Lil Peep's Death
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Overview
Lil Peep's Death refers to the death of rapper Lil Peep, real name Gustav Åhr, at the age of 21. Lil Peep had grown popular online for blending emo and hip-hop music, and had become a figurehead in so-called "Soundcloud-rap," gaining positive press coverage from major music outlets including Pitchfork and The New York Times. While cause of death has not been confirmed as of November 16th, 2017, rumors have circulated online that it was from an overdose.
History
Lil Peep began releasing music in 2015 on Soundcloud. [1][2] In 2016, he released two mixtapes, Crybaby and Hellboy, that began bringing him mainstream attention ("Crybaby" shown below, left). On January 9th, 2017, he was profiled in Pitchfork[3] in an interview where he talked about struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts. He was covered by The New York Times[4] on June 22nd, 2017 as part of an article on lo-fi Soundcloud rap. He released his full-length debut album, Come Over When You're Sober pt. 1, on August 11th, 2017. On August 18th, he uploaded the music video for the song "Awful Things" to his YouTube account, where it gained over 11 million views (shown below, right).
Developments
On November 15th, 2017, Åhr was found dead in his tour bus. A Reddit post[5] from late that evening suggested that he had died of an accidental overdose, though that has been unconfirmed. Metro[6] posted an article compiling worrying messages sent by Åhr on social media in the hours leading up to his death. The night prior, Åhr posted a video prior to a show in El Paso, Texas, in which he claimed he had just taken six Xanax pills (shown below).
He had also posted photos to his Instagram with captions including "When I die You'll love me"[7] and:
"just wana be everybody's everything I want too much from people but then I don't want anything from them at the same time u feel me I don't let people help me but I need help but not when I have my pills but that's temporary one day maybe I won't die young and I'll be happy? What is happy I always have happiness for like 10 seconds and then it's gone. I'm getting so tired of this"[8]
His death was covered by several major news publications, including The New York Times,[9] Billboard,[10] Variety,[11] and more.
Online Reactions
Following the news, an outpouring of tributes and discussions about drug use in hip-hop culture, particularly in the Soundcloud rap genre where prescription drug use is often glorified, spread online from fans and musicians. Rapper Post Malone[12] posted a photo of himself and Lil Peep in memorial, gaining over 27,000 retweets and 90,000 likes (shown below, left). Producer Marshmello[13] posted a similar tribute, gaining over 7,800 retweets and 22,000 likes (shown below, right). The online reactions were covered by Twitter Moments[14] and Uproxx.[15]
Search Interest
External References
[3] Pitchfork – Tears of a Dirtbag: Rapper Lil Peep Is the Future of Emo
[4] New York Times – The Rowdy World of
Rap’s New Underground
[5] Reddit – Don't know where else to post this but Lil Peep just OD'd on his bus in Tucson, might be dead, other performers crying, kicked crowd out
[6] Metro – Lil Peep told fans he’d ‘taken six Xanax’ and ‘you’ll love me when I die’ hours before death
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetroUK | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/
[7] Instagram – Lil Peep 1
[8] Instagram – Lil Peep 2
[9] New York Times – Lil Peep, Rapper Who Blended Hip-Hop and Emo, Is Dead at 21
[10] Billboard – Lil Peep Dies at 21
[11] Variety – Rising Rap Star Lil Peep Dies at 21
[12] Twitter – @postmalone
[13] Twitter – @marshmellomusic
[14] Twitter Moments – Rising star Lil Peep dies aged 21
[15] Uproxx – Lil Peep’s Sudden Death At 21 Shocked And Saddened The Music World
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