castles

"castles" is a metaphorical exploration of fame, isolation, and self-preservation. The central "castle" serves as a complex, double-edged metaphor: on one hand, it represents the grand fortress of solitude and invincibility built by Lil Peep and Lil Tracy. Having risen from the underground, they view their success as an empire they have constructed themselves, separating their alternative culture from the critical eyes of mainstream society. On the other hand, the castle represents a gilded cage. Inside its walls, they are safe from external judgment, but they are also deeply isolated, trapped with their inner demons, addictions, and emotional decay.

Lil Peep's chorus focuses on the tragic beauty of falling. Standing tall only to fall from the castle walls represents the self-destructive nature of their rapid rise to fame. It is a cry for help combined with a proud display of their achievements ("baby, watch me ball"). The consumerist imagery of walking through the mall and copping it all shows a desperate attempt to buy happiness or distract themselves from their internal descent.

Lil Tracy's verse delves into the toxic coping mechanisms that occur within this fortress. He warns of his own emotional damage ("I can break your heart, baby, I know it's so fragile") and details a cycle of drug abuse and casual, hollow encounters ("fuck her then I vanish"). The castle is a place of escape, but also of emotional vacancy where human connection is transient, fleeting, and ultimately replaced by materialistic luxury like Gucci mattress sheets.

Standing tall at the peak of his world, the narrator issues a bittersweet invitation to the world to watch him inevitably crash down from his high. He is trapped in an endless loop of phone calls, representing the overwhelming demands of fame and the voices of people pulling at him from all directions. Rather than facing this emotional exhaustion, he chooses to escape through consumerism, wandering aimlessly through shopping malls and resolving to buy everything he sees. The act of spending money is a desperate shield to fill the emotional vacancy within the cold, echoing halls of his grand fortress. He remains perched on the edge, urging others to watch him fall from the very castle walls that were meant to protect him.

The perspective then shifts to his companion, who openly declares himself an abrasive outsider wandering through his own domain. He acknowledges his capacity to break hearts and warns that his emotional world is too toxic and volatile for anyone with a fragile soul. To numb the pain, he invites a lover into his sanctuary, where they indulge in expensive, potent narcotics together. His relationships are fleeting and shallow; he sleeps with her and then suddenly disappears into thin air, leaving no trace. He wraps himself in a lifestyle of superficial luxury, sleeping on expensive designer sheets, driving black sports cars with his tight-knit collective, and combining high fashion with alternative subculture symbols. Underneath the lavish veneer of wealth, drugs, and fast living, the fortress remains an impenetrable wall of self-preservation, isolating him from genuine human connection and keeping his deep-seated vulnerabilities safely hidden away.

Gus (Lil Peep) returned to Los Angeles from New York in early June 2016, immediately after completing the second half of his breakthrough mixtape Crybaby. His living arrangements in Los Angeles fell through, leading him to stay temporarily with a friend named Elias in Studio City. This small apartment became a highly collaborative, chaotic space, filled with various artists and producers recording music constantly.

During this incredibly fertile creative period, Lil Peep closely collaborated with Lil Tracy (who was going by the name Yung Bruh at the time) and producer Nedarb Nagrom. Working out of Elias's apartment, Peep and Tracy recorded their vocals wherever they could find space. Nedarb served as the sole producer for the three-track EP, titled castles.

The song "castles" was recorded in late June 2016 and officially uploaded to SoundCloud on July 4, 2016, alongside the other EP tracks "pain" and "white wine". This release marked a critical turning point, cementing the legendary creative partnership between Lil Peep and Lil Tracy and bridging the gap between Crybaby and Peep's next massive project, Hellboy. In July 2021, the EP was officially cleared and re-released across all major streaming services by Lil Peep's estate, followed by physical vinyl, cassette, and CD formats in the subsequent years.

The song features a fascinating interplay between simplistic lyrical structures and complex musical pacing:

• Repetitive Chorus Rhyme Scheme: Lil Peep’s chorus is built on a simple, hypnotic AAAA monorhyme structure ("fall" / "walls" / "tall" / "ball" / "call" / "mall" / "all" / "halls"). The repetitive, circular rhyming pattern functions almost like a dark lullaby, emphasizing the inescapable cycle of his self-destructive habits.
• Slant Rhymes in the Verse: Lil Tracy utilizes slant rhymes and assonance in his verse ("asshole" / "castle", "fragile" / "nostril"), which allows him to maintain a fluid, conversational flow while delivering heavy thematic content about substance abuse and cold detachment.
• Tempo and Rhythm: The song is set at a moderate trap tempo (around 120-130 BPM in half-time). The slow, dragging rhythm of the melody allows the melancholic atmosphere of cloud rap to breathe, while the double-time trap hi-hats and deep 808 bass slides give the song a driving, modern energy. This rhythmic tension mirrors the artists' split realities of feeling slow and numb from drugs while experiencing a fast-paced, chaotic rise to fame.

The unique sonic and literary texture of "castles" is constructed through several deliberate stylistic choices:

• Guitar-Driven Production: Producer Nedarb Nagrom crafted a signature cloud rap beat by sampling the emo/post-hardcore track "Pawn Shop Promises" by Across Five Aprils. The melancholic, clean guitar loop provides a somber, nostalgic foundation that contrasts with the heavy, distorted trap bass and rapid-fire hi-hat rolls.
• Haunting Audio Samples: The track features a dialogue snippet from the 2001 film Vanilla Sky, in which Penélope Cruz's character asks, "Do you love me? I mean really love me? Because if you don't, I'll just have to kill you". This sample injects a dark, psycho-romantic tension into the song. Nedarb also incorporated a pitched-down vocal sample from Alicia Keys, creating a ghostly, atmospheric layer underneath the production.
• Contrast in Vocal Delivery: Lil Peep delivers the chorus with a raw, melodic, and slightly raspy vocal style, stretching out his vowels to evoke a sense of weariness and longing. In contrast, Lil Tracy's verse features a sharper, rhythmic, and almost deadpan rap flow, reflecting a defensive, detached arrogance.
• Irony and Juxtaposition: The lyrics heavily rely on situational irony, juxtaposing themes of luxury ("Gucci sheets," "living lavish," "balling") with themes of emotional decay, addiction, and impending doom.

Despite its underground origins, "castles" has left a lasting legacy within modern music culture:

• SoundCloud Rap Movement: The track is widely celebrated as a foundational classic of the mid-2010s SoundCloud emo rap subgenre, capturing the raw, DIY ethos of bedroom recording that defined an entire generation of alternative hip-hop.
• The Peep & Tracy Partnership: It cemented one of the most iconic and influential duos in modern underground music history. The undeniable chemistry established on "castles" laid the groundwork for their legendary collaborative discography, including massive hits like "white wine," "witchblades," and "awful things".
• Posthumous Recognition and Re-release: Originally self-released as a free digital download on SoundCloud, the song and the EP gained immense critical and fan appreciation following Lil Peep's tragic passing in 2017. In July 2021, the song was officially cleared and uploaded to global streaming platforms by Peep’s estate, introducing the classic to a wider mainstream audience and earning high-quality vinyl and CD physical releases in 2025 and 2026.

The song utilizes vivid and dark imagery to explore the consequences of fame, drug addiction, and emotional isolation. The key symbolic elements include:

• The Castle and Castle Walls: Serves as a complex metaphor for a fortress of solitude. On one hand, it represents the grand empire of success and invincibility built by Peep and Tracy, separating their alternative culture from the critical eyes of mainstream society. On the other hand, it acts as a gilded cage—an isolating prison where they are trapped with their internal struggles, drug abuse, and depression.
• Standing Tall and Falling: This paradox highlights the tragic nature of their success. To "stand tall" represents their rising status and accomplishments, but it is instantly followed by the plea to "watch me fall from these castle walls," showing that their elevated position only makes their psychological and physical descent more dangerous and public.
• The Fragile Heart: Tracy's mention of a partner's fragile heart symbolizes his own emotional unavailability. He recognizes the vulnerability of those who get close to him but warns that his self-destructive lifestyle will inevitably shatter any genuine connection.
• Vanishing Like Magic: Represents the coping mechanism of emotional detachment and transient relationships. It highlights the desire to escape intimacy to avoid facing personal pain or causing harm to others.
• The Mall and Materialism: The references to walking around the mall and buying everything ("cop it all") symbolize the futile attempt to use consumerism to fill a profound emotional void. Wealth is utilized as a superficial distraction from their inner turmoil.

Several motifs anchor the track, reinforcing its core themes of isolation and doom:

• "Watch me fall": This recurring phrase acts as a primary hook, representing the central tragedy of the song. It frames the artist's self-destruction as a public performance, inviting listeners to spectate his inevitable demise.
• The Castle Motif: The idea of the "castle" is a recurring conceptual theme across Lil Peep and Lil Tracy's collaborative catalog. It serves as the namesake of their EP series (Castles and Castles II) and is echoed in sister tracks like "past the castle walls" and "alone in my castle". This repetition builds a shared mythology of them as isolated, tragic royalty of the underground music scene.
• "Call after call": This motif highlights the overwhelming demands of their rapidly growing fame, symbolizing the constant intrusion of the outside world into their fragile sanctuary.