Rappers don't cover songs. Typically they interpolate, remix, sample—but a word-for-word cover, never. Don't tell that to Lil Peep, though, a Los Angeles-via-Long Island rapper who this spring wrapped up his first New York City show covering Blink-182's "What's My Age Again?," a move that with only a DJ and hype-man behind him—he doesn't have a band—showed his true genre roots. With a tattoo above his right eye that reads "Crybaby," a low-cut mohawk, and bright red nails, Lil Peep looks the part of a post-Tumblr rock star. Earlier this week, he released Come Over When You're Sober Part 1, his debut album, which delivers a promising blend of his Instagram-friendly image and Hot Topic music.

Lil Peep initially uploaded music to Bandcamp in late 2015. But it was his 2016 project Hellboy, a sprawling epic of distorted emo rap, that raised his profile on Soundcloud.

When Drake first arrived, he was dismissively called "emo rap" because his mix of frank emotions and relationship struggles ran counter to the machismo still attached to rap. Lil Peep, along with his crew of producers and rappers the Gothboiclique, took that one step further, sampling old-school emo bands like Brand New and The Microphones. After a decade of rappers opening up their feelings and a renewed interest in emo music, new and old, Lil Peep arrives at a moment when guys are embracing being too "in their feelings."

Come Over When You're Sober Part 1, Lil Peep's first solo project since Hellboy, removes the nostalgia-triggering samples. "I'm not a Soundcloud rapper anymore," he told The New York Times, and that can be heard in his tempered rap flow. "Nothing like them other motherfuckers I can make you rich," he moans on the album's first highlight "Save That Shit," where an increased romantic warmth is delivered without the overwhelming Auto-Tune haze. The heart-on-the-sleeve cries of "Better Off (Dying)" and "Problems" are improved by not being lost in a drug cocktail slur.

That rawness is a trait Lil Peep is still learning how to best deploy. His New York City show saw fans constantly rushing the stage, posing for selfies, and jumping off of it. The stage suddenly turned into a communal space, where Lil Peep looked visibly starstruck by the fans crossing his path and at the fans screaming out his lyrics to his face. Even though he looked the part, such attention was a new feeling. Come Over shows growth, but, excitingly, he's still adjusting to the new world he's created.

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