It has been 4 years since the infamous Lil Uzi Vert interview at Hot 97. In 2016, Uzi had begun picking up a buzz that would set him aside from his peers. However, the veteran instigator and troll, Ebro Darden, claimed that Uzi and his peers would struggle when it came to career longevity. There was a disconnect between the two, but also mutual respect and admiration.
The rift between the two was addressed early when they argued over what beat Uzi should freestyle over. Ebro pulled up DJ Premier beats for the melodic, high energy rapper to spit over. "Don't do that, I'm not gonna rap on that", Uzi exclaimed in their interview. The interview, although sometimes awkward, was an important moment for the culture. It was the first open discussion that the "older" and "younger" generations would have with each other, with well-respected spokespersons on both sides. Although Ebro and Uzi grew to respect each other, the generation gap divided fans. Certain comments separated fans instead of bringing them together.
"When y'all get to 27/28, ya'll get to struggling", Ebro tells Uzi towards the end of their interview.
Now, 4 years later, Ebro is pleasantly surprised. Uzi dropped on consecutive weeks and has completely obliterated the charts. "We starting brand new with you", Ebro prophetically stated in the interview. Still, none of us would have predicted this.