It's devastating when musical legends and iconic singers pass away. We pay our tributes to the stars and lament the loss of their talents in this world. But at least we know they enjoyed successful careers in music and could do what they loved in the life they lived.
Unfortunately, this wasn't the case for Lil Peep, a rapper who has tragically passed away before his career could really take off. Only 21 years old, it is suspected that the young musician died of a drug overdose.
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The New York-based singer and rapper blended hip-hop with emo, and his debut album only dropped in August this year. Lil Peep, whose real name is Gustav Ahr, always spoke openly about his addiction to drugs as well as mental illness both in his songs and in very frank social media posts.
Details about Peep's death are still unconfirmed, although Billboard reported that the young star overdosed on prescription
tranquilizer Xanax and Fentanyl pills. Other sources claim the overdose is a suicide.
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Online music magazine Pitchfork dubbed Lil Peep the "future of emo", saying that his melancholic lo-fi rap and emo-trap sounds were
characterised by the drug and mental problems he was dealing with. Peep once told the magazine
“I suffer from depression and some days I wake up and I’m like, f**k, I wish I didn’t wake up."
It was
Peep's manager, Chase Ortega, who broke the news, announcing in a tweet: “I’ve been expecting this call for a year. Mother f**k."
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His highly anticipated debut album, Come Over When You're Sober, was finally released on August 11, only three months ago. Tracks included Benz Truck, White Wine and Awful Things, which all have over 9 million views each on YouTube.
Lil Peep was at the very end of his tour when he allegedly overdosed, dying only hours before he was due to take the stage for his second last show in
Tucson, Arizona on Wednesday night.
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Peep only released his first mixtape in 2015,
but it was in 2016 that he had his breakthrough with his mixtapes Crybaby and Hellboy. The youngster started making music from home after dropping out of high school. He started by posting his work on YouTube and SoundCloud, and always had a strong fanbase built on social media.
His short, but emphatic career as a rapper earned him many devoted fans as well as respect from the hip-hop and indie music scene.
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The young rapper appeared to be in a relationship with a 23-year-old from LA at the time.
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In response to the news of Peep's death, she posted a heartfelt message on Instagram, sharing some very personal screenshots of messages he had sent her in the past.
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It was clear the young rapper was dealing with some very serious issues, made only worse by the drug addiction he spoke openly about with cocaine, ecstasy and Xanax.
Just yesterday, the 21-year-old uploaded an Instagram post where one part of the caption read: "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?"
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Tragically, he did die young. Hopefully, it comes as a warning to other young artists in the music scene, who are most likely exposed to a similar lifestyle of potentially fatal temptations. RIP Lil Peep.
