With artists releasing songs at a fast and furious pace it’s difficult for the average hip-hop head to keep track of it all—no matter how tapped in they are. That’s why we created The Ones, a daily post to highlight the song you need to hear curated by the Levels team. We sort through all the new songs—across all the platforms and subgenres—so you don’t have to. Thank us later.
When Lil Peep was still alive, he wrote a lot of songs about wanting to die. Listening to them now, they ache with haunting foresight, like he knew what was about to come. On “Life Is Beautiful,” the devastating new single on the upcoming posthumous album Come Over When You’re Sober Pt. 2, Lil Peep cycles through different examples of how existence can be excruciating: having to work an office job day after day, not being invited to your grandfather’s funeral because you’re an outcast, getting terminal cancer, pining for the love of an unattainable girl, and living in fear of being killed by the police. But after he presents each vignette, Lil Peep decides to flip his mentality, repeatedly returning to variations of the hook: “Isn’t life beautiful?/I think that life is beautiful.” He might have been singing those words in irony, but he could also be acknowledging that life can beautiful in its own uniquely twisted way or convincing himself to hang on to hope. In the wake of his death, listening to Peep ruminate about life—rather than death—is uniquely heartbreaking.
Originally released on a 2015 EP, the new version of “Life Is Beautiful” has received reworked production from frequent Peep collaborators Smokeasac and IIVI. Retaining the original’s hazy sound, the update features swirling synths and creaking synthetic cello lines, punctuated by trap drums. And as synth pads pool and layer on top of each other as the track goes along, the track seems to swell, grow, and pulsate. “Life Is Beautiful” is gorgeous because it sounds like it’s living and breathing. It’s another painful reminder that Lil Peep is not.
Check out previous Ones, and listen to new rap from Lil Peep and more on our Spotify playlist, Apple Music playlist, and SoundCloud playlist.
