Diamonds (Lil Peep and iLoveMakonnen album)

Diamonds (stylized as DIAMONDS) is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Lil Peep and iLoveMakonnen It was released on September 8, 2023, by AWAL. The album was announced prior to Peep's death by him on Twitter[3] and Instagram.[4] However, the project entered development hell after his death and had several false starts before its eventual release in 2023. The album was supported by one single: "November".[5][6] It serves as Lil Peep's third and final studio album, as well as iLoveMakonnen's final studio album before he announced his retirement on September 5, 2024.[7]

Diamonds
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 8, 2023 (2023-09-08)
Recorded2017
Studio
  • Electric Feel Studios
  • Eastcote Studios
Genre
Length81:23
LabelAWAL
Producer
Lil Peep chronology
Changes
(2023)
Diamonds
(2023)
iLoveMakonnen chronology
Stay Hydrated
(2022)
Diamonds
(2023)
Singles from Diamonds
  1. "November"
    Released: September 1, 2023
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Pitchfork7.4/10[1]
HipHopDX3.1/5[2]

Two prior singles, "Sunlight on Your Skin" and "I've Been Waiting" featuring Fall Out Boy, were recorded during the album's sessions and intended to appear on the album but were ultimately omitted. The original version of "I've Been Waiting" which appeared on Everybody's Everything was used for the album instead.

Background

edit

In 2017, Lil Peep and iLoveMakonnen met each other online after Makonnen had come out publicly and met at a mutual friends house. They later started working on music together in July of that year.[8][9] During this time, they worked with multiple producers on tracks in Los Angeles at Electric Feel Studios, with an initial set of tracks being created.[8][9] After Peep shifted to London in August, the two continued work on the album at Eastcote Studios[8] and later announced that a collaborative album between the two existed, posting tentative tracklists on Instagram.[4] The album was near completion when Peep started touring for his debut studio album Come Over When You're Sober, pt. 1,[8][9] which ended prematurely after his death from an accidental Fentanyl–Xanax overdose.

After his death, multiple attempts were made at releasing the project by the other collaborators involved, his then-label and management company First Access Entertainment and his estate. On September 19, 2018, the single "Falling Down" was released with XXXTentacion as a co-artist.[10] The original version of the song called "Sunlight on Your Skin" was released 8 days later.[11] The release of "Falling Down" with the posthumous addition of XXXTentacion's vocals created controversy over the ethical issues around such posthumous collaborations.[12] Fish Narc, one of the producers on Diamonds and a friend of Peep's, disavowed the release as he stated that Peep had objections against XXXTentacion.[13] Neither track appeared in the final release.

Later, in 2019, the single "I've Been Waiting" featuring Fall Out Boy was released with intentions of releasing the album later that year.[14][15] Later that year, the original version of the track would be released as a part of the compilation album Everybody's Everything.[16] This version of the track was used in Diamonds. However, these plans did not come to fruition and in 2020, the album was leaked.[8]

In 2023, as a part of the settlement of the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Peep's mother Liza Womack against his former label, his estate was given back the rights to his music.[17][18] On September 1, 2023, the estate and Makonnen announced the album's release date as September 8, 2023 and released "November" as the album's sole single.[19]

Track listing

edit

Tracklist adapted from Pitchfork.[19] Credits adapted from the Lil Peep estate's website.[20]

Diamonds
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Smokin'"
  • Fish Narc
  • Lil Zubin
4:14
2."IDGAF 2"
3:09
3."Favorite Drug"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Brenton Duvall
3:55
4."Hypnotized"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Brenton Duvall
  • Brenton Duvall
  • iLoveMakonnen
3:44
5."Ballin'"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Lewis Hughes
  • Nicholas Audino
  • Te Whiti Warbrick
SickDrumz2:30
6."Really Loving You"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Friars-Funkhouser
  • Fish Narc
  • iLoveMakonnen
2:49
7."November"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Mullen
  • Cody Littlefield
  • Smokeasac
  • Yung Cortex
2:35
8."Guiltiness"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Mullen
  • Littlefield
  • Smokeasac
  • Yung Cortex
3:06
9."Prove My Love"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Duvall
  • Brenton Duvall
  • iLoveMakonnen
4:29
10."Sidelines"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Mullen
  • Astasio
  • Pebworth
  • Smokeasac
  • IIVI
2:08
11."I've Been Waiting" (OG version without Fall Out Boy)
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Duvall
  • Brenton Duvall
  • iLoveMakonnen
4:33
12."Rent to Pay"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Friars-Funkhouser
  • Fish Narc
  • iLoveMakonnen
3:46
13."I Sell Cocaine"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Friars-Funkhouser
  • Fish Narc
  • iLoveMakonnen
4:09
14."That Juice"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Friars-Funkhouser
  • Fish Narc
  • iLoveMakonnen
2:46
15."Twisted"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Hughes
  • Audino
  • Warbrick
SickDrumz2:37
16."Nasty Names"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Friars-Funkhouser
Fish Narc4:25
17."Kiss Me"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Mullen
Smokeasac3:48
18."Cry Baby 2"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Mullen
  • Astasio
  • Pebworth
  • Blackburn
  • Smokeasac
  • IIVI
3:25
19."Hocus Pocus"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Mullen
  • Astasio
  • Pebworth
  • Alexander Oriet
  • David Phelan
  • Smokeasac
  • IIVI
3:00
20."Cruise With You"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
  • Mullen
  • Smokeasac
  • iLoveMakonnen
3:23
21."Diamond Piano Freestyle (Outro)"
  • Åhr
  • Sheran
iLoveMakonnen12:52
Total length:81:23

References

edit
  1. ^ Smith, Nadine (September 23, 2023). "Lil Peep / iLoveMakonnen: DIAMONDS". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  2. ^ Singh, Karan (September 24, 2023). "Lil Peep & ILOVEMAKONNEN's 'DIAMONDS' Deserved A Finer Trim". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  3. ^ Lil Peep x ILoveMakonnen - DIAMONDS Documentary, September 2023, retrieved September 11, 2023
  4. ^ a b @lilpeep (August 27, 2017). "Instagram post of tentative tracklist". www.instagram.com. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  5. ^ Li, Nicolaus (September 8, 2023). "Lil Peep and iLoveMakonnen Deliver Long-Awaited 'DIAMONDS' Album". Hypebeast. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  6. ^ Mier, Tomás (September 1, 2023). "Lil Peep's Estate Will Drop Rapper's 'Last Cohesive' Body of Work With ILoveMakonnen". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  7. ^ "ILoveMakonnen Says He's Retiring". September 5, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Unearthing 'Diamonds': Lil Peep Collaborator ILoveMakonnen Shares The Story Behind Their Long-Awaited Album". www.grammy.com. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c "Diamonds". Official Website of the Estate of Gustav Ahr / Lil Peep. September 8, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  10. ^ Berry, Peter A. BerryPeter A. (September 19, 2018). "ILoveMakonnen Explains Lil Peep and XXXTentacion's "Falling Down" - XXL". XXL Mag. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  11. ^ "Listen to "Sunlight On Your Skin" by Lil Peep and ILoveMakonnen". The FADER. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  12. ^ D’Souza, Shaad (September 19, 2018). "Should This XXXTentacion and Lil Peep Song Exist?". Vice. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  13. ^ Daramola, Israel (September 20, 2018). "What Would Lil Peep Think of His New Song With XXXTentacion?". Spin. Archived from the original on September 21, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  14. ^ Leight, Elias (January 31, 2019). "How ILoveMakonnen, Lil Peep and Fall Out Boy Made 'I've Been Waiting'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  15. ^ Lil Peep & iLoveMakonnen (Ft. Fall Out Boy) – I've Been Waiting, retrieved September 9, 2023
  16. ^ "New Lil Peep Album Everybody's Everything Announced". Pitchfork. November 1, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  17. ^ Mier, Tomás (February 18, 2023). "Lil Peep's Music 'Will Be in the Care' of His Family After Mother Settles Lawsuit". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  18. ^ Fitzgerald, Trent (February 18, 2023). "Lil Peep Estate Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit, Plans to Release New Music - Report". XXL Mag. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  19. ^ a b "Lil Peep and iLoveMakonnen's Diamonds Album Set for Release: Listen to "November"". Pitchfork. September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  20. ^ "Diamonds Credits". Official Website of the Estate of Gustav Ahr / Lil Peep. Retrieved September 21, 2023.