Which way?
[Video][Website]
[5.00]
Kylo Nocom: Sorry, this is 50% “I Want It That Way” being bad and 50% Uzi being worse to listen to as he inches closer to hell.
[1]
Oliver Maier: It’s entirely to Uzi’s credit that he refuses to use the Backstreet Boys as a crutch on “That Way”. A less capable, less confident artist would sit back and let the undeniable hook of the source material do all the heavy lifting, maybe sneak a Nick Carter punchline in there somewhere and call it a day. Uzi, who does not live in the past (mostly), drags the sample through a wormhole instead and wrings his own chorus out of it. “That Way” ping-pongs through my brain at least once a day and I have to go and put it on every time. I’m not going to be the guy arguing that his lyrics are poetry, but the desperate way that Uzi bleats out the silliest, most unwieldy phrases — the best here being “Lil Uzi, he is so far from the timid” — is delightful to me. Whatever way “that way” is supposed to be is no more apparent here than in the original song, but I can’t say I care. I’m here for the ride.
[10]
Tobi Tella: Is he mumbling, using some filler lyrics, and making another song about basically nothing? Yes. Was I placated and along for the ride as soon as the Backstreet Boys interpolation came in? Yes. I’m starting to be convinced that I’m not gonna dislike an Uzi song, no matter the objective quality; he’s just too damn fun.
[7]
Alfred Soto: Uzi sounds fine; it’s stretching the Backstreet Boys melody as indifferently as if it were a stick of Orbit that gets oooooooollllld faaast.
[3]
Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Uzi is at the stage of his fame where I like the idea of Uzi and the trappings around him significantly more than Uzi himself. The Backstreet Boys sample is the only really compelling thing here — Uzi sounds great harmonizing along, just like he did with Oh Wonder. But his verses feel increasingly tired, full of boring provocation and self-cosplay. It’s not unenjoyable, but it’s a far cry from where his potential lies.
[5]
Ryo Miyauchi: That melody, taken of course by the Backstreet Boys but also as bright as any swag rapper’s circa 2010-2012, and Uzi’s eagerness to just indulge in its sweetness mask a lot of the messiness on paper. And not to mention how graphic he gets: I doubt I’ll hear anyone deliver the words “deep throat” as catchily as Uzi does here.
[5]
Edward Okulicz: So the thing is, “I Want It That Way” is good, but it’s not so good that you can half-ass and slur all over the payoff without building up to it. It’s not so good that you can sub out the Backstreet Boys’ super-earnest delivery for a sneer. It’s not so good that you can lean on an interpolation of just those two notes without writing anything else around it. And “Larger Than Life” is the indispensible Millennium BSB single anyway.
[4]