Lil Uzi Vert was part of the SoundCloud revolution. He emerged as a five-foot-four kid with acid green dreads who called himself a rock star. His emo lyrics channel the alienation and anxieties of Gen Z, but he can also rap with the speed and precision of a young Lil Wayne.
He is one of the most successful young artists of his generation. How much is his net worth, and how did he get there? Let’s find out.
If you’re interested, you can also compare Lil Uzi Vert’s success story with another young rap artist who made his mark. Read about Lil Baby’s net worth here.
Contents
Who Is Lil Uzi Vert?
Symere Basil Woods, better known by his stage name Lil Uzi Vert, is an American hip hop rapper and singer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, this artist gained mainstream recognition when he released his debut single “Money Longer” in 2016.
However, Lil Uzi Vert started his career in earnest one year earlier with his commercial mixtape Luv Is Rage. It led to a recording contract with Atlantic Records, which he signed under DJ Drama’s Generation Now imprint.
He followed it up with another mixtape, Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World, which contained the songs “Money Longer” and “You Was Right”. After releasing two additional mixtapes in 2016 and 2017, including a collaboration with rapper and record executive Gucci Mane, he was featured on hip hop trio Migos’ single “Bad and Boujee”, which topped the Billboard Hot 100.
The lead single of Uzi’s debut studio album Luv Is Rage 2 in 2017, “XO Tour Llif3”, won the MTV Video Music Award for Song of Summer. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Lil Uzi Vert was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2018 Grammy Awards. His second studio album Eternal Atake was released in 2020 and also debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
What Is Lil Uzi Vert’s Net Worth?
Lil Uzi Vert’s net worth is reported to be about $25 million. He is said to be one of the highest-paid rappers in the world. He earned an incredible $20 million between September 2017 and September 2018, which put him on the list of the top 20 highest-earning rappers globally for that period.
Within that one-year timeframe, Lil Uzi Vert had 3.5 billion streaming views and played an astounding 76 live shows worldwide. Therefore, it’s safe to say that he accumulated most of his wealth from making and performing music.
On February 3, 2021, Lil Uzi Vert posted a video to Instagram showing a pink diamond that he seemed to have embedded in his forehead. He claimed that it took him 3 years to save up the $24 million for the diamond that was supposedly 10 carats.
He said that this infamous diamond cost more than his entire car collection and his home. However, its actual value has never been confirmed. It does not seem likely that his income after taxes for the past 3 years would be able to reach $24 million.
What Is Lil Uzi Vert’s Background?
Symere Woods was born in Francisville, North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first album he ever bought was American rapper Mike Jones’ Who Is Mike Jones? He also spent a lot of time listening to Ying Yang Twins, Wiz Khalifa, Marilyn Manson, Paramore, and Meek Mill and said that they influenced his musical style.
He began rapping in tenth grade after hearing a classmate freestyle over a remade Chris Brown instrumental. It inspired him to form a rap group with his friends called Steaktown, but led to his dropping out of high school and working at a Bottom Dollar grocery store. He only lasted for 4 days at this job, and he was subsequently kicked out of his house by his mother.
So how did Lil Uzi Vert manage to become a rich and successful hip hop artist?
How Did Lil Uzi Vert Achieve Success?
Woods changed his name to Lil Uzi Vert because someone described his rap flow as “fast, like a machine gun.” After releasing his EP Purple Thoughtz Vol 1 in 2014, he caught the attention of producer Don Cannon. Their first project together was his first mixtape, The Real Uzi, which was released in August of that year.
Lil Uzi Vert then signed a record deal with Atlantic Records, which kicked off his mainstream career. He was featured in Fall Out Boy and Wiz Khalifa’s “Boys of Summer” tour in August 2017. He was also part of the Canadian singer the Weeknd’s tour.
Various media and entertainment magazines like Complex and Spin called Uzi “one of those names to pay attention to” who “solidified his spot as one to watch…[with] his signature rapid delivery.” He has also been called ” articularly charismatic” and “natural entertainer” who is “for better or for worse, yanking people into the future.”
What Else Should You Know About Lil Uzi Vert?
- For most of his life, Woods thought that he was born on July 31, 1994. But in July 2021, he revealed on Twitter that his birth certificate shows that he was born in 1995.
- Lil Uzi Vert is known for his facial tattoos, facial piercings, eccentric hairstyles, and androgynous fashion. His imagery is built on a melodic emo approach to trap, a subgenre of hip hop music that originated in the Southern United States during the early 2000s. The genre gets its name from the Atlanta slang word “trap”, which is a house used exclusively for selling illegal drugs.
- His first face tattoo is the word “Faith” under his hairline. He got it when he dropped out of school and was told to leave his home by his mother. It was a reminder to himself to take his rap career seriously.
- He has said that he is a “big Marilyn Manson fan” and named his favorite album as Mechanical Animals, a rock opera. It combines 1970s glam rock with industrial rock and electronic rock styles. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in 1998, the first Marilyn Manson album to do so, so it came out when Woods was still a child.
- In an interview with GQ, Woods mentioned that he is allergic to chocolate.
- He loves fashion and is not averse to wearing skirts. In 2019, he had already amassed at least 200 purses and bags by designer labels like Goyard and Maison Margiela. He considers getting dressed his higher calling. “Honestly, in my heart, I think I do this better than music,” he said. “’Cause the music shit is effortless. I actually take my time with this.”
- Woods dated fashion designer Brittany Byrd from 2014 to 2017. Byrd, who attended Parsons School of Design, appeared in the music video for “Money Longer”. On June 26, 2017, the couple broke up. Woods is currently in a relationship with rapper JT of the City Girls and has a tattoo dedicated to her on his left hand.
- On December 8, 2016, Woods was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia for recklessly driving a dirtbike without lights and a helmet. He fell off while being chased by the police and attempted to run away on foot before being caught and held on a $6,500 bond. In October 2020, Woods and several others were arrested in Philadelphia after being involved in a paintball gunfight on the street.
- Regarding Lil Uzi Vert’s pink diamond on his forehead, he has not said how it is attached. It is possible to attach jewels to the skin using magnets, but given the size and weight of this diamond, it is more likely that a surface piercing was used to keep it in place. In September 2021, fans at a music festival ripped it out of his forehead while he was crowd-surfing during a performance, but he was able to recover it.
The Takeaway
Lil Uzi Vert’s success can be attributed to his passion for music, life, and family. He said, “I like making music, and I like making people happy. But the music is whatever, bro. I really do it just to make my family happy. Like, it’s just something for my family to talk about.”
His music might not be everyone, and his fashion statements are sometimes controversial. Nevertheless, Lil Uzi Vert is one of the richest and most influential artists around.