Lil Uzi Vert

Symere Bysil Woods, known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Known for an eclectic fashion style and genre-blending music, Woods gained initial recognition following the release of the commercial mixtape Luv Is Rage in 2015. This release led to a recording contract with Atlantic Records under DJ Drama, Don Cannon, and Leighton Morrison's Generation Now imprint.

Woods was born on July 31, 1994 or 1995, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was raised in the Francisville neighborhood of North Philadelphia. Growing up, Woods listened to Mike Jones, Ying Yang Twins, Wiz Khalifa, and Meek Mill. At age 13, Woods began listening to rock and pop-punk acts including Marilyn Manson, Paramore, Smash Mouth, the Rocket Summer, Simian, My Chemical Romance, and the All-American Rejects, and later began listening to the K-Pop group GFriend in 2015. After dropping out of school and quitting a job at a Bottom Dollar store after four days, Woods was kicked out of the house by their mother. This led to Woods getting a face tattoo reading "Faith" under the hairline, which spurred a serious commitment to a rapping career.

Woods began rapping in tenth grade after hearing classmate William Aston freestyle. Along with Aston and another friend, Woods created the musical group Steaktown under the name "Sealab Vertical" before changing their name to Lil Uzi Vert, inspired by a description of their rap flow as being fast like a machine gun. Woods released a debut EP, Purple Thoughtz Vol. 1, in January 2014, followed by the mixtape The Real Uzi in August 2014 after gaining the attention of Don Cannon and signing with his imprint, The Academy.

Mainstream breakthrough came in 2016 with the release of the single "Money Longer" and the commercial mixtape Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World, which spawned the Billboard Hot 100 top-40 single "You Was Right". That same year, Woods was featured on XXL magazine's Freshman Class list and performed on Migos' single "Bad and Boujee", which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In early 2017, Woods released the EP Luv Is Rage 1.5, featuring the single "XO Tour Llif3", which peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the MTV Video Music Award for Song of Summer.

The single "XO Tour Llif3" served as the lead track for Woods' debut studio album, Luv Is Rage 2, released in August 2017. The album debuted atop the Billboard 200 and was certified double platinum by the RIAA. Following this success, Woods was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2018 Grammy Awards and signed to Roc Nation Management in April 2019.

In March 2020, Woods released a second studio album, Eternal Atake, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, quickly followed by its deluxe edition, Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World 2. Later that year, Woods released Pluto x Baby Pluto, a collaborative album with Future. In 2023, Woods released their third solo studio album, Pink Tape, which became their third consecutive solo project to debut atop the Billboard 200 and contained the top-ten single "Just Wanna Rock".