“Free Uzi” is Lil Uzi Vert’s first release since his September 2018 single “New Patek.” The instrumental, produced by DJ L Beats, was originally used in G Herbo’s 2012 single “Gangway.”

The song’s title is in correlation to Uzi’s public struggles with Don Cannon and DJ Drama’s record label, Generation Now, to which he signed to in 2015. Fans would persistently beg both Cannon and Drama to “free Uzi” for months, calling for the release of his forthcoming second studio album, Eternal Atake.

Due to the fact that Atlantic Records nor Generation Now authorized the song’s release, Uzi uploaded “Free Uzi” to streaming services himself through DistroKid. As a result of this, the first service to release the song was TIDAL, which many fans assumed was in connection to his recent management deal with JAY-Z’s entertainment company, Roc Nation. Throughout the day, the song was released on all remaining streaming platforms, followed by its accompanying music video directed by Qasquiat. The song, however, would be subsequently removed from all streaming platforms a day after its release, presumably by Uzi’s label.

“Free Uzi” was first previewed by Uzi in a video posted to his Instagram story on March 25, 2019. In the video, he can be seen in Roc Nation Studios, recording ad-libs over the song that would release three days later.