Lil Peep, a rising young star of the rap-emo scene, has died aged 21.

Sarah Stennett, CEO of First Access Entertainment, the company that partnered with Peep early last year, confirmed the news of his death in a statement to Mashable:

“I am shocked and heartbroken.  I do not believe Peep wanted to die, this is so tragic. He had big goals and dreams for the future which he had shared with me, his team, his family and his friends. He was highly intelligent, hugely creative, massively charismatic, gentle and charming. He had huge ambition and his career was flourishing.

"I have spoken to his mother and she asked me to convey that she is very, very proud of him and everything he was able to achieve in his short life. She is truly grateful to the fans and the people who have supported and loved him.”

The cause of the death is still unknown but music manager Adam Grandmaison told The Guardian the artist had been taken to hospital after an overdose.

Lil Peep, who grew up in Long Beach, New York, and whose real name was Gustav Åhr, released his debut album "Come Over When You’re Sober (Part One)" in August this year after earning a cult following for a series of short mixtapes in which he opened up about his drug use and mental health issues.

Friends, fellow rappers, and collaborators paid tribute on social media.

Bella Thorne, who used to date the musician, said in an Instagram story video: "To anybody out there who is a Lil Peep fan you guys know how talented he was. How good he was. Well, he was even more f**king great as a person."

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His manager Chase Ortega ominously tweeted:

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Dutch dance music producer Marshmello wrote:

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Rapper Post Malone wrote: "In the short time that i knew you, you were a great friend to me and a great person. your music changed the world and it’ll never be the same. i love you bud. forever."

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Mikey Cortez, a friend and collaborator of Lil Peep, posted on 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.

A post shared by Ralph Lauren Cholo 🐎 (@mikeycortez) on Nov 15, 2017 at 9:34pm PST

While Diplo wrote:

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Lil Peep was due to perform in Tucson, Arizona, on Wednesday night.

Hours before his death, he said he'd been taking Xanax, saying, "I'm good, I'm not sick."

EL PASO TX TONITE !!!! ITS ALIIIIIIVE!!!!

A post shared by @lilpeep on Nov 14, 2017 at 3:16pm PST