Lil Uzi Vert removes £17m diamond implant from forehead

Rapper has been paying for accessory since 2017

Lil Uzi Vert has removed the $24m (approximately £17m) diamond that was implanted in his forehead, three months after unveiling the ostentatious accessory.

The rapper unveiled the implant in February, saying the pink rock was “10, almost 11 carats” and he chose to put it in his forehead because he couldn’t trust himself not to lose it. He has been paying for it in instalments since 2017.

While a representative for jeweller Elliott Eliantte claimed the diamond was as “safe as any other piercing” in an interview with Rolling Stone, just days after Lil Uzi Vert had the rock fitted, he said it was causing him bleeding and posted a now-deleted gruesome photo of blood coming out of the implant.

In a new photo posted on Instagram by DJ Akademiks, the artist was seen without the diamond as he posed with fellow rapper and girlfriend JT.

Lil Uzi is yet to officially confirm the reason for the piercing’s removal.

The rapper rose to fame in 2016 with the song “Money Longer” and later featured on Migos’s hit single “Bad and Boujee”. He has released two albums, both reaching number one on the Billboard 200 chart, and was nominated for best new artist at the Grammys in 2018.

In February, Grimes and Lil Uzi Vert announced plans to get “brain chips” implanted together.

The strange interaction occurred after Lil Uzi tweeted “NEURALINK” in reference to Elon Musk’s plans to develop a computer interface that can be implanted in the human brain.

Responding to the rapper’s tweet, Grimes – who is married to Musk – wrote: “Let’s get brain chips”, to which Lil Uzi replied: “I’m ready when we doing it?”

The “Flesh Without Blood” singer put a timeline on the plans, stating: “Let’s aim for chips by 2022. It’s experimental surgery but if it succeeds we’ll have the knowledge of the Gods haha.”

Lil Uzi agreed, writing: “Okay !!! I will call u for more detail.”