Prior to Lil Peep’s overdose death last November, the 21-year-old emo rapper was on the verge of mainstream success. He had just released his debut album Come Over When You’re Sober Pt. 1 two months prior and was in the midst of a North American tour. It all came to a screeching halt when he ingested a lethal cocktail of Xanax and Fentanyl, burying his blossoming future into the dirt.
Back in October, Peep’s mother Liza revealed a posthumous sequel to her son’s inaugural effort was on its way, the aptly titled Come Over When You’re Sober Pt. 2. The album seamlessly picks up where Pt. 1 left off and continues that same somber energy prevalent on the majority of Peep’s limited catalog.
The eleventh song on the 13-track album — “Fingers” — has a line that is eerily prophetic and sadly, predicted Lil Peep’s fate.
“I’m not gonna last here/I won’t be around long,” he sings. It’s a theme that repeats itself throughout the album, as if he knew his time on this planet was limited.
But if there was ever a cry for help, this album was it. “Runaway” finds Peep lamenting the “fake” people he’s surrounded by over Smokeasac’s dark, guitar-driven production. “I run away from my problems/I do the drugs when I wanna,” he confesses. “I ran away from my mama/Don’t bother me with that drama.”
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From there, “Leanin” details his heartbreaking suicide attempt, “IDGAF” put his apathy on full display and “16 Lines” details his drug use yet again — as if it was the magical solution to all of his problems.
However, ironically and tragically, the vices are how he shined. Although the lyrics tend to teeter on monotony, Peep’s ability to convey his deeply personal feelings through music was a gift. Whether he was distraught over a relationship, sinking in his depression or opening up about his drug abuse, the simplicity of his songwriting made his music easily relatable to his angst-ridden fans and that’s precisely why they gravitated toward him.
One of the most tragic elements to Peep’s story — aside from his untimely (and completely unnecessary) demise — is the fleeting glimmers of hope that radiated from the cracks of his self-deprecating persona.
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The haunting ballad “Life Is Beautiful” is like Peep’s rose in the concrete but again, he juxtaposes it with his disdain for living by turning that rose from red to black.
“Just open your eyes/Just open your eyes and see that life is beautiful,” he sings. “Will you swear on your life/That no one will cry at my funeral?”
The album ends with two bonus tracks — “Falling Down” and “Sunlight On Your Skin” with iLoveMakonnen — that are essentially different versions of the same song. The former features the late XXXTENTACION who was gunned down in June. The song is interjected with an audio clip of X talking about Peep’s passing, a sinister inclusion considering X died only seven months later.
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“Bro, we were so alike,” X says. “It’s unfortunate because it’s like, yo, when people die/That’s when we like ’em, you know?/‘Cause your remorse kinda makes you check ’em out.”
And X was right. In the week following Peep’s death, Come Over When Your Sober Pt. 1 charted on the Billboard 200 for the first time, while its sequel just debuted at No. 4, a sobering trend in the wake of any artists’ passing.
While Come Over When You’re Sober Pt. 2 puts the cap on Peep’s short-lived career, it leaves behind clear evidence of his once-limitless potential.
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