Guest Contributor – Liam Price
“Never ever change, never ever let no one change you”
—Symere Bysil Woods (Lil Uzi Vert)
I hope for a lot of things. I hope I passed the math test today. I hope I get an offer to play college baseball. But sometimes I sit in my bed and stare at the ceiling thinking, what if I could have AirPods implanted into my eardrums? Why have to put in and take out the AirPods when I could escape, I could ignore, I could wipe away the “I wish Dad was here” thought?
It could be like if my life revolved around a chalkboard—everyone could write down how much time they spend with their dad.
“Look what I got my dad for Father’s Day.”
“Me and my dad have an 11 o’clock tee time tomorrow.”
“My dad got us tickets to the Yankees game tonight.”
Chalk doesn’t just go away—you have to erase it.
Bandaid in My Wardrobe
I think about that night every day. December 21st, 2023. I felt like I could see sounds and hear colors. Travis jumps out of nowhere. Strobe lights and flames fill my eyes.
“Okay this shit is outta control… I’m driving hell and I done brought snow” (HYENA)
In the midst of chaos and indoor fireworks, the lyrics soaked up wounds. I felt at peace. Not at peace like Travis Scott in his natural habitat, but almost like the lyrics were taking care of me.
I left MSG with two things I didn’t enter with: a raging migraine and a tour t-shirt. I wish I could take that night with me—keep it in my pocket all day. To this day, I wear that shirt with pride. I wear it symbolizing knowing everything will be okay with Travis Scott. I don’t have to change myself. I don’t have to give in to the same mindset that my life is different from most kids my age.
Yacht Rock and the Quietest Goodbyes
I hate Yacht Rock. I think it’s annoying. I think the majority of the songs are mid. My dad got us hooked on it, and my mom hasn’t looked back since. In the car, I’m not afraid to ask my mom to change the station—I know she’s cool with it—but I don’t ask her to. I don’t just keep it on out of respect for him. I do it because of those days driving down to Cape May and to baseball tournaments. Yacht Rock flowed through the air while I took them for granted.
All the lyrics from bands like Seals and Crofts, and guys like Kenny Loggins and Gerry Rafferty, cured the stress. As I remember the days, I realize I was being sucked into his escape. The music was his zen. The music kept him going. Being the VP of Sales in a multi-million-dollar graphic design company is not easy.
Dark Queen — Greatest Song Ever, BTW
“Dear Momma. Love you Momma.”
Written by Lil Uzi Vert, Dark Queen is my favorite song ever. I only have one mom. I refuse to go to a therapist because they don’t know how I feel about losing my father. They don’t know my perspective of losing such an influential man. Nobody loved my father more than my mother. My mom has never missed a game. She’s never offered me a shortcut to anything in life. I’ve never related to a song like Dark Queen.
According to Genius.com: “Uzi shines a light on his relationship with his mother, detailing his understanding of his mother’s constant worry on Uzi’s condition, safety and well-being.”
I got hooked on Lil Uzi Vert in 2019. I grew pretty familiar with him for a few years, but at the time, to me he was just a big mainstream rapper, thriving off the SoundCloud era. As I grew older and eventually lost my dad, I began to feel like I was in a never-ending corn maze. I felt like I was in the same daily cycle. I felt like I had to be the same as everyone else.
No matter what, Uzi found his way into the picture. Drop after drop, it got better and better. Uzi dropped his studio album Pink Tape four months after my dad died. Ever since, I’ve realized that nobody needs to change me. My creativity, ambitions, weirdness, and desire to be better every day can only be determined by myself.
Unless there’s a time machine on eBay right now, I wish I could go back. Maybe tell him not to get in that car. As I mature and build off my experience, so many influential artists that have molded my perspective on growth make me realize that even the most underground rapper could motivate me to clear my head—and keep the mentality of doing better than the day before.
So yeah… maybe AirPod implants would be cool.
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