The untimely death of hip-hop and rap artists has been happening since Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. were murdered in 1996 and 1997. These artists happened to sell more music after they passed away than when they were alive. This past year, we’ve seen a plethora of posthumous albums released.
One of these releases was JuiceWRLD’s Legends Never Die. The rapper died in December and his posthumous album was released on July 10. Since it’s release it’s reached the top of America’s Billboard 200 chart and it’s the most successful posthumous release in the past two decades.
Pop Smoke, a 20-year-old rapper, who passed away in February, had a posthumous album released on July 3, 2020. Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon was Smoke’s debut album and it reached the No. 1 album and was a top 20 hit on the Hot 100.
Another posthumous album that was released earlier this year is Mac Miller’s Circles, which was released by his family in January 2020, sixteen months after his death.
Last year, Avicci’s final album, Tim, was released in June and the DJ left “numerous songs, notes, email conversations, and text messages still available to friends and collaborators with his passing,” according to SPIN. His family worked together to finish his songs and put together his album.
Leonard Cohen’s 15th album Thanks for the Dance, Prince’s Originals, Freddie Mercury’s Never Boring, and XXXTentacion’s Bad Vibes Forever were also released in 2019.
