Instagram comments section after a close-up of Uzi showcased an upside-down cross painted on their forehead, followed by blood pooling out of their nostrils.
“Uzi gotta act Satanic for fame is so sad gang lmaoooo boy went out horrible,” one critic commented, while another simply wrote: “Satanic uzi” with a thumbs down emoji.
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Uzi has yet to responded to the backlash, but this is far from the first time the Philadelphia rapper has been accosted for his alleged Satanist behavior. The Eternal Atake hitmaker previously performed an unreleased song during his Rolling Loud California set, and rappers and fans alike took issue with one lyric in particular: “I make a City Girl believe in Satan.”
