Lil Uzi Vert seems to have taken issue with photographer Gunner Stahl, who suggested that deluxe albums aren't worthwhile in a pair of deleted tweets. The hip-hop world favorite, who has worked with Uzi in the past among countless other high-profile rappers, even went so far as to say deluxe releases "ruined music."
"Deluxe albums ruined music," Stahl wrote in the first of his since-deleted tweets. "Artist: drops album. Artist 0:000002 seconds into the album: DELUXE." Shortly after, Uzi—who has dropped two deluxe versions of records this year—tweeted, "When it's all over ....you was just a n***a with a camera [laughing crying emoji]." Like Stahl's tweets, Uzi deleted what he wrote not long after.
While it was initially unclear if Gunner Stahl was targeting anyone in particular, especially as so many artists have dropped deluxe versions of their projects this year, Uzi left no ambiguity as to who he was addressing. Uzi dropped the deluxe version of his Future collab album Pluto x Baby Pluto on Tuesday, less than a week since the original release arrived on streaming services.
After catching on to Uzi's tweets, Stahl replied by sending a public message to Uzi directly. "Sensitive ass boy nobody wasnt talking bout u you know me in REAL life if u got a problem u can pull up," he wrote. Uzi, meanwhile, continued his subliminal tweets. "What's the best camera I can buy?" he tweeted alongside laughing crying emojis. "What's the best filter. ... Imma need a extra charger incase my battery die."
He also began entertaining his followers by responding to people asking for a photoshoot. "Gotta book me threw my agency (bring ya corona mask also)," he tweeted. "Thank you I finally can show the world what I do with just a push of a button."
Uzi is far from the only rapper to drop a deluxe version this year. Lil Wayne, DaBaby, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, and Nav are among those to update their releases within weeks of the original offering. In March, Uzi released Eternal Atake, updating it a week later with 14 new songs, taking the total number of tracks to 32. As a result of the new additions to the release, he was able to keep his No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart for two consecutive weeks.
Stahl isn't alone in his criticisms, though, as even his frequent collaborator Metro Boomin has suggested recently that he's not a fan of the deluxe album trend. "Chopped up not slopped up tonight paying homage to the OGs and classic hip hop," he wrote upon announcing the chopped-not-slopped version of Savage Mode II with 21 Savage. "That deluxe shit burnt out."
