Before his tragic death, Lil Peep had been vocal about his love for the music of iLoveMakonnen, the trap warbler who pushed the boundaries of Atlanta rap in the early 2010s. “Do u not realise me and makonnen made one of the most legendary albums of all time,” Peep tweeted in the early hours of November 15, 2017, the last day of his life. The loss of the cult icon two weeks after his 21st birthday continues to ripple through music today, as echoes of his melancholy sound pose the question of what could have been: Peep was an emo-rap maverick, but it felt as if he was on the verge of something even bigger. The Makonnen collaboration, along with much more unreleased material, was presumed to be lost to the vaults. Peep’s family settled a wrongful death lawsuit with his label earlier in 2023, and as a result, his mother and brother gained full control of his archives. A week before DIAMONDS’s release, his mother announced the project as Peep’s last cohesive body of work, recorded with Makonnen between Los Angeles and London in the months before his death. The two artists’ bond went beyond mutual admiration: When Makonnen, who’d gone viral in 2014 with the Drake-boosted “Tuesday”, announced in early 2017 that he was gay, Peep was one of his only peers to reach out in support. Far from what anyone would typically call “emo rap”, DIAMONDS feels more like a power-pop odyssey: Songs like “Guiltiness” and lead single “November” are synthy ’80s power ballads, and on the devotional “Prove My Love”, Makonnen’s vocal theatrics are the perfect foil for Peep’s low-key melodies. There’s an earnestness to their joint approach, inspiring the duo to swing for the fences, and the joy in the room is palpable. The album’s most poignant moment is saved for last: For nearly 13 minutes on “Diamond Piano Freestyle”, you can hear the two friends laughing and riffing as Makonnen improvises a glam-rock belter (“I’m a diamond/Just waiting to be found!”) to Peep’s clear delight. It’s a moving document of the magic that happens when kindred spirits connect, and a tribute to an artist gone too soon.