Eternal Atake 2

''Eternal Atake 2'' is the fourth solo studio album by American rapper Lil Uzi Vert, released on November 1, 2024, through Generation Now and Atlantic Records. The album features a sole guest appearance from Big Time Rush, while its production was primarily handled by Cashmere Cat and Brandon Finessin, with support from Henney Major, Lil 88, MCVertt, Charlie Puth, WondaGurl, and several other producers. The album serves as a sequel to Lil Uzi Vert's second studio album '' Eternal Atake'' (2020), which was released four years earlier, and follows their third studio album, '' Pink Tape'' (2023).

Background and recording

Upon the release of ''Eternal Atake 2'', Uzi appeared in an interview with ''Complex'' during which they revealed that the motivation behind the sequel stems from the prequel being leaked prior to its release. They stated that they had the desire to perform the prequel on tour, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it wasn't possible, therefore they always knew that they " e'regoing to come back and do ''Eternal Atake 2''". When asked about what the sequel meant to them, Uzi stated:

Uzi also appeared in an interview with ''Rolling Stone'' in which they stated that with ''Eternal Atake 2'', they wanted to get back to their roots and that the record was for Uzi to "really get off". When asked about the recording process of the album, they revealed that "everything is newly recorded up until you get to the bonus track, and I went 50/50". Uzi stated that following the release of '' Pink Tape'', they went through "different phases" and that there was no overlap between ''Pink Tape'' and ''Eternal Atake 2''.

Music and lyrical themes

Composition and production

''Eternal Atake 2'' is predominantly a trap album. The record incorporates elements of pop rap and R&B, much like Uzi's earlier work. The majority of the album was produced by Cashmere Cat and Brandon Finessin, with occasional support from Henney Major, Lil 88, MCVertt, WondaGurl, and Charlie Puth, who also provides additional vocals on some tracks.

Themes

Similarly to its prequel, ''Eternal Atake 2'' follows the themes of science fiction and cosmic reality. In comparison to Uzi's previous records, on ''Eternal Atake 2'', they covered the themes of heartbreak and were more "in touch" with their own emotions. During their interview with ''Complex'', Uzi expanded on the album's themes:

Songs

"Chill Bae" is described as "apologetic, confessional and refreshingly human", and is regarded as the best track on the record by ''Billboard''. On the track, Uzi gives their fans an insight into their personal life and career as it strays away from the album's theme of sci-fi and focuses on themselves. On "Black Hole", Uzi expresses their concern about becoming trapped in a pregnancy, while straying away from its theme to plead for fellow rapper Young Thug's freedom.

Release and promotion

After the release of ''Pink Tape'', Uzi teased their upcoming fifth mixtape ''Barter 16'' after Uzi had promised that if the project went number 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200, this would be released next. The mixtape would be inspired by Young Thug's April 2015, '' Barter 6''. On August 16, 2023, Uzi shared the artwork cover for the mixtape on Instagram, which appears similar to the artwork of ''Barter''. On August 19, 2023, multiple songs from ''Barter 16'' were leaked on the internet, leading to it eventually being scrapped. In October 2023, Uzi teased the release of ''Luv Is Rage 3'' during their Pink Tape Tour while revealing that the album would be their last and that they planned to retire following its release. However, the project was later scrapped.

In an August 2024 interview, Uzi revealed that they were working on ''Eternal Atake 2''. In the same month, Uzi called into Kai Cenat and IShowSpeed's Twitch stream and confirmed that they were finishing the work on their album, which was believed to be ''Luv Is Rage 3'' at the time. On October 16, it was revealed that Uzi was shooting the album's trailer. In the same month, on Apple Music, the cover arts for Uzi's previously released projects would appear with the letter "2" on them, teasing the release of the album. On October 24, Uzi officially announced the album after sharing the artwork and trailer. On October 27, Uzi revealed the album's official track listing via a cryptic Instagram story. Upon the release of the album, Uzi released the video for "Chill Bae".

Critical reception

''Eternal Atake 2'' was met with underwhelming critical reviews compared to its predecessor(s). At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 51, indicating "mixed or average" reception based on four reviews.

Writing for '' Clash'', Robin Murray wrote that the album "feels like an attempt to reset the dials", however, the record "seems to prove the law of diminishing returns" and reminds the listener of "what has changed in their work – and, crucially, what hasn’t". Murray wrote that, on the record, Uzi attempts to move from the shadows of the album's prequel, however, the record "fails through messy execution". He wrote that "at times, the record feels rushed" and criticized the record's mixing. Concluding his review, Murray wrote that ''Eternal Atake 2'' "exhibit more signs of the Lil Uzi Vert tail-off" and that "the quality control has dimmed, and the sense of direction exhibited on their early work has waned".

Commercial performance

''Eternal Atake 2'' debuted at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, opening with 59,000 album-equivalent units consisting of 3,000 album sales and 56,000 streaming units (calculated from the 76.43 million on-demand streams streams the album's tracks received). ''Eternal Atake 2'' was blocked from the top spot by Tyler, the Creator's ''Chromakopia'' and Sabrina Carpenter’s '' Short n’ Sweet.'' This prevented Uzi from achieving their 4th number-one record. The album is the lowest-selling in its first week of their career.

Track listing

Sample credits
* "She Stank" contains an interpolation from "9mm", written by Paul Beauregard and Louis Mario Freese, as performed by Memphis Cult, Groove Dealers, and SPLYXER.
* "PerkySex" contains an interpolation from " Servin", written by Jatavia Johnson, Antoine Edwards, Ayatullah Muhammad, Byron Thomas, Christopher Lee, Donny Flores, Elon Brown, Juan Madrid, and Kyle Reed, as performed by JT.

Personnel

* Lil Uzi Vert – vocals
* Mike Dean – mastering (all tracks), mixing (tracks 1–11)
* Serban Ghenea – mixing (tracks 12, 13, 15)
* Cashmere Cat – production, mixing, executive producer, recording
* Argenis "Trilla" Peguero – recording
* Big Time Rush – vocals (track 5)
* Gabe Lewis – additional vocals (track 12)
* Charlie Puth – additional vocals (track 15)

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control
2024 albums
Lil Uzi Vert albums
Atlantic Records albums
Generation Now albums
Sequel albums