Million Dollar Forehead: PDS Community Responds to Lil Uzi Vert’s Diamond

Some call it stupid. Some call it genius. Some call it a work of art.

Acclaimed rapper Symere Bysil Woods, professionally known as Lil Uzi Vert, or “Uzi” for short, embedded a 10-carat pink diamond worth $24 million on his forehead just a month ago. This has triggered debate and discussion in the hip-hop community, with memes being created and even some trying to replicate the rapper’s ostentatious style.

Junior Boaz Ziv-Loewy, a self-proclaimed Uzi enthusiast, said that he “loves Lil Uzi’s diamond. It adds variation and style to the rap scene and gives everyone something to talk about.” He adds that “the stone itself is extremely attractive, and [Uzi’s] taste in jewelry has always been impeccable.” 

The flashy pink diamond appeals to some, including Ziv-Loewy, as it is objectively vibrant and beautiful, yet its juxtaposition in the middle of his forehead has also drawn disgust from some of his fans. 

Sophomore Jaden Hall had a strong and angry reaction to the rapper’s “questionable” decision, calling it “absolutely hideous.” He believes that Uzi wanted to implant the diamond to be “dripped out.” Still, Hall claims loyalty to Lil Uzi, calling Uzi “my boy” and willing to defend Uzi against any “chirps” in the rap community. 

The biggest source of the aforementioned “chirps” came from Internet memes that liken the rapper to Marvel Studios’ Vision, a superhero who has the fictitious Mind Stone embedded on his forehead in the same style as Uzi. Fans mockingly call him “Lil Uzi Vision,” and even edit videos to replace Vision with Uzi in his tragic death in Avengers: Infinity War.

Freshman Arjun Ray shared the same feelings as Hall, claiming that “rappers tend to do irrational things every now and then.” However, Ray “respect[s] the amount of hard work it took for Uzi to accumulate the money necessary to implant the diamond in his face. He’s got millions to blow, but I’ll never fully understand his reasoning.” 

Although the internet continues to troll Lil Uzi Vert, he will always remain a legend known as one of the most influential rappers of all time. Even while many still do not understand Uzi’s actions, we must all learn to respect people’s appearances and fashion styles. As Uzi puts it, “Can’t nobody touch my [his] swag” (Vert, “Pretty Mami”).