One of the most momentous hip-hop releases of 2023 so far came on Friday (June 30), when Lil Uzi Vert released their third studio album, Pink Tape. Projected to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, Uzi’s LP contained a fascinating mix of their trademark trap-rap sound with other bops that infuse rock, punk, and pop elements, evident on the Eiffel 65 cover on “Endless Fashion.” Additionally, the project included an Easter egg of a subliminal diss on the song “Died and Came Back,” which appears to be directed at Los Angeles rapper Roddy Ricch.
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On “Died and Came Back,” Uzi not only trashes Roddy’s vocal ability but references Roddy’s initial diss to them on his 2022 song “Aston Martin Truck.”
Your voice don’t sound the same, get your range back
When the fuck did they bring these lames back?
You said you fucked my bitch (I fucked your bitch too)
In the last line of the lyrics above, Uzi claims they slept with Roddy’s significant other, which serves as a response to the diss Roddy made to them last year. Additionally, Uzi followed this up by claiming Roddy had a chain and platinum plaques stolen from him, questioning the strength of his gang affiliations.
But you ain’t even go get your chains back
They ran up in your crib and took your platinum plaques
I thought that you was ****, what’s up with that?
None of these claims by Uzi have been verified, but there is good evidence to support the idea that they are directed toward Roddy. During the aforementioned “Aston Martin Truck,” Roddy rapped the lyrics: N****s not on my level, why you mad I fucked your bitch? / Had to say it ’cause you talkin’, I ain’t even tryna rub it in. Fans figured these harsh words were meant for Uzi, considering the song came out just a few weeks after Uzi poked fun at Roddy first.
Two months before the release of “Aston Martin Truck,” Roddy was seen on the set of a music video for DJ Khaled’s song, “Keep Going,” which came out in August 2022. For the video shoot, Roddy was seen wearing clunky boots. Uzi noticed this and posted a photo of Roddy’s boots on their Instagram story while teasing him. “Wtffff… Who is this? I only saw the boots. I hope (it’s) a normal person… BIG ASS BOOTS,” Uzi wrote.
Fans, along with Roddy himself, found it hard to believe Uzi did not know it was Roddy wearing the boots in the photo. With this fired shot rubbing him the wrong way, Roddy decided to make the claim he did on “Aston Martin Truck” above. At the time, Uzi was dating City Girls rapper JT and still is. So, by claiming that he slept with Uzi’s girlfriend, similarly to how Tupac did in his diss to Biggie on “Hit ‘Em Up” (1996), Roddy saw his favor returned on Pink Tape‘s “Died and Came Back.”
Listen to both songs below.
Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage
