Lil Peep
Lil Peep | |
---|---|
![]() Lil Peep in August 2016 | |
Born | Gustav Elijah Åhr November 1, 1996 Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Died | November 15, 2017 (aged 21) Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
Cause of death | Fentanyl overdose[1] |
Other names |
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Occupations |
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Years active | 2014–2017 |
Musical career | |
Origin | Long Beach, New York, U.S. |
Genres | |
Instrument | Vocals |
Labels | First Access |
Website | lilpeep |
Gustav Åhr (November 1, 1996 – November 15, 2017), better known by his stage name Lil Peep, was an American rapper and singer. Peep was known for his cloud rap musical style in which the rappers are emotional and sincere, usually in a sad manner; with topics frequently ranging from drug abuse to suicide and the instrumentals sounding ethereal and often ambient-like, commonly with grunge influences. Several media outlets have also described him as being responsible for the "post-emo revival style of hip-hop".[2][3][4]
On November 15, 2017, a few weeks after his 21st birthday, Åhr died; succumbing to what is suspected to be a drug overdose.
Early life
Gustav Åhr was born on November 1, 1996, in Pennsylvania and grew up on Long Island, New York.[5] His parents were both Harvard graduates who divorced when he was a teenager.[5] Åhr's mother, Liza Womack[6] is a first grade teacher and his father is a college professor.[7]
Åhr attended Long Beach High School in Lido Beach, New York, which he rarely attended in spite of good grades[8] and was on the deans list for the time he attended.[6] He later dropped out of the high school and took online courses to earn his diploma.[9] Shortly thereafter, he began posting his music on YouTube and SoundCloud.
When Åhr was 17, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music.[10]
Career
Beginnings (2015–2017)
In 2015, Åhr released his first mixtape, Lil Peep Part One, which generated 4,000 plays in its first week. Shortly thereafter, he released his first extended play, Feelz, and another mixtape, Live Forever.[11][12]
In 2016, Åhr released two full-length mixtapes; Crybaby and Hellboy.[13]
In May 2017, the band Mineral accused Åhr of copyright infringement for including an unlicensed and uncredited sample of their song "LoveLetterTypewriter" in his "Hollywood Dreaming" track. Åhr said that he was only trying to "show some love" with the sample.[14]
Come Over When You're Sober (2017)
On June 2, 2017, Åhr announced his debut album, Come Over When You're Sober, via Instagram. The album was given the release date of August 11, 2017.[15][16] After a slight delay, the album was released on August 15, 2017.[17]
Åhr announced a Come Over When You're Sober tour to promote the album. The tour began on August 2, 2017 and was scheduled to end on November 17, 2017, but was cut short by two days due to his death.[18]
Musical style
Lil Peep was described as a "cloud rapper", "SoundCloud rapper", and most recently an "emo rapper"[19][20][21] as well as lo-fi rap.[22] New York Times music critic Jon Caramanica defined Åhr as the Kurt Cobain of lo-fi rap and described his music as gloomy and diabolically melodic.[23] Åhr's music generally drew on both Southern rap and the angsty introspection of the rock subgenre post-hardcore.[24] He said that he wanted to become the "New Kurt Cobain".[5]
Åhr’s music contains lyrical themes regarding topics such as depression, drug use, past relationships, and suicidal thoughts. He had been described as the future of emo by Steven J. Horowitz of online magazine Pitchfork.[25] Before the release of his first album, he mentioned Kurt Cobain, David Bowie, Frank Ocean and Riff Raff as inspirations, and wanted to be known as the "Kurt Cobain of Rap".[5] His other musical influences include Gucci Mane, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Crystal Castles, Seshollowaterboyz, Rozz Dyliams, My Chemical Romance and Panic! at the Disco.[26] His songs have sampled such artists as Brand New, Radiohead, Underoath, Avenged Sevenfold, Slayer, The Postal Service, Oasis and The Microphones.[27][28]
Personal life
In 2016, Åhr moved from Skid Row to his Echo Park apartment in Los Angeles where he recorded and produced the majority of his commercial work.[29] Åhr played the trombone and tuba[30] and expressed an interest in music and fashion from a young age. Åhr regularly referenced addictions to cocaine, ecstasy and Xanax in his lyrics and posts on social media,[31][32] where he described himself as a "productive junkie" and advised his audience not to use drugs.[33] Åhr came out as bisexual in a Twitter post in August 2017.[34][35][36]
Åhr briefly dated Bella Thorne, who paid tribute to him after he died.[37]
Death
On November 15, 2017, Lil Peep was found dead on his tour bus when his manager went to check on him in preparation for that night's performance at a Tucson, Arizona venue.[38] Foul play was not suspected,[39] with his death believed to be from an overdose.[40]
In a series of Instagram posts in the hours leading up to his death, Åhr claimed to have ingested psilocybin mushrooms and marijuana concentrate. In another, he claimed to have consumed six Xanax pills following a video depicting his attempts to drop an unidentified pill into his mouth several times before successfully swallowing one and shaking a full prescription bottle. A subsequent post was captioned "When I die, you'll love me."[41]
In the days after his death, a police report revealed that Åhr had taken a nap around 5:45 p.m. before the concert. His manager checked on him twice and found him sleeping and breathing fine, but was unable to wake him. When the manager checked on Åhr a third time, he was unresponsive and not breathing. Åhr's manager performed CPR before medics arrived, though he was pronounced dead at the scene.[42]
Numerous artists in the music industry paid tribute to Åhr following his death, including Diplo, Post Malone, Pete Wentz, Marshmello, Zane Lowe, ASAP Nast, Rich Chigga, Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, Bella Thorne, Sam Smith and Mark Ronson.[43][44]
Discography
Studio album
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [45] |
US Alt. [45] |
US R&B/HH [45] |
US Rap [45] | ||
Come Over When You're Sober, Pt. 1 |
|
38 | 3 | 16 | 13 |
Mixtapes
- Lil Peep Part One (2015)
- Live Forever (2015)
- Crybaby (2016)
- Hellboy (2016)
Extended plays
- Feelz (2015)
- Vertigo (2016)
- California Girls (with Nedarb Nagrom) (2016)
- Teen Romance (2016)
- Castles (with Lil Tracy) (2016)
- Castles II (with Lil Tracy) (2017)
Other charted songs
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
---|---|---|---|
US [46] | |||
"Awful Things" (featuring Lil Tracy) |
2017 | 79 | Come Over When You're Sober, Pt. 1 |
References
- ^ http://people.com/music/lil-peep-died-of-toxic-fentanyl-xanax-overdose-report/.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ "Lil Peep Is Leading The Post-emo Revival".
- ^ "Maybe Lil Peep Really Is The Future of Emo".
- ^ "Tears of a Dirtbag: Rapper Lil Peep Is the Future of Emo".
- ^ a b c d "Who was Lil Peep? Inside the life of the late 21-year-old rapper". NME. November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- ^ a b Lil Peep (December 2, 2017), The Fascinating and Colorful Life of Iconic Gus Ahr (Lil Peep), retrieved December 2, 2017
- ^ "You Might Not Have Known Lil Peep, but He Represented a New Generation of Rap". Esquire. November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
- ^ Verrico, Lisa (August 6, 2017). "Interview: Lil Peep". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- ^ Joyce, Colin. "Meet Lil Peep, All-American Reject". Fader. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
- ^ "Lil Peep Has Died at Age 21". Noisey. November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- ^ "Lil Peep @ The Foundry 10/30 | mxdwn.com". Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ "Lil Peep Tour Dates & Tickets". Stereoboard.com. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ "Meet Lil Peep, The All-American Reject You'll Hate To Love". The FADER. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ "Emo Veterans Mineral Accuse Lil Peep Of Ripping Them Off". Stereogum. May 5, 2017. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
- ^ "Lil Peep Announces Album Title, Shares "no respect freestyle"". The FADER. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ "Instagram post by @lilpeep • Jun 2, 2017 at 10:23am UTC". Instagram. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ "Come Over When You're Sober, Pt. 1 by Lil Peep on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- ^ "Emo-rapper Lil Peep announces 'Come Over When You're Sober' tour – News – Alternative Press". Alternative Press. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ "♫ Listen: LIL TRACY – ✧✧✧ LIFE OF A POPSTAR✧✧✧". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ Yeung, Neil. "Lil Peep bio". AllMusic. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
- ^ Connick, Tom. "Emo rapper Lil Peep dies of suspected drug overdose, aged 21". NME. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
- ^ "How Losing SoundCloud Would Change Music". The Ringer. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ Caramanica, Jon (June 22, 2017). "The Rowdy World of Rap's New Underground". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ Harrison, Angus (April 21, 2017). "Lil Peep: the YouTube rapper who's taking back emo". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ Horowitz, Steven J. (January 9, 2017). "Tears of a Dirtbag: Rapper Lil Peep Is the Future of Emo". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ^ "Internet Hippy, a Selfie with LiL PEEP 1. How did you end up..." Internet Hippy. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
- ^ Schnipper, Matthew (October 14, 2016). ""White Wine" by Lil Peep Review". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ^ "13 Artists You Need To Know About In 2017". Thefader.com. January 5, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ^ "Emo Rapper Lil Peep Dead at 21".
- ^ "The Break Presents: Lil Peep – XXL". XXL Mag. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ "Is Lil Peep's Music Brilliant or Stupid as Shit?". Noisey.vice.com. December 23, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
- ^ SINNER, GOTH ANGEL. "I am a depressed drug addict and I'm nearing my breaking point. Everything I love is disappearing". Twitter. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ Tracer, Dan (August 9, 2017). "Rapper Lil Peep comes out as bi on Twitter". Queerty.com. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
- ^ "Lil Peep Reveals He's Bisexual – XXL". XXL Mag. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ "Rapper Lil Ppep Comes Out as Bisexual]". World Entertainment News Network (England). August 10, 2017.
- ^ "Bella Thorne pays tribute to ex Lil Peep after rapper's death at 21". Daily Mail. London. November 16, 2017.
- ^ Brown, August (November 16, 2017). "Lil Peep, hero to the emo and hip-hop scenes, dies of suspected overdose at 21". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- ^ Respers France, Lisa (November 15, 2017). "Rapper Lil Peep dies at 21". CNN. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- ^ Strauss, Matthew (November 16, 2017). "Lil Peep Died of Suspected Overdose, Medical Examiner Says". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (November 16, 2017). "The death of Lil Peep: how the US prescription drug epidemic is changing hip-hop". The Guardian. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- ^ Sargent, Jordan (November 20, 2017). "TMZ: Police Report Says Lil Peep Did Not Wake Up From Pre-Show Nap". Spin. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
- ^ Brandle, Lars (November 16, 2017). "Lil Peep's Death: Diplo, Post Malone, Pete Wentz & More React". Billboard. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- ^ Gordon, Arielle (November 16, 2017). "Diplo, Pete Wentz, Post Malone and Other Musicians React to Lil Peep's Death". Spin. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Peak positions for Come Over When You're Sober, Pt. 1:
- For US Billboard 200: "Lil Peep – Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
- For US Alternative Albums: "Lil Peep – Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
- For US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: "Lil Peep – Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
- For US Top Rap Albums: "Lil Peep – Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
- ^ "Lil Peep – Awful Things – Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
{{cite web}}
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Further reading
- "Emo rapper Lil Peep embodies sadboi aesthetic in new album". Rocky Mountain Collegian. September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017.