![]() Gustav was an introvert who seemed to never have a moment to himself. He was constantly strong-armed into being the life of the party, and his music reflected this. The young introvert seemingly never had a moment to himself. Yet, anyone who has seen the documentary will know that this kindness was manipulated and used against him. “Everyone you warned me about now claiming they miss you.”Īnyone who has seen an interview with Peep, or watched his documentary, can see that he was sweet-natured and kind. The first line of Bexey’s tribute is also telling: Though in the spirit of full disclosure, I do believe Bexey. It is not my place to state with authority, or to lead the reader to believe, what truly happened on that bus. “Put the camera on you to see that you was falling asleep Everyday of that tour, like you usually do Head back, mouth open, yep, the usual I saw you like this everyday on the entire tour I didn’t know that you was dead, man, as if I would’ve recorded.” ![]() Fighting through tears, and with a raw emotionality in his voice, Bexey claimed to have not known that Peep was dead, and that if he had known, he would not have posted. Bexey, real name unknown, has since released a song about the incident. Bexey, a friend and longtime collaborator of Peep, posted to his story what appeared to be Gustav fast asleep on his tour bus. Peep’s dying moments, and moments immediately after, were filmed by those in his entourage, and posted online for all to see. Nothing is private anymore, not even one’s final day on this mortal coil. What makes the death of Lil Peep more disconcerting, is the age of exposure in which it happened. Was the spectacle of Lil Peep’s death a painfully necessary caveat of living in a digital age or was it completely avoidable? It is a tale as old as the music business the young, naive, and vulnerable artist, worked into exhaustion and desperation by a calculating industry, and killed by their preferred method of escape. Just two short weeks after his 21st birthday. On the 15th of November 2017, on a tour bus in Arizona, one of the brightest young lights in underground hip-hop flickered out. Gustav Åhr, better known as Lil Peep, was no different. Yet so many fall into the predatory grip of the industry where clicks, plays and ‘going viral’ are held in a much higher regard than human life itself. Stardom, fortune, escape from harsh backgrounds abuse, poverty, and mental health. Every year, and with every passing generation, millions of dreamers attempt to realise said dreams. ![]() The music industry is full of tragic tales. We examine the case of Gustav Åhr to identify the mistakes made. The tragedy of American rapper Lil Peep was exacerbated by the ceaseless spectacle it provided social media.
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