Lil Peep and the SoundCloud Paradox
When Gustav Ȧhr, known to most as Lil Peep, passed away almost a year ago from a fentanyl and Xanax overdose, the internet went ballistic. Snapchat stories from devastated fans abounded, other artists publicly expressed their sadness, and thousands found their way to his Instagram page...
When Gustav Ȧhr, known to most as Lil Peep, passed away almost a year ago from a fentanyl and Xanax overdose, the internet went ballistic. Snapchat stories from devastated fans abounded, other artists publicly expressed their sadness, and thousands found their way to his Instagram page where he literally became famous overnight, going from 750k followers to over a million. His first studio album, Come Over When You’re Sober Pt. 1, resurfaced on the Billboard chart at No. 9, higher than when it had first come out. These fanatic levels of popularity persisted for a few weeks before the news subsided, and Peep lived on in a smaller circle of his more dedicated fans. I added one of his songs to my queue every now and then, but I can’t say he occupied my mind after a while. So I was quite puzzled when I checked Spotify’s Release Radar to see his new album: Come Over When You’re Sober Pt. 2.
Lil Peep built a following around his SoundCloud tracks and associations with the GothboiClique before “Benz Truck” blew up. His account has tons of singles and a few albums, giving prospective fans a wide array of content. The online corpus is thematically consistent with Come Over When You’re Sober Pt. 1, revolving around motifs like cocaine, designer clothes, and broken hearts. Not only this, but Peep’s characteristic blending of emo-punk and hip-hop is perhaps even more pronounced in his earlier work where his beats are sometimes trap remixes of pop-punk and emo songs. The title track on Crybaby samples Brand New’s “The No Seatbelt Song,” and “White Tee” is backed by The Postal Services’ “Such Great Heights.” Peep’s social media provided a well of content around which a cult following formed from listeners enticed by “Benz Truck” and other early successes.
Creating his artistic persona through social media allowed Lil Peep to release loads of music and attract fans before a record deal, but it also may have trapped him. After his passing, Lil Peep’s older brother, Oskar, came forward in a People Magazine article to dispel the Lil Peep persona that confined Gustav Ȧhr. Despite lyrics like “I’ma die young, baby, I’ma get killed, aye,” Oskar says Lil Peep was “super happy with where he was in life.” However, Peep made himself famous with depression and drug use, and his music never had the chance to catch up to his personal evolution. This paradox is especially apparent in “Fuck Fame,” where Peep says he hates doing drugs but “dope got (him) famous.” Peep’s tragedy is not entirely isolated. Other Soundcloud successes like Lil Pump, Nav, and Juice Wrld have made drug use a central part of their brand. Hard drug use seems an essential to the type of persona that leads Soundcloud rappers to success. Peep took this to the extreme. Perhaps Lil Peep’s death can call attention to the issue; Lil Uzi Vert certainly felt so, paying tribute to the overdose by publicly quitting drugs.
That brings me to Come Over When You’re Sober Pt. 2. I don’t think this album represents the dynamic path the rapper was on. I anticipated Peep’s posthumous releases to continue exploring different sounds, like the edm collaboration with Marshmello. If anything it is a lower energy rendition of the Pt. 1. It’s true that mellower songs like “Life is Beautiful” or “White Girl” show a different side of the rapper than what was on Pt. 1, but they are essentially slower restatements of previous songs. With fame, Lil Peep would have had the opportunity to break free of the persona that allowed him to rise above the hordes of Soundcloud rappers. Instead, Pt. 2 remembers him as the depressed druggie he came onto the scene as. While I enjoy a lot of the songs on the album, it does not show a reason to remember Lil Peep’s artistic progress but rather tells listeners what they already know about the dude.