This article is from WeChat official account: Figure (ID: FigureVideo) , Author: in fresh, Editor: Xu Jing, proofing: Zhang Shuai, original title: “Swallowed by drugs and loneliness, the rap boy who died on the eve of fame”, head picture source: Visual China
November 15, 2020 is the third anniversary of Lil Peep’s (Lil Peep). Before his death, music critics had tirelessly discussed that the content of this lyrics is basically about children with themes such as depression, broken love, and drug use. What kind of magic is there? It opened the golden age of Emo-Rap and became countless generation Z(A generation born around 2000)‘s spiritual leader? Did he start the era, or did this impetuous and gloomy era created him?
However, without waiting for the answer, or even the day when the rap genius broke through the circle, Lil Pip died suddenly half a month after his 21st birthday, leaving people sighing.
In the media, Lil Peep’s (Lil Peep) is not so much a rapper, but more like a non-mainstream influencer : A thin white teenager with pink hair and a handsome face full of tattoos that can’t be covered by the sun—a very different image from the stereotyped black rapper—through moody melody, trap-style rhythm and shallow depression Lyrics to cultivate a fan base in the form of online and underground performances.
But for many hip-hop fans and musicians, Lil Pip is one of the fastest-rising talented stars in the circle with a bright future, if he is still alive.
One day in November 2017, film producer Sebastian Jones (Sebastian N. Jones) was recommended by a friend After watching a live performance by Lil Pip, the young man was fascinated by the young man. The two were enthusiastically planning how to shoot a documentary in the future. However, a few days later, Lil Pip died suddenly on the touring bus-the initial media reports and rumors all attributed the cause of death to medication (poison) overdose.
Two years later, Sebastian Jones and one of Pip’s MV directors Ramez Silyan(Ramez Silyan), named “Everybody’s Everything”, combed Pip’s life in the form of a documentary, trying to portray a complete portrait of the genius rapper who died young.
The Chinese name of this documentary on Douban was written as “Everybody’s Everything”, but its English name was originally taken from the INS post titled “I just wana be everybody’s everything.” posted by Pip the day before his death. ——I want to be “everything for everyone”.
The producer’s description of this documentary is: From the streets of Long Beach and Los Angeles to the studio in London, and during his travels in Russia, Lil Pip was moved by his words, his voice, and his presence. Countless lives.
Broken Boy
Although it has a high score of 9.0 on Douban, and the evaluation is mostly 4 or 5 stars, in fact, “Everybody’s Everything” is quite traditional from the content structure, and there is no special highlight: in the representative works of Pip music , By Lil Pip’s family, friends, and collaborators, everyone introduced him in detail to the camera in the way of conversation-but one person was missing, Pip’s father.
Lil Pip as a child
Different from rappers who came out of slums like JAY-Z and Eminem, Lil PipBorn in a family of intellectuals in Pennsylvania, his grandfather was a professor at Harvard University, his parents both graduated from Harvard, and both were teachers—mother taught elementary school and my father was a university professor.
Liel Pip was formerly known as Gustav Elijah Åhr(Gustav Elijah Åhr). At the age of 4, Little Gus moved to Long Beach, New York with his parents and brother. “It’s a good place for boys to grow up.” Mother recalled.
This time is happy and happy. In the documentary, Gus’s elementary school teacher recalled: He was a very shy and friendly child. “The biggest difference between him and other children is that he is always smiling.” He is creative, and the teacher just reads his articles and paintings and believes that he should be a writer and artist in the future.
But when little Gus was 12 or 13 years old, everything changed and his father had an affair. What is even more unacceptable is that his father talked on the phone with his lover while driving, and he didn’t even shy away from Gus sitting in the back seat.
Finally, Gus, who couldn’t bear it, told his mother about his father’s derailment. The next development can be imagined. After all the odds and ends, when he was 14 years old, his parents formally divorced.
For children who are in the youth rebellious period, the breakdown of the family and the betrayal of the father is undoubtedly a huge blow. Gus became very negative and inferior, and began to escape reality. Mother recalled: It was very difficult to take him out of the house.
Lear Pip broke up with his girlfriend at the time when he learned that his parents were about to divorce
Gus, whose inner depression cannot be resolved, began to give up on his behavior and image. He played truant, got tattoos, dyed his hair, wandered the streets with various people, and learned to smoke marijuana.
For Gus, these may be ways to soothe his emotions, but other parents don’t think sofor. They told their children to stay away from this bad guy full of tattoos and not to make friends with him, even if Gus did not hurt anyone. “He learned through the grapevine that many parents don’t want their children to hang out with him anymore. This makes him very sad.”
In the song “Cry Alone” released after his death, he brutally fought back the discrimination and isolation he had suffered with his resentment: I want to blow up that high school/I hate everyone in my hometown /Tell those rich kids, look at me now.
But he is not as surly and nonchalant as his appearance. When he talks about bad views of him from the outside world in front of his mother and grandfather, Gus will cry every time–this kind of autistic, repressed heart knot, Ming Mingzhong also seems to write his tragic ending.
Guth’s high school career ended up with self-study through online classes at home, and even the high school graduation certificate was received by his mother.
After the parents divorced, the grandfather played the role of Pip’s father in life
A “strange bad boy” in everyone’s eyes, but changed because of rap. When he was not going to school, Gus was immersed in the world of SoundCloud and YouTube, absorbed a variety of music styles, and began to use Create and communicate with the outside world.
Although the recording equipment used is very simple, his work has been popular once it was released and has accumulated a lot of fans. The support of netizens gave him a lot of confidence to continue creating.
Cry baby
At the age of 17, Gus left home from New York on the East Coast to Los Angeles on the West Coast, crossing the United States to pursue his musical dreams. He gave himself an official stage name: Lil Peep(peep is the name his mother called him since he was a child).
In Los Angeles, Pip first formed the rap group SCHEMAPOSSE with two high school students, and soon dissolved, he was dug into the rap label Gothboiclique(GBC), and then began his underground rap career.
When Lil Pip first created music videos, his equipment was poor
Although in Los Angeles, he only settled in a dilapidated small single room with only a bed and garbage in the room, and was often crowded with more than a dozen people eating, living and making music, but that period may be for Pip , Is the happiest period of relaxation. The goal is simple, it is all moving towards the dream; life is simple, you can do whatever you want without scruples.
An unconventional detail is that Pip went to get a tattoo with a friend. Before the pattern was confirmed, my friend had something to leave for a while. When I came back, I saw a huge Crybaby(one of Pip’s representative songs) had been tattooed on On Pip’s forehead-in the American rap circle where tattoos are not uncommon, the size and position of this tattoo can be considered a spectacle.
In fact, after his death, people could not answer whether Lil Pip liked his non-mainstream image or not. He said he likes Gothic culture-one of his ex-girlfriends in the film directly dressed up for interviews in Gothic style-is a neo-gothic teenager, doing blockbuster tattoos, applying nail polish, and dyeing his hair in strange colors , But he does not want others to do this like him. In fact, he once asked his girlfriend “Will I feel uncomfortable in public places such as in restaurants and other public places with my tattooed face?” He once wrote in the song: Do you think I wear a black clip to overcome and take drugs to write songs. Cool, but I don’t actually want to.
Liel Pip once told a friend that he tattooed this way because he thought of the war in Syria
His mother believes that Pip just wants to use these practices to create an image of a rebellious and marginal person, hoping to get more attention.
His music career is on the right track faster. In 2015, the first mixed tape “Lil Peep Part One” was released; in 2016, the solo song “Kiss” was named “Best New Song” by music critic media Pitchfork. In the same year, the song “Hell Boy” was awarded on youtube and soundcloud. Played millions of times, which directly contributed to Pip’s first solo tour; in 2017, he signed a contract with First Access Entertainment Company (Headquarters London), officially Debut and step into the public eye.
He writes all his experiences, family misfortunes, distances from friends, breakups with girlfriends…all in his works, and integrates, integrates, and releases into music with his depression-stricken emotions. Unspeakable sadness, just the right “frustration”, but charming on the edges, Lil Pip is comfortable in the Emo style, bringing the alternative and niche Emo rap into the golden age-that’s why he will Called “Future of Emo” by reviews.
First Access Entertainment CEO said that she was fascinated by Lil Pip at the time
“The natural reaction of Lil Pip at first is to feel confused, especially if you are an adult.” VIce reporter Drew Millard(Drew Millard) wrote in the article that Pip’s lyrics give critics the first feeling that it is more like sorrow for new words. “Aesthetically speaking, his marketing method is similar to that of any other website. Red rapper is no different.” However, the extraordinary thing about Pip’s music is that the structure is exquisite, and it is a “word game miracle” hidden under the ridiculous lyrics. “After putting aside your initial doubts and self-esteem, you will be shocked to discover: this son of hell is really ** Talented”.
Emo-Rap is an alternative to rap music. The singer’s voice and lyrics cause melancholy. Usually the whole song is full of drugs, depression, decadence, low self-esteem… There are even some suicidal inducements, although as early as the 1990s At the end of the day there is a rudimentary form, but it has not been popular among young people in Europe and America until recent years, and the limelight has overwhelmed the popular Trap music before.
Lear Pip differs from other Emo Rappers in that, although his lyrics are also about his own depression, drug abuse, etc., he does not vent his dissatisfaction with society, but instead directs the problem to himself: he only Want to find a soul mate and understand what he is doing. He helped himself by creating music, helping people to face the devil in their hearts, bringing happiness to the world by way of catharsis, and bringing hope to a large number of young people.
A former friend of Pip said: Pip has always wanted to speak up for those who suffer from anxiety and depression, those who have been abused, bullied, and those who have been misunderstood like him.
In an interview, the reporter asked him what he thought of similar evaluations? Pip’s answer was that fans said that I prevented their suicide, which is a beautiful thing. I am very happy to hear this news, it is very helpful to me, it makes me excited, because music also saved my life.
Fireworks are easy to cold
Pip has a bright future visible to the naked eye: in the United States, the United Kingdom, and even Russia, his solo tour is full; his new album has won the praise of fans and top music producers.
Even,His influence is no longer limited to the music circle: he appeared in mainstream fashion magazines and began to prepare a fashion brand called “No Smoking”. The top designer Jeremy Scott (Jeremy Scott) fashion show is also being realized.
Everything was so sudden. Just as Pip showed a hint of shocking possibility, he was found to have died suddenly on the tour bus at the age of 21.
“Everybody’s Everything” added the audio of a call to 911 from a person in the car at the time. After discovering that Pip was unconscious and unresponsive, the attendees had performed CPR as recommended by the operator, but it was too late.
His death was ruled as an unintentional overdose of Xanax(generic name alprazolam, a powerful tranquilizer). A friend claimed that Lil Pip had taken a fake Xanax that pretended to be fentanyl, and a reaction caused a tragedy.
Xanax itself is a regular drug that can be used for anti-depression. In “Everybody’s Everything”, he once said in a radio interview that he revealed that his “daily anxiety is getting worse and worse.” And on ins, he also posted that he was using a series of drugs, including hallucinogenic mushrooms, cannabis concentrate and Xanax.
On December 18 of the same year, the forensic doctor published a report showing that Lil Pip’s blood also contained other illegal drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine, tramadol…
All misfortune seems to be traceable. Success came too quickly, and Pip was not ready. He couldn’t tell whether the so-called friends around him were because of friendship or something else. The human heart was a bit complicated for him.
It is mentioned in the documentary that after Pip gained some fame and gains, many of his friends’ food, clothing, and even luxury goods were paid for by Pip’s credit card. As for when to pay the bill, “Never People mentioned it.”
A friend said that he didn’t even speak, so Pip took the initiative to pay the rent for him
In return, these guys brought Pip indulgence and drugs.
The lit cannabis smoke flashed in the camera more than once. The film also recorded a conversation between Pip and his “friend” in the background during the Russian tour. The two of them talked very clearly whether to have some cocaine “refreshing”-on the table next to them, the white powder had been sorted into an inhalable strip.
It was also mentioned in the film that Pip took to the stage after being sucked for many times, which affected the performance, but was hidden by on-site means or ignored by audiences who did not know the truth.
In just a few minutes of an interview with the media, Pip was already very pale, tired and haggard, slow to respond, and even unanswered questions.
There are always friends or fans who give Pip things, even offering contraband
The friends around him failed to take care of him. It may be the effect of drugs or other reasons. It is mentioned in the film that Pip once had a drowsiness for 4 to 5 hours, and he was paralyzed on the sofa and motionless, but until he was awake, no one seemed to care— -Even if you put a blanket on him.
On November 15, 2017, during the hours when he was dying, people close to him didn’t notice anything unusual about him.
In this way, when people are attracted by the bright blooming of this gloomy Boy, waiting for the next more exciting moment with bated breath, the new star has fallen and the fireworks are cold.
One of Pip’s first friends said that half of the people in this documentary were unbelievable
When I was young, I always felt that there was a lot of time and the future, and I felt that there was always a chance to make up for the injury-this may be the reason for regret.
In September 2018, “Falling Down” was officially launched on iTunes. This is the only collaboration between Pip and another hip-hop talent XXXTENTACION. After Pip’s death, XXXTENTACION applied to Pip’s mother for material authorization, and the final production was completed.
Just before the release of the most suitable single to enjoy in the rain, In June 2018, XXXTENTACION was shot and killed, at the age of 20.
And this is another story about a genius who died prematurely.
Data source:
Documentary “Everybody’s Everything”
“Dreamer Boy: An Interview With Lil Peep’s Documentarians About Everybody’s Everything”
“‘Everybody’s Everything’ chronicles the short, tumultuous life of LI rapper Lil Peep”
“Lil Peep Died Before Becoming Pop Royalty. His New Music May Change That.》
“Is Lil Peep’s Music Brilliant or Stupid as Shit?”
This article is from WeChat official account: Figure (ID: FigureVideo) , author: in fresh, editor: Xu Jing, proofing: Zhang Shuai