Lil Peep (Gustav Elijah Ar) was an American singer, rapper and songwriter. The most famous debut studio album is Come Over When You're Sober.
He was known as one of the main artists of the "post-emo revival" style, which combined rock with rap.
Family and childhood Lil Peep
Lil Peep was born on November 1, 1996 in Allentown, Pennsylvania to Lisa Womack and Carl Johan Ar. Parents were graduates of Harvard University. His father was a university professor and his mother was a school teacher. He also had an older brother.
However, the education of his parents did not promise little Gustav an easy life. As a child, he witnessed disagreements between his parents. This negatively affected his psyche. Shortly after his birth, his parents moved to Long Island (New York), which was a new place for Gustav. This step was difficult for him, since Gustav already had communication problems.
Gustav's parents divorced when he was 14 years old. This caused him to become more withdrawn. He had trouble communicating with people. He mainly communicated with friends online. Gustav described himself through his lyrics. And he always seemed like a manic-depressive young man and a loner.
Although he was good at his studies, he did not like going to school as he was an introvert. He first attended Lindell Elementary School and then Long Beach High School. The teachers believed that he was a gifted student who received good grades despite poor attendance.
He dropped out of high school and took several online courses to earn his high school diploma. He also completed several computer courses. By that time, he was very interested in making music and posted his music on YouTube and SoundCloud.
Moving to Los Angeles and recording debut album
At 17, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a musical career. He released his debut mixtape Lil Peep Part One in 2015. Due to the lack of an appropriate record label, he released his debut album online. The song from the Beamer Boy album became a major hit. And thanks to this composition, Lil Peep gained national fame.
After releasing several more mixtapes, he released his debut studio album in August 2017. It became a commercial success and received accolades from critics.
In Los Angeles, the performer took the pseudonym Lil Peep. He was inspired by underground artists such as Seshhollowwaterboyz and rapper iLove Makonnen.
The guy ran out of savings within a few months of moving to Los Angeles. And he spent several nights without a roof over his head.
He had many friends on social media when he was in New York. And he started dating them one by one as soon as he came to Los Angeles.
Participation in the Schemaposse group
Things got even better when Lil Peep contacted music producer JGRXXN and several rappers such as Ghostemane and Craig Xen. He also spent most of his time in their homes. A few months later, the artist became part of the Schemaposse team.
Backed by a new band, Lil Peep released his debut mixtape Lil Peep Part One on SoundCloud in 2015. The album didn't get much recognition and was played only 4 times in its first week. However, it slowly became popular as the "hits" increased.
Shortly after releasing his debut mixtape, he released the EP Feelz and another mixtape, Live Forever.
It did not immediately enjoy huge popularity, because its sound was unique and did not fit a certain genre. This was influenced by the passion for punk, pop music and rock. The lyrics were very expressive and dark, which did not please most listeners and critics.
Star Shopping (the single from the debut mixtape) only became very successful over time.
The single also became successful in underground hip hop circles. However, he achieved real mainstream success with the release of the single Beamer Boy. He organized the first concert with the Schemaposse in Tucson, Arizona.
As more rappers from the group began to achieve success, the group disbanded. However, their relationship remained the same and they occasionally worked on each other's future projects.
Lil Peep's work with GothBoiClique
Lil Peep went on to join another rap group, GothBoiClique. With them, he released his debut full-length mixtape Crybaby in mid-2016. Lil Peep said that the album was recorded in three days because there was no money, his voice was recorded on a cheap microphone.
This was the beginning of mainstream success for Lil Peep. Thanks to the release of another Hellboy mixtape, he enjoyed huge popularity. His songs have been released on YouTube and SoundCloud and received millions of plays. Two songs from Hellboy called OMFG and Girls became very successful.
Mineral accused him of borrowing some of their music for their song Hollywood Dreaming. However, Lil Peep stated that it was his way of paying tribute to the band and their music.
Album Come Over When You Sober
On August 15, 2017, Lil Peep released his debut full-length album, Come Over When You Sober. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 168 and then peaked at number 38. Lil Peep announced a promotional tour for the album, but tragedy struck midway through the tour and he passed away.
After his death, several unreleased songs appealed to the public. For example, some of his posthumous hits were: Awful Things, Spotlight, Dreams & Nightmares, 4 Gold Chains and Falling Down. Columbia Records acquired his songs after his death.
Drug problems and death
Lil Peep has spoken several times about how he had a difficult childhood and was always lonely. He was depressed most of the time and had a Cry Baby tattoo on his face. Even after he grew up and became famous, he could not overcome his depression and often showed it in his lyrics.
On November 15, 2017, his manager found the artist dead in a tour bus. He was supposed to perform at a venue in Tucson, Arizona. Lil Peep used cannabis, cocaine and other drugs.
In the evening he went to take a nap on the bus. His manager checked him twice and he was breathing normally. However, during the third attempt to wake him up, the manager found that Lil Peep had stopped breathing. A thorough examination indicated that death was due to a drug overdose.
