Lil Uzi Vert is closing out the year with a chart-topping album (Luv Is Rage 2), a chart-topping single (his assist on Migos' "Bad and Boujee"), and plaques on plaques for multiple singles. It's safe to say the Philly rap star has figured out a successful formula in the studio, and thanks to Kesha Lee, we now have a better picture of what that includes.
In an interview with Sound on Sound, Uzi Vert's trusted engineer opened up about his recording process, which usually starts with producers either sending her beats or the rapper forwarding her music to work on. "I will pull up the beats, and often he wants to hear everything before he picks something," she explained. "He doesn't really like to listen to each beat in much detail before he goes in the booth. He just goes in and records. He doesn't do like a whole verse. Instead he'll do things line-by-line and I'll be punching in."
As far as who is involved, Lee said it's a pretty tightknit crew. "Uzi will have all his friends in the studio, but just three of us work on the music," she continued. "[Don] Cannon makes the beats, or he will play more of an executive role, where he gets beats from other people. Uzi does his own thing. I will even let him do his own drops where you only hear him and there's no music playing. I will put the track on latch automation, and I will let him press the mute button so he can do his drops when he wants them, and then when he clicks the mute again, the track will come back in."
The Sound on Sound piece also details Lee's come up and work with Vert; she's responsible for engineering his projects since 2015, as well as helping mix and engineer Luv Is Rage 2. Opening cut "Two®" also features uncredited vocals from Lee.
A preview of Lee's interview is available on the Sound on Sound website. She also shared pictures of the magazine spread, which you can check out below.
Lil Uzi Vert recently released a deluxe version of Luv Is Rage 2, which includes four bonus songs.
