Industry Rules According to Lil Uzi Vert

"If you want your album two drop, number one rule: Don't hang with the boss' girlfriend." —Lil Uzi Vert

"Industry rule number 4080: Record company people are shady." —Q Tip

You new cats think us old heads tell you to respect and learn the history of hip-hop just to hear ourselves speak. Well, you can learn from other's mistakes, or you can make your own mistakes. Hopefully Lil Uzi Vert has learned enough from his own missteps to navigate the industry in calmer waters now that he's reportedly under Jay-Z's Roc Nation's management. It looks as if Uzi's long awaited album Eternal Atake will see the light of day now that, according to multiple publications (Complex and Vlad TV), since he is back in the studio since he's signed a deal with Jay-Z's management company, Roc Nation. This puts Jay in the familiar position of patron saint for a stranded artist. A musician that has been compared to L.U.V. on more than one occasion also looked to Jay-Z as a safe harbor from the industry's rough current. In 2015, Prince stated that he would be releasing his music solely through Tidal, the streaming company Shawn Carter is associated with. According to BBC, "In 2015, when he announced that he would be releasing new music exclusively with Jay-Z's streaming service Tidal, he repeated the same "slavery" comparison that he'd used back in the early 1990s."

"Record contracts are just like—I'm gonna say the word—slavery," he said, according to Rolling Stone. "I would tell any young artist... don't sign." —Prince

Prince actually performed with the word slave written on his face. He also performed under a symbol that he said couldn't be pronounced instead of his name because his label trademarked Prince and now owned it. His birth name. "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince" was well-versed in rule 4080.

Prince, Formerly

I like the couple of songs that I've heard from Lil Uzi, and was never really put off by his style of dress and mannerisms because I actually likened him to Prince. I grew up loving Prince's music and saw some of what Uzi does as homage to him. I'm not the only one. After a picture of L.U.V. wearing a blouse and toting a handbag went viral, R&B crooner Tank defended Uzi by comparing him to the great Purple One. Tank's bandmate Tyrese didn't seem to agree with his collaborator's comparison, stating, "I just can't identify with today's hip-hop" in a now deleted post under said picture of Uzi on Instagram... but the hit show Black-ish certainly saw the similarities on their 100th episode. Even if it's a sad prose, sharing Prince's industry woes seems poetic for Uzi. His pain is our entertainment I suppose...

With friends like these...

These are the people that had control over Lil Uzi Vert's career. Pictured with Jack Harlow (left) is DJ Drama (right). He jokes that he'll destroy Jack's career too and his partner Don Cannon cried emoji tears from laughing so hard. Sad. As an artist myself, I can't imagine someone controlling my livelihood in such a flippant manner. Through other artists I've seen the pain a vindictive, negligent, or incompetent executive can inflict upon a person just trying to do their job and get paid for it. An artist I've personally worked with named Tate Kobang is signed to 300 Entertainment. Last I heard, he was having a hard time getting the company to return his phone calls. The cliff notes is that the kid needs money to pay his child support so that he can get his passport to go touring overseas and make money. The record label is not providing a way for him to make this money or release him to sign elsewhere to create music and get paid. I have never signed to a label myself. I've pressed up my own materials and secured my own distribution for all streaming services through Distrokid. Any artists that are reading this can get more information here and a discount for signing though my link. In full disclosure, I get five dollars. Win-win, no need to tip this time...

There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for Lil Uzi though. I personally know that Tidal actually pays significantly more than any other streaming service. Jay-Z is continuously touting himself as a "player's coach," an executive that works for the benefit of the artist. An oasis... I don't know the inner workings or logistics of his management company, but I do know that he purportedly helped Lil Wayne release music while Wayne famously feuded with his Cash Money imprint. According to USA Today, Jay also reported to have helped Weezy pay his taxes. Considering that these two men have made diss records against each other in the past, this seems very benevolent on Jay's part. Maybe he really will be a safe harbor for Uzi's ship to dock in. Time will tell. Perhaps Jay can see a bit of Prince in L.U.V. like some other people have.

How many emcees... seriously...

This might just turn out well for Lil Uzi, but for others—like Tate—who knows how they'll fair navigating through the shark-filled waters of the industry. The most successful artists are usually like the best athletes. They study, they learn from what's worked, and they innovate. Brooklyn legend Buckshot from the independent label Duck Down once had to fight for his freedom from a label that held onto him so long without releasing music that he lost almost any relevance that he had. He wrote a book about what he's learned. I'm not affiliated with it in any way, just a fan and a student of the game. You can get it here. Whether you learn from us or you learn from experience, you must learn. Choose wisely.