10 Other ‘Inspirations’ for Lil Peep’s Emo-Centric Rap
Whether you love him or hate him, one thing's for sure: 2017 is the year of Lil Peep. The Los Angeles-based rapper has quickly made a name for himself as emo's resident crown prince (or clown prince, depending on who you ask): an anime-loving, mall-lurking "sad boy" who pairs the usual SoundCloud rap tropes (bitches, booze, blunts) with forlorn acoustic guitars and Auto-Tuned, suicidal koans ("Used to wanna kill myself / Came up, still wanna kill myself").
As a native of Long Island — home to Brand New, Taking Back Sunday and, arguably, mainstream emo as we know it — one could say that he knows a thing or two about the subject. It's a head-scratching form of musical alchemy, as well as a divisive one. In one corner, there's the press, which has declared Peep "the future of emo"; in the other, there's a crowd of befuddled rock fans wracking their brains to figure out why anyone thought pairing Underoath riffs with lean-fueled dirtbag braggadocio was a good idea.
Last week, emo pioneers Mineral confronted Lil Peep on Twitter over his collaboration with Gab3, "Hollywood Dreaming," alleging that the artists sampled their 1998 song "Love Letter Typewriter" without the band's prior consent. Gab3 insisted that the pair was just "showing love" to the EndSerenading cut with the track, which they released free. "It's just a cute cover," he said. (Mineral eventually accepted Gab3's explanation and signed off on the sample, provided that the artists didn't net any actual money for the track.)
But Mineral aren't the only underground luminaries to find their way onto a Lil Peep song. The rapper and his cadre of producers cast a remarkably wide net, sampling everyone from mainstream stalwarts (Avenged Sevenfold, Oasis) to latter-day scene icons (Underoath, Pierce the Veil) and hidden depressive treasures (the Microphones, Giles Corey). But don't take my word for it — here are 11 rock, metal and emo tracks that Lil Peep and company have "showed love" for.
"Hollywood Dreaming"
Samples: Mineral's "Love Letter Typewriter," from 1998's EndSerenading LP
"Crybaby"
Samples: "The No Seatbelt Song," from Brand New's 2001 debut Your Favorite Weapon
"Yesterday"
Samples: Oasis' 1995 smash "Wonderwall" (with added lyrics about cocaine, because that's what the Gallagher brothers would have wanted)
"Hellboy"
Samples: Christian metal band Underoath's "Too Bright to See, Too Loud to Hear," from 2008's Lost in the Sound of Separation LP
"I Crash, U Crash" [ft. Lil Tracy]
Samples: Pierce the Veil frontman Vic Fuentes' acoustic performance of the band's song "Today I Saw the Whole World" (off last year's album Misadventures) for iHeartRadio
"Come Around"
Samples: Acoustic depressario Giles Corey's "I'm Going to Do It," from 2011's self-titled LP
"Suck My Blood"
Samples: Explosions in the Sky's "Remember Me as a Time of Day," released in 2000 (also featured on One Tree Hill)
"M.O.S. (Battery Full)"
Samples: Another Giles Corey song; this one's "Wounded Wolf," and appears on 2013's EP Hinterkaifeck
"Beamer Boy"
Samples: "Headless Horseman," from the Microphones' 2001's magnum opus The Glow Pt. 2
"Move On, Be Strong"
Samples: Avenged Sevenfold's "Unholy Confessions," from 2003's Waking the Fallen
"Skyscrapers (Love Now, Cry Later)"
Samples: Emo idols Death Cab for Cutie's "Brothers on a Hotel Bed," from 2005's Plans