"I'm making music to cry to," sings
Lil Peep
on the title track of
Crybaby
, the rapper/songwriter's fourth mixtape. Originally released independently in 2016 and commercially re-released in 2020 after
Peep
's untimely 2017 death,
's slow, thoughtful, and sweetly dreary songs were indeed music for searching, sensitive types to play when deep in their feelings. The project also represents some of the first glimpses of
's brilliance as he found his sound somewhere between emo rap platitudes and songwriting heavy on pervasively catchy hooks. "Yesterday" samples
Oasis
' ubiquitous hit "Wonderwall," reframing the familiar melody with pained lyrics about a post-breakup meltdown. In anyone else's hands it would be unbelievably corny, but
comes off as sincere even when at his most over the top. Another interpolation that could have fallen short but instead shines is "White Tee," built around a loop of the gentle synth arpeggios that begin "Such Great Heights" by
the Postal Service
.
makes the sound his own, recontextualizing it into a song of his own making with bars about a nocturnal lifestyle of fast love and faster disappointment.
is a dismal, grasping affair that feels beautiful in all of its sadness. This personality of conflicted emotions, tender self-awareness, and touching vulnerability would come even more into view as
rapidly evolved as an artist. The most haunting aspect of listening to these songs is knowing that even though he grew exponentially with every new track and project that followed,
would be gone just 17 months after
was released. This tragic fact adds real-world gravity to the listening experience, imbuing
with a sadness separate from the one
explored in these songs. ~ Fred Thomas