Image by Kenneth Cappello via Billboard Pro
The Way People Should Be Viewing Lil Uzi Vert’s Cover
I speak for a majority of people when I say that Lil Uzi Vert’s track “CS” from his recently released album “Pink Tape” is an objectively bad song. Just look at the last minute and a half. It completely butchers the most memorable moments that made “Chop Suey” such a legendary metal song.
Lil Uzi Vert is a genuine fan of rock and metal, even as a chart-topping rapper in the mainstream eye. He was seen at a Lorna Shore show a few years ago. No mainstream artist would ever know about Lorna Shore unless they were legitimate fans of the band.
The fact that someone as popular as him can make a Chop Suey cover out of respect and admiration for System of a Down should be seen as a great thing. It will allow younger fans to go and check out the original version and even potentially become a fan.
Bring Me The Horizon has understood this for quite some time now. Crossover between rap and rock is an excellent way to get the attention you want as a band. Lil Uzi Vert is only proving that point by giving System of a Down free publicity. What band wouldn’t want that?!
We all know what an elitist would say about crossover culture. “Well, the original song’s official music video already has over one billion views. All the cover does is destroy the legacy of a song so well known.”
That person would be right in saying it has over one billion views. But destroying the legacy of the song? You can just ignore the cover if you don’t like it. And how many of those views are repeat listeners?
The Irony Of Dissing The Cover
It’s obvious to any rational musician that any type of attention is good attention. Yes, I am a part of the club that dissed this cover. Call me a hypocrite. That’s fine. But I believe I have defended my position enough to talk about the irony of everyone trashing Lil Uzi Vert.
Yes, he does not need any more publicity. He is one of the biggest rappers in the world at this point. However, I just have to make this point.
All of the metal fans using their energy to talk negatively to him for this track are letting everyone else know why they shouldn’t get involved in the metal community and why they should stick to their comfort zone. This is especially true for the fans of Lil Uzi Vert who would more than likely be open-minded to other genres.
The negative energy displayed by the elitists in this situation will lead to a negative view from those fans toward an excellent group in System of a Down.
Of course, there is a group of Lil Uzi Vert fans that are trashing the song. I won’t deny that. But they’re still Lil Uzi Vert fans. They will listen to his music regardless of how bad they think the cover is.
The Crossover Between Genres Is Great
The idea that multiple genres can come together to make music is awesome!
I truly hope more artists will continue to follow Bring Me The Horizon’s example. They have become more successful as time has passed because they continued to evolve their sound, collaborate with rappers and pop musicians, and make waves that would not have been possible without the right mindset.
One of those recent partnerships came with none other than Lil Uzi Vert. Performing as a feature on their latest track “AmEN!” and vice versa on Vert’s track “Werewolf“, both have mutually benefitted, especially Bring Me The Horizon, which currently has over 14 million monthly listeners on Spotify compared to Lil Uzi Vert at over 39 million.
We also can’t forget about the other band that got involved with Pink Tape on the song “The End“. Babymetal has over 3 million monthly listeners on Spotify, which is significantly less than the numbers I just mentioned.
But, it will also benefit them. The more metal and music in general move toward a massive crossover, which is looking more likely every day, the better chance we have at seeing a true resurgence in the world of rock and metal.
There is something to be said for letting new music be made that can entertain and drive people to different experiences.
Those who only ever listen to one genre are missing out on so much more than those that choose to be open to new experiences.
Lil Uzi Vert creating a cover for Chop Suey should only help those unwilling to get out of their comfort zone into actually doing so, on both sides of the equation. Rap fans and metal fans should embrace this type of crossover and help grow a community that fosters the enjoyment of different genres of music.
Hopefully, people can just take a step back from criticism of a song for a second and begin to see the bigger picture.
More covers of metal songs by rap artists and rap covers by metal bands need to happen so that the bigger picture can become more clear over time.
Lil Uzi Vert is just the latest example of doing it right!