Neon Guts

''Luv Is Rage 2'' is the debut studio album by the American rapper and singer Lil Uzi Vert, released on August 25, 2017, through Generation Now and Atlantic Records. The album's production was handled by various producers, including Lil Uzi Vert themself, Don Cannon, Honorable C.N.O.T.E., Maaly Raw, Pharrell Williams, Pi'erre Bourne and TM88, and features guest appearances from the Weeknd, Oh Wonder, and Pharrell Williams. An emo rap album, ''Luv Is Rage 2'' is characterized by its vibrant, emotionally charged soundscape, blending Auto-Tune-heavy vocals, melodic hooks, and high-energy beats with themes of heartbreak, hedonism, and nihilistic bravado. Serving as a successor to Uzi's third extended play, '' Luv Is Rage 1.5'' (2017), and debut commercial mixtape, ''Luv Is Rage'' (2015). A deluxe edition, featuring four bonus tracks, was released on November 17, 2017, followed by a Japan-exclusive edition with two additional tracks.

The album was supported by three singles, "XO Tour Llif3", " The Way Life Goes", and "Sauce It Up". ''Luv Is Rage 2'' received generally positive reviews from critics, debuting at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 with 135,000 album-equivalent units, of which 28,000 were pure album sales. On December 10, 2024, the album was certified five-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales, streaming, and track-sale equivalents of 5,000,000 units.

Background

In November 2016, after the release of ''1017 vs. the World'', a collaborative extended play with American rapper Gucci Mane, Lil Uzi Vert initially announced ''Luv Is Rage 2'', that would suffer from numerous delays amid confusion. In February 2017, Lil Uzi released an extended play, '' Luv Is Rage 1.5'' containing four tracks for streaming on SoundCloud. It serves as a prequel for ''Luv Is Rage 2''; as well as Uzi previewing snippets of those songs online throughout the whole year. In July 2017, DJ Drama and Don Cannon premiered five songs on their Shade 45 radio show, which were not to be included on the album. On August 24, 2017, Lil Uzi unexpectedly announced the release of ''Luv Is Rage 2'' a day before release via social media, including the cover art and track listing.

Composition

''Luv Is Rage 2'' is an emo rap album. The album's 16 tracks (expanded to 20 in the deluxe edition) showcase a blend of melodic hooks, Auto-Tune-saturated vocals, and high-energy beats, reflecting Uzi's exploration of heartbreak, hedonism, and post-breakup bravado. Its production, helmed by a roster including Don Cannon, TM88, Metro Boomin, WondaGurl, and Pharrell Williams, features booming trap drums, ethereal synths, and understated piano, creating a cohesive yet diverse sound.

The opener, "Two®", establishes a bold tone with accordion-driven production and Uzi's sing-rap style, though its vocoder-heavy, half-spoken delivery polarizes listeners. "444+222" employs repetitive, chant-like structures, emphasizing atmosphere over lyrical complexity, which some critics found draining. The album's emotional peak, "XO Tour Llif3", a haunting emo rap anthem with a creeping beat inspired by ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' and melodies echoing Young Thug and Linkin Park, its iconic "All my friends are dead" refrain capturing 2017's nihilistic zeitgeist. " The Way Life Goes", interpolating Oh Wonder's "Landslide", juxtaposes tender pop melodies with raw heartbreak, delivering accessible emotional depth.

Uzi's vocals are a focal point, oscillating between animated yelps, rapid-fire rap, and emotive singing, often enhanced by Auto-Tune to heighten the album's raw intensity. "Neon Guts", featuring Pharrell Williams, highlights Uzi's smooth delivery and vivid imagery over vibraphone chimes, creating a lush, standout track. "X", produced by Metro Boomin and Pi'erre Bourne, channels prideful defiance through pulsating trap beats, masking underlying insecurities. "Sauce It Up" and "Pretty Mami" offer infectious, club-ready hooks, with the former echoing "XO Tour Llif3"'s catchy appeal.

The album's introspective side surfaces in "Dark Queen", a supernatural tribute to Uzi's mother, and "Feelings Mutual", where WondaGurl's guitar-heavy production amplifies Uzi's anguished delivery. "Early 20 Rager" brings brash energy, while "For Real" captivates with its hypnotic beat and memorable chorus. Conversely, "UnFazed", featuring the Weeknd, feels disjointed, with Abel's reserved performance clashing with Uzi's vulnerability, possibly a strategic inclusion for streaming appeal.

Lyrically, Uzi favors vibe-driven, quotable lines over narrative depth, touching on heartbreak, wealth, and toxic masculinity. However, some tracks slip into repetitive flexing or problematic tropes, especially toward the album's end. The album's loose, chaotic structure—marked by abrupt tonal shifts and unconventional song formats—reflects Uzi's restless psyche but can challenge listener engagement, with critics noting its length tests attention spans.

Release and promotion

Lil Uzi Vert began teasing ''Luv Is Rage 2'' in late 2016, following the success of their 2016 mixtapes ''Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World'' and ''The Perfect LUV Tape''. On December 13, 2016, Uzi announced the album via Twitter, though no release date was specified. In February 2017, Uzi released the precursor extended play ''Luv Is Rage 1.5'' on SoundCloud, featuring four tracks, including "XO Tour Llif3", which generated significant online buzz. In July 2017, DJ Drama and Don Cannon premiered five unreleased tracks on their ''Gangsta Grillz'' show on Sirius XM. On August 24, 2017, Uzi unexpectedly announced the album's release via social media, sharing the cover art and tracklist, and dropped ''Luv Is Rage 2'' the next day, August 25, 2017, for streaming and digital download through Generation Now and Atlantic Records.

On November 17, 2017, a deluxe edition was released, adding four bonus tracks: "Skir Skirr", "Loaded", "Diamonds All on My Wrist", and " 20 Min", with Urban Outfitters offering an exclusive cassette version. The album was released a few days later in Japan, with two additional tracks: "Money Longer" and "Do What I Want", both originally featured on ''Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World'' and ''The Perfect LUV Tape'', respectively. The album's promotion leaned heavily on Uzi's social media engagement and live performances, with producer Maaly Raw describing in an '' XXL'' interview that the album was "about 90% finished" by early 2017, with extra tracks recorded to perfect the final product.

Singles

The lead single, "XO Tour Llif3", was released for free streaming on March 24, 2017, initially as part of ''Luv Is Rage 1.5''. Produced by TM88 and JW Lucas, its emo-rap style and introspective lyrics about heartbreak and mental health resonated widely, peaking at number seven on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. A music video, directed by Virgil Abloh and released on September 4, 2017, featured dark, surreal visuals that amplified the song's emotional weight. "The Way Life Goes" was released as the second single to urban contemporary radio on October 3, 2017, with a remix featuring Trinidadian-American rapper Nicki Minaj dropping on November 3, 2017. "Sauce It Up" followed as the third single, sent to urban contemporary radio on February 27, 2018.

Critical reception

''Luv Is Rage 2'' was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 75, based on eight reviews.

Scott Glaysher of ''XXL'' gave a positive review, stating "Despite the long-winded nature of the album, Uzi definitely got it right with ''Luv Is Rage 2''. The songs are catchy, the beats are hot and Uzi gives a vocal performance that redefines the term rap rock star". Hip hop website ''HotNewHipHop'' stated that "Uzi is changed a person now, more weary of the world, less naively cheerful, and this is reflected on ''Luv Is Rage 2''. If hey dohave a heart, it may soon be blackened. Uzi is feeling vindictive, rather than just being "happy to be here" (as hey wereon ''Luv Is Rage''), hey'relooking, now, for admiration and acknowledgement that's deserved of hem. Dan Weiss of ''Consequence'' said, "Nearly every song on ''Luv Is Rage 2'' comes with a distinct enough hook to break up the limited set of things it does and subjects it ponders". In his review, Aaron McKrell of ''HipHopDX'' states, "''Luv Is Rage 2'' is proof that Lil Uzi Vert is simply an artist who succeeds in making music hey love for people that hold tightly to zi'scarpe-diem attitude". Corrigan B of ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' said, "The breadth of sounds covered will scan as inconsistency to all but the most pious Uzi devotees, but it's hard to imagine anything else serving as a more comprehensive document of rap in 2017".

Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic said, "Although Uzi's post-breakup pain rears its head throughout the entirety of the album, many of the tracks are too fun to get too bogged down in emotions". Paul Thompson of ''Pitchfork'' stated that ''Luv Is Rage 2'' is Lil Uzi Vert's "most musically developed work and features a bulk of heirmost interesting songs to date", as well as commending the subject matter and production, concluding: "Whether hey'refull of joy or howling into the void, zipushes heirsongs to their edge, which helps to deliver on the promise shown in zi'searlier work. We knew Lil Uzi Vert would become one of rap's biggest stars, but ''Rage 2'' suggests that heymay spend heirtime on top experimenting rather than retreating to a comfort zone." Steve "Flash" Juon of ''RapReviews'' wrote: "As for today's singing rappers, Vert fits in comfortably next to the likes of Fetty Wap and French Montana, and I have little qualms with calling zia better writer than the latter. The production is a little bit more of a mixed bag." In a mixed review, ''Sputnikmusic''s Robert Lowe stated: "A lot of tracks start off OK, but zi'sflow and style are so unfocused and muddled the songs become a chore to sit through."

Year-end lists

Commercial performance

''Luv Is Rage 2'' debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 with 135,000 album-equivalent units, of which 28,000 were pure album sales. In its second week on the chart, ''Luv Is Rage 2'' moved another 73,000 units bringing the total sales to 208,000. On December 10, 2024, the album was certified five-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales, streaming and track-sale equivalents of five million units.

The album also entered at number 14 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 3,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.

Track listing

Notes
* signifies a co-producer
* signifies an uncredited co-producer
* "Two®" features additional vocals from Kesha Lee
* "The Way Life Goes" originally didn't credit featured vocals by Oh Wonder
* "How to Talk" features additional vocals from DreamDoll
* "XO Tour Llif3" is stylized as "XO TOUR Llif3"

Sample credits
* "The Way Life Goes" contains a sample of "Landslide", written by Josephine Vander West and Anthony Vander West, as performed by Oh Wonder.

Personnel

Credits were adapted from the album's liner notes.

Performers
* Lil Uzi Vert – primary artist
* Oh Wonder – featured artist (track 5)
* Pharrell Williams – featured artist (track 8)
* The Weeknd – featured artist (track 10)

Technical

* Kesha Lee – mixing engineer (tracks 1, 2, 9, 12, 17–20), recording engineer (tracks 1–9, 11–20)
* Chris Athens – mastering engineer (tracks 1–15)
* Don Cannon – mixing engineer (tracks 2, 9, 15, 20)
* Leslie Braithwaite – mixing engineer (tracks 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 16)
* Jaycen Joshua – mixing engineer (tracks 5, 7, 10, 13, 14)
* Michael Piroli – mixer (tracks 3, 5)
* Ben Sedano – engineer (track 8)
* Jon Sher – engineer (track 8)
* Thomas Cullison – engineer (track 8)
* Mike Larson – recording engineer (track 8)
* Colin Leonard – mastering engineer (track 16)

Production

* Lil Uzi Vert – producer (track 1)
* Don Cannon – producer (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11)
* Lyle LeDuff – producer (track 1)
* Maaly Raw – producer (tracks 2, 9, 10, 15)
* Ike Beatz – producer (tracks 2, 5)
* BeldonDidThat – uncredited co-producer (track 3)
* Michael Piroli – uncredited co-producer (track 3)
* Cubeatz – producer (track 4)
* DJ Plugg – producer (track 6)
* Bobby Kritical – producer (tracks 6, 19)
* WondaGurl – producer (tracks 7, 12, 14)
* FrancisGotHeat – co-producer (track 7)
* Pharrell Williams – producer (track 8)
* DaHeala – producer (track 10)
* The Weeknd – producer (track 10)
* Illmind – producer (track 11)
* Metro Boomin – producer (track 13)
* Pi'erre Bourne – producer (track 13)
* Rex Kudo – producer (track 15)
* TM88 – producer (tracks 16, 18)
* JW Lucas – producer (track 16)
* D. Rich – producer (track 17)
* S1 – co-producer (track 18)
* Honorable C.N.O.T.E. – producer (track 20)

Additional personnel

* Don Cannon – executive producer
* DJ Drama – executive producer, album producer
* Leighton "LakeShow" Morrison – executive producer
* Ron Cabiltes – sample clearance
* Spike Jordan – photographer, art direction and design
* Matt Meiners – art direction and design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

See also

* List of ''Billboard'' 200 number-one albums of 2017

References

{{Authority control

2017 debut albums
Atlantic Records albums
Lil Uzi Vert albums
Albums produced by Pharrell Williams
Albums produced by Metro Boomin
Albums produced by Don Cannon
Albums produced by WondaGurl
Albums produced by Illmind
Albums produced by Symbolyc One
Albums produced by Honorable C.N.O.T.E.
Albums produced by Cubeatz
Albums produced by Pi'erre Bourne
Sequel albums
Albums produced by TM88
Generation Now albums