Rapper Lil Uzi Vert posted an Instagram story on Friday evening saying that he has quit making music.
“I wanna take the time out to say I thank each and every one of my supports, but I’m done with music,” he wrote on the post. “I deleted everything. I wanna be normal… I wanna wake up in 2013.”
Fans immediately took to social media to register their distress that the rapper might literally have deleted files for his second studio album, “Eternal Awake,” which he’s been teasing for months and had claimed was near completion. Whether the post represents a bout with depression or a publicity stunt remains to be seen. Representatives for his label, Atlantic Records, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Philadelphia rapper signed to Atlantic in 2014, having self-released two projects earlier. With the support of Atlantic, Uzi rose to fame with his “Luv is Rage” mixtape and subsequent “Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World” and “The Perfect Luv Tape” releases.
His 2017 debut album “Luv Is Rage 2” charted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and gave the world the dark and catchy single “XO Tour Llif3.” The track peaked at No. 7 and made Uzi a big name in the rap community, along with his feature on the chart-topping Migos single “Bad and Boujee.”
Before his surprising announcement today, the supposedly imminent “Eternal Atake” album had drawn attention and controversy for featuring cover art based on the Heaven’s Gate cult. Representatives from the cult threatened to take legal action against the rapper for using their artwork without permission.
It is unclear whether Uzi is serious about his retirement from music. Other popular musicians, like Jay-Z and Justin Bieber, have made sudden claims about not making music, only to return soon.