Lil Peep’s label released “Runaway” as one of the singles for his posthumous album, Come Over When You’re Sober, Pt. 2, in early November. The track’s music video struck a chord with fans thanks to its use of Peep’s childhood drawings and old footage of him to tell the story of his move from Los Angeles to London. Directed by Peep’s mother, Liza Womack, the clip has racked up over 11 million YouTube views to date.
Womack revealed that the drawings are based on a cartoon Peep watched while growing up. “The character with the red hair and the flaming hands, it was actually a very interesting discovery because there was a series of these,” she said. “He’s got red fingernails and the hair, and the necklace and everything.”
“The story of the video is just simply, Gus wanted to leave LA but he didn’t want to move back to Long Beach, even though he loved his mother and his dog and his brother,” Womack continued. “It’s also in the castle that he had dreamed up and planned to be able to buy, build, and create for his friends and collaborators.”
While Womack enjoyed directing the video, she’s not sure if she’ll be doing any more in the future. “I think it’s hilarious to say that I even did that. All I did was, ‘Here’s some stuff, here’s my idea,’” she said. “[Co-director Steven Merten is] the person who did it all, I just gave you feedback and made your life more difficult.”
Check out even more exciting, behind-the-scenes breakdowns in the video above and catch up on all the lyrics to Lil Peep’s “Runaway” on Genius now.
