Lil Uzi Vert’s long-awaited Eternal Atake might see the light of day sooner than later. The Philly rapper continues the album rollout with “That Way”—and it includes a sample of Backstreet Boys’ classic “I Want It That Way.”
Produced by Supah Mario, the surprise track opens with Uzi flexing his vocal chops over a familiar hook:
I want it that way
I want it that way
I want it that way
The melody from the 1999 cut guides his flow, as he rap-sings in puns about his lascivious lifestyle:
I’m on my own, not talkin' masturbate (Ew)
She gave me dome til' I graduate, woah
I'ma grab a Bentley, me and I might grab a Wraith (Wraith), yeah
I had to snap back into reality and go grab a fitted (Fitted)
As for “I Want It That Way,” the Boys’ late-’90s hit is remembered, in part, for Max Martin’s confusing lyrics:
Tell me why
Ain’t nothing but a heartache
Tell me why
Ain’t nothing but a mistake
Tell me why
I never want to hear you say
I want it that way
BSB’s Kevin Richardson eventually came clean: “Ultimately, the song really doesn’t really make much sense.” In a 2011 interview with LA Weekly, he trailed off while considering the Swedish uber-producer’s contributions: “His English has gotten much better, but at the time…”
HuffPost later caught up with the act to ask about the track in a 2016 interview. “Well it’s funny, we actually were OK with the lyrics when we heard it first,” Nick Carter offered. “And then the president of JIVE records at that time―I mean he’s a genius―but he and some of the A&R people wanted to change the lyrics.”
The boy band ended up recording an alternative version of “I Want It That Way” with a lyrical facelift:
No goodbyes
Ain’t nothing but a heartache
No more lies
Ain’t nothing but a mistake
That is why
I love it when I hear you say
I want it that way
However, BSB preferred the original version, as Carter explained: “We as a group voted on it and said no.”
Back in December, Uzi dropped the previous single, “Futsal Shuffle 2020.” This week, he appeared to tease that EA would arrive in “two weeks” during a stream on Instagram Live.
At the tail-end of 2019, he earned his highest-charting single on the Hot 100 when “Futsal Shuffle 2020” reached No. 5. Previously, that record was held by his breakout hit, “XO TOUR Llif3,” which peaked at No. 7.
Read all the lyrics to “That Way” on Genius now.
