Lil Uzi Vert Hints at Collaboration with Old Friend Playboi Carti

Lil Uzi Vert and Playboi Carti could see their massive cult followings connect in a major way.

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On Saturday (March 20), Uzi posted a cryptic, now-expired Instagram Story alluding to an upcoming collaboration with Carti. “Me and my luv about 2 take over the world,” they wrote in text over a spooky image that depicted them as children of the devil. Check out the story below.

While the magnitude or medium of this superstar collision is currently unknown, any music together from the young duo would cause hip-hop fans to go into a frenzy.

This is because it is not the first time one of these two has hinted at working together. Most recently during his headlining set at Rolling Loud Los Angeles earlier this month, Uzi previewed unreleased music that included a verse referencing their relationship with Carti. “Shout out to Carti, we don’t talk hardly, but that’s where my heart be,” they rapped at the song’s beginning.

For years, Uzi and Carti have mildly teased the possibility of putting out a joint album. Dubbed 16*29, in tribute to the two respective 1600 and 2900 blocks they grew up on in Philadelphia and Atlanta, the project first became a topic of discussion in 2017. At the time, Playboi Carti had posted a Snapchat story with the caption “Carti Uzi Tape *Uzi Carti Tape* 16.29.”

It wouldn’t be until 2021, though, when we would receive an update about the alleged album. In a now-deleted tweet, Lil Uzi Vert typed out the album title followed by a kiss emoji and “xxxxxxx.” Then in an interview with XXL in 2022, Carti gave a hopeful, but not-too-optimistic quote about 16*29‘s chances of happening.

“Uzi is working on mad music right now,” he said. “I don’t know if he’s serious about a lot of things. But I hope one day we can change the world with that, for sure.”

Currently, Uzi and Carti are both crafting upcoming studio albums The Pink Tape and Music, respectively. Both of them previewed songs from these LPs during their sets at the aforementioned Rolling Loud Los Angeles festival.

Historically, Uzi and Carti collaborations have been tremendously successful. Whether it be 2016 release “Of Course We Ghetto Flowers,” 2017 tracks “Wokeuplikethis*” and “Lookin,” or the 2018 song “Shoota,” the friends sure know how to work well together in the studio. So, as fans await each of the two’s solo efforts, they will also still continue to hold out hope that 16*29 could come to fruition.

(Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)