Future & Lil Uzi Vert Present: Pluto X Baby Pluto, an Interstellar Trap Voyage
December 1, 2020
On November 13th, 2020, Future and Lil Uzi Vert released their debut collaborative album, “Pluto X Baby Pluto,” named for the two’s respective nicknames. The highly anticipated project debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold a staggering 105,000 album equivalent units in its first week alone. Despite the project being Uzi’s third full length release of 2020, the album nearly clinched the coveted number one slot on the Hot 100 chart, but was narrowly beaten by AC/DC’s “Power Up.” AC/DC had not released a full length album in over five years. “Pluto X Baby Pluto” was unarguably a commercial success, with the album garnering the title of “most streamed” with nearly 136 million on demand plays for the week that ended on November 19th, according to Billboard data.
The opening track to the album “Stripes Like Burberry” is one of my favorite cuts on the album and exemplifies why I like Uzi as an artist, he has worked hard for everything he has. His self-made sentiment is exuded throughout this track with the Philadelphia native declaring “I be lookin’ at the sun, but can’t worry, I’m my momma oldest son can’t get buried,” and “I might pop a f*ck n***a, like a wheelie, I’m used to the murder I’m from Philly.” The chemistry between Uzi and Future is electric on this track as the duo detail the similarities and differences between the ways they made their respective come-ups in the rap industry, as well as what makes them influential artists; their authenticity.
I be lookin’ at the sun, but can’t worry, I’m my momma oldest son can’t get buried
— Lil Uzi Vert
Following “Stripes Like Burberry” we are introduced to one of the funnier tracks on the album, “Marni On Me,” which is basically about the duo being dripped out in some sort of designer threads I have never heard of, nor seen before. The exotic nature of the duo’s drip is accentuated by the duo lamenting “b*tch I drip in my sleep, I push a button, my car need no keys, I push a button the car drive by itself.” No Future X Uzi project would be complete without the duo letting us know that they are still living lavish.
The third track that stood out to me during my initial listening was the track “Real Baby Pluto,” due to its outlandish lyrics, as well as the infectious nature of the melody. The instrumental for the track was produced by Twysted Genius and Zaytoven, and is a prime example of the immense production value of this album. This track in particular accentuates the “outerspace-esque” vibes that are present throughout the project. One of my favorite lines on this song comes courtesy of Future himself with the Atlanta heavyweight chiding, “hit the turbo, the car do Billie Jean, we got CoCo Chanel, you know damn well these b*tches comatose, Ima swag on b*tches, I walk down s**h, I damn near broke my toe.” In this line I believe Future is alluding to the way that his luxury sports car lurches forward violently in response to acceleration, as well as the fact that he is such a big stepper* that he broke his toes when he had to “walk down” on the opposition.
*Stepper (Noun): a person known to carry guns and is always ready to fight
— Urban Dictionary
Following “Real Baby Pluto” is perhaps one of the best Lil Uzi Vert songs to come out this year, “Drankin N Smokin.” The best part of this song is undoubtedly when the beat cuts off and we are treated to the sound of Uzi flicking his lighter in Lil Wayne fashion before he enters the track and absolutely annihilates the beat. My favorite bar on this track is definitely “I put rubies on my Rollie, now their eyes bleed, I don’t own no ice cream truck, just know my ice freeze, man I read her text , she said, “girl I creamed.” In classic Uzi fashion he reminds us that he is absolutely covered in glistening diamonds, and as promiscuous as ever.
I put rubies on my Rollie, now their eyes bleed, I don’t own no ice cream truck, just know my ice freeze
— Lil Uzi Vert
The next track on the album that drew my attention was “Plastic,” which comes in at track number seven. “Plastic” is pretty straightforward and is simply another trap banger courtesy of Uzi and Future. Although the instrumental produced by London on da Track is pretty simple, and doesn’t do anything crazy, it is actually one of my favorite on the project due to the way that it rolls and remains at a constant tempo throughout the song. One of my absolute favorite lines on this cut, and perhaps the album, is “when I couldn’t cash my check, I went and sold dope, make it swipe, swipe, doin’ four, four, ain’t no stopping at the light, that’s a no-go, I got two Glocks on me, K-Ci, JoJo.” In this perfect trap bar, mixing all the classic troupes of the genre, from drug dealing, guns, and fast cars, into one eloquent sentence, Future references K-Ci, and JoJo, the two members of the iconic R&B group, and compares the group’s vocal ferocity to that of his dual handguns.
when I couldn’t cash my check, I went and sold dope, make it swipe, swipe, doin’ four, four, ain’t no stopping at the light, that’s a no-go, I got two Glocks on me, K-Ci, JoJo.
— Future
Following “Plastic” we have a lot of quality Uzi X Future action, but regrettably nothing stood out to me until I came across the track “I Don’t Want To Break Up” produced by D.Hill. This track is an absolute gem with an absolutely flawless hook sung by Uzi, “I don’t want to wake up, I’d rather dream, that’s the way that you stay up, I don’t want to break up, but money’s on my mind and I gotta keep the cake up.” The way that Uzi sings this hook you can tell that the lyrics hit close to home. In addition to detailing the story of love gone wrong, “I Don’t Want To Break Up” is the sight of one of the more hilarious bars on the project with Lil Uzi Vert a.k.a. Baby Pluto stating “she thought I was making all this money because I was so popular, I’ma rockstar, from the same planet as a pop star, she remind me of my account because when I see her, I get rock hard.”
On November 17th, Uzi and Future released the deluxe version of the album which contained an additional six unheard songs, and the two singles released to build anticipation in the days prior to the initial album release. For the sake of brevity I encourage you to listen to the entire deluxe version of “Pluto X Baby Pluto” front to back as I strongly believe that it is a very solid project, and one that I have definitely added to my daily rotation. My favorite track of the six additional songs however has to be “Baby Sasuke.” This track is the most reminiscent of 2016 Lil Uzi than anything that has been released this year hands down. The instrumental, produced by Rok, Lusi, and Brandon Finessin, is incredibly warped and nostalgic and sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie if the aliens drove Audi’s with underglow and anime wraps. My favorite lines on the track have to be when Uzi says “I got braces and my tooth hurt,” and on the chorus when he sings “yea im ballin, Toni Kukoč, it’s no roof bro, I got two doors.” The first line especially is just funny because the braces have recently been part of Uzi’s aesthetic, but this is the first time to my knowledge that he has complained about them publicly. I also just love the line from the chorus when he references Toni Kukoč, a Croatian hooper who is most well known for winning three championships with the Chicago Bulls.
I got braces and my tooth hurt
— Lil Uzi Vert
“Pluto X Baby Pluto” is a quality album and one that I recommend that everyone listens to. It’s fun and lighthearted and exactly what a lot of people need right now around the holidays. 2020 has been Uzi’s year, and it may not be over yet as Uzi told fans earlier in the year that he would drop when “he dropped,” in reference to Uzi’s past collaborator Playboi Carti. In the weeks following the release of “Pluto X Baby Pluto” Carti took to Instagram to tell fans that his long awaited album, “Whole Lotta Red,” was on the way for real this time, and whether a publicity stunt, or Carti gearing up for a legitimate drop, I cannot say. However no matter the way you look at it, Uzi ran 2020, and “Pluto X Baby Pluto” may not be the last we hear from him before the year is out.
