Lil Peep

Today I would be preparing the second part of the Euro Disco story. But a few minutes ago, I read about the death of a young man, only 21, a few hours earlier. The young man who is sadly no longer with us is emo rapper Lil Peep, who, a few months ago, came out, with a simple Twitter statement: "I am Bisexual." Unfortunately, he was also a drug user and suffered from deep depression. So - change of plans - today's story belongs to him.

Lil Peep was born Gustav Åhr on November 1, 1996, in Long Island, New York, and was raised in Long Beach, New York. His father is a university professor and his mother is a first-grade teacher in Long Island. He was of German, Swedish and Irish descent.

After dropping out of High School, he took online courses to earn his diploma. Shortly thereafter, he began posting the music he made on YouTube and SoundCloud. In 2015, Åhr released his first mixtape, Lil Peep Part One which generated 4,000 plays in its first week. The opening track, Praying To The Sky, contains the verse:

"I hear voices in my head, they tellin' me to call it quits

I found some Xanax in my bed, I took that shit, went back to sleep

They gon' miss me when I'm dead, I lay my head and rest in peace

I'm prayin' to the sky and I don't even know why"

On November 15, 2017, Åhr was found unresponsive on his tour bus when his manager went to check on him in preparation for that night's performance at a Tucson, Arizona venue. Emergency responders rendered medical aid at the scene but were unable to revive him. His death was confirmed First Access Entertainment CEO Sarah Stennett, who released a statement claiming that his mother "asked [Stennett] to convey that she is very, very proud of him and everything he was able to achieve in his short life". Detectives of the Tucson Police Department found evidence which suggests "that the rapper died of an overdose of the anti-anxiety medication Xanax".

On the same mixtape is the song The Way I See Things. It contains the verse:

"I don't feel much pain

Got a knife in my back

And a bullet in my brain

I’m clinically insane

Walking home alone

I see faces in the rain"

Also on this mixtape is Veins, one of his earlier songs:

Another Song begins with "If I'm going to die - if I'm going to kill myself, I should take some pills":

The last song on the mixtape is a haunting song called Shame On U:

Shortly thereafter, he released his first extended play, Feelz; this is the title song:

His next mixtape was Live Forever. It opens with Angeldust:

It also contains Haunt U:

This is the title track, Live Forever:

From the same mixtape, here's 2008:

His next extended play was called Vertigo. From this EP, this is Come Around:

This was at the beginning of 2016. During that same year, he released 3 more extended plays and two mixtapes. From Crybaby, here's the title track:

His other mixtape was Hellboy. This is the title track:

This is OMFG. Here are some of the lyrics:

"My life is going nowhere,

I want everyone to know that I don't care

I used to wanna kill myself, came up still wanna kill myself."

This one's called Cobain. It features Lil Tracy:

One of his EPs was called California Girls. This is Beamer Boy:

From the same EP, this is Beat It:

Another EP was Teen Romance. From it, here's Suck My Blood:

Castles was an EP in which he collaborated with Lil Tracy. From it, this is White Wine:

The same duo collaborated on Castles II. From it, this is WitchBlades and this is one of its verses:

"In high school, I was a loner

I was a reject, I was a poser

Multiple personalities, I'm bipolar

I swear I mean well, I'm still goin' to hell"

This is Your Favorite Dress:

On August 11, 2017, Lil Peep released his debut album, Come Over When You're Sober. This would also be his only album... Peep came out as bisexual during the album's promotion.

From this album, this is Benz Truck:

... This is Awful Things:

... This is The Brightside:

... And this is Better Off (Dying):

Mere hours before his death, the artist posted an Instagram video in which he claimed he'd taken prescription drugs. "I'm good," he says in the footage. "I'm not sick."

In another Instagram post he shared the day before his death, he wrote, "When I die You'll love me."

Lil Peep has been described as the future of emo by Steven J. Horowitz of online magazine Pitchfork.

Other musicians paid tribute on social media after news of his death emerged; DJ and producer Diplo said: "Peep had so much more to do, man, he was constantly inspiring me. I don't feel good, man."

"Peep was the nicest person," wrote Dutch dance music producer Marshmello. "Hanging out with him, talking to him about music, the song ideas we were going to do together and touring was so amazing. Everyone will miss you, man."

Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz and rapper Post Malone were also among musicians who paid tribute to Lil Peep on social media. "No. Not Lil peep," tweeted Wentz, adding: "We have to talk about mental health in an open way."

Post Malone wrote: "In the short time that I knew you, you were a great friend to me and a great person. Your music changed the world and it'll never be the same. I love you, bud. Forever."

All I have to add to all these, as my own farewell, is this little story and his songs. At least, we have these...