Dave East and Lil Uzi Vert’s “Don’t Try Me” Is a Perfect Mix of Old School and Weirdo Rap

By: JAY BALFOUR

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The Harlem rapper Dave East and the Philly firecracker Lil Uzi Vert might seem like an unlikely duo at first. East is a nostalgic technician of an MC, a rappers’ rapper who crams his bars with perfectly aligned syllables, while Uzi is a flamboyant rap-rockstar who’s turned cartoonish and caw-like rapping into a colorful trademark. On the pair’s new collaboration, “Don’t Try Me,” they find compromise in their love for unapproachable luxury.

The Luca Vialli-produced beat is a sinister slapper, a sitar-like synth and rattling bassline that provides a perfect backdrop for Uzi and East to catalog their riches. Together, East and Uzi’s radically different styles complement each other like a classic comedy duo might: East is the straight man and Uzi is the gag guy. Uzi’s hilariously harebrained word salad of brags (“Still the same nigga SLS, no Hyatt/Diamonds they water, Poseidon”) nicely contrasts East’s streamlined and mechanical boasts (“I wanted Polo and I wanted Prada/Moschino casinos we doubled our dollar”). This marriage of chaos and calculation works because East’s polished style reins in Uzi’s wackiness. Dave East could easily be pegged as an old-school apologist, but instead he’s found a way to sound of-the-moment alongside a guy who peers into the future of rap.

Article Appeared @https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/dave-east-dont-try-me-ft-lil-uzi-vert/?mbid=homepage-more-latest-and-video

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