X-ray Touring's Steve Strange: Lil Peep A ‘Tremendous Talent’

X-ray Touring’s Steve Strange represented rising rapper Lil Peep, who died Nov. 15 from a suspected overdose.

“He was a tremendous talent who was just on the cusp of exploding globally,” Strange, who booked Lil Peep overseas, told Pollstar. “We were getting good festival opportunities for him and a headline tour ready to go including two 1500 cap shows in the UK.”

“As you can see by the amount of very credible cutting edge artists that have spoken out and paid tribute to him you can see exactly how well respected he was as an artist. RIP Lil Peep,” Strange added.

Previously:

Rising Rapper Lil Peep, 21, Dies

Rising hip hop artist Lil Peep, 21, has died, as confirmed by friends and colleagues, with booking agency Cara Lewis Group telling Pollstar, “We are truly heartbroken.”

(Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images) – Lil Peep
Lil Peep performs during the Day N Night Festival at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 8, 2017 in Anaheim, California.

Lil Peep’s debut LP, Come Over When You’re Sober, Pt. 1 dropped in August, and videos for tracks including “White Wine,” “Benz Truck” and “the Way I see Things” have each racked up more than 4 million YouTube hits.

The artist, real name Gustav Ahr, was a client of Cara Lewis Group as well as X-Ray Touring in the U.K.

“We are truly heartbroken over the tragic passing of Lil Peep,” Cara Lewis Group told Pollstar in a statement. “He was so full of life and just beginning his promising career. Lil Peep touched everyone he met and had a profound bond with his fans. Lil Peep was a beloved client and we will miss him dearly.”

Lil Peep had been on a headline run of clubs and theatres including House of Blues New Orleans Nov. 8, and was to play The Observatory in Santa Ana tonight. He didn’t take the stage as scheduled in Tuscon last night, according to the Associated Press.

His touring career was just getting started, with West Coast club dates this spring including the Echo in Los Angeles, as well as a larger fall run that also took in the East Coast and Southern U.S. He also had a handful of overseas dates, with appearances at Reeperbahn festival in Germany and headline shows including The O2 Islington in London.

First Access Entertainment’s Sarah Stennett posted the following on Facebook:

Friend and colloborator Mikey Cortez posted to Instagram, “I’m completely heart broken and lost right now. I can’t even feel it’s not real. I love you and I’ll miss you always. One of the realest. . Please someone tell me this isn’t real.”

<blockquote class=”instagram-media” data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version=”7″ style=” background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% – 2px); width:calc(100% – 2px);”><div style=”padding:8px;”> <div style=” background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;”> <div style=” background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;”></div></div> <p style=” margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;”> <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/Bbi2hrGHGzS/” style=” color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;” target=”_blank”>I’m completely heart broken and lost right now. I can’t even feel it’s not real. I love you and I’ll miss you always. One of the realest. . Please someone tell me this isn’t real.</a></p> <p style=” color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;”>A post shared by Ralph Lauren Cholo (@mikeycortez) on <time style=” font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;” datetime=”2017-11-16T05:34:31+00:00″>Nov 15, 2017 at 9:34pm PST</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src=”//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”></script>

No cause of death has been disclosed but Lil Peep’s social media pages are filled with rumors of drug overdoses and his Instagram feed included drug references frequently. Celebrities including Charli XCX, Post Malone and Sam Smith paid heartfelt condolences via social media.

Ahr’s emotional, downtrodden lyrics gained a cult following through a series of mixtapes released online. His numerous tattoos and striking appearance caught the attention of the fashion world. GQ reported earlier this year that he made runway appearances for several labels in Europe.