Lil Uzi Vert Remembers Getting a Beating to Mobb Deep’s “Shook Ones Pt. II”
With its haunting instrumental and piercing street lyricism, Mobb Deep's "Shook Ones, Pt. II" is one of the more indelible songs in rap history. In the wake of Prodigy's unexpected death last week, rap game luminaries have been reflecting on both P's legacy and the legendary song, with Lil Uzi Vert and Pharrell being among them.
During an episode of Pharrell and Scott Vener's OTHERtone podcast on Apple Music's Beats 1 Radio, Uzi spoke briefly on P's legacy and Mobb Deep's "Shook Ones Pt. II." While Skateboard P remembered seeing people begin fighting as the song played, Uzi's experience was a bit different.
"I got a beating to that song before, I can remember that," Uzi explained, possibly referring to getting spanked by older family members. Doesn't sound nearly as cool as Pharrell's story, but it's cool Uzi's able to speak on that time in his life so candidly.
Uzi went on to say it was virtually impossible to be unfamiliar with the seminal Mobb Deep track. "It's not even just hip-hop—in America, you can't not hear that song. Like, even if you don't know the name, if I play the song, you'll be like, 'Yeah, I know that song,'" Uzi said before Pharrell called Prodigy an "amazing lyricist" and praised Havoc for his famed production abilities.
Elsewhere in the interview, Uzi discusses Marilyn Manson, being in the studio with Pharrell for the first time and his progress on LUV Is Rage II. How close is it to being done? "Well, it's either zero or a hundred. So I'll say zero until it's all the way done. It'll get there," Uzi says. So yeah, doesn't sound like it's coming all that soon. He does, however, say the collab with Skateboard P is "nuts."
Peep clips from Uzi's appearance on OTHERtone below.
See Behind-the-Scenes Photos of Lil Uzi Vert at the 2016 XXL Freshman Shoot