It’s no secret that many of today’s favorite pop stars and rappers are on drugs, have incurable diseases or syndromes, and have enemies in gangs or in the music community. And, yeah, with all these issues circling around the artists at the top of the Billboard charts, some of them are bound to pass away. But what if their legacy didn’t have to die with them? Posthumous albums are music albums released under the name of an artist after their death. The artist’s producers and editors will go through songs that were recorded before they died and release ones that they think will honor the memory of the artist along with doing well among listeners (Oliveto). But these albums can be very controversial, as the producers have to go through the private recordings of an artist and it will be them, not the original singer, who gets the money from the newly released music. Do the benefits of publishing new music from artists that aren’t even around to see their songs out in the world outweigh the consequences? In my opinion, along with many others, yes, it is worth it to have the music of dead artists still alive and playing on the speakers of their fans. 

One reason that posthumous albums are a good thing is because they honor the memory of popular artists who have passed. Many rappers and singers had a huge fan base who miss them and the music they brought to the world. For example, XXXTentacion had and still has 29,771,559 monthly listeners on Spotify alone. After he died, his fans wanted the albums he had planned to release, such as “Skins” and “Bad Vibes Forever.” Both were warmly accepted by fans and “Skins” reached the top of the Billboard 200. Releases such as these are a great way for audiences to hear the voice of their favorite performer again and to honor their memory and legacy that can still live on in their music, even if they aren’t alive to hear its release.  

Posthumous albums can also be used as inspiration for younger audiences and the stories told by the songs can be viewed in a different light from previous albums since they are being sung by someone who has already lived out their life. When going through the songs that Juice WRLD had recorded in his studio, Lil Bibby, a former rapper who runs a record label along with his brother, decided to release songs that would not only honor Juice WRLD and what he meant to his fans, but to teach younger audiences what mistakes not to make, mistakes that resulted in Juice WRLD’s death (McKinney). In an interview with entertainment company Complex Networks, Lil Bibby said: 
 

“I just wanted to put together the best songs that he had. But I still wanted to tell a message. The way he passed, from drugs stuff, I wanted to tell a message where it’s kind of teaching a lesson. The kids shouldn’t do this type of stuff. Or if you are going through any of the stuff that Juice was going through, like anxiety or depression, then you should probably find help.” 

In the album “Fighting Demons,” which was released in December of 2021, Lil Bibby succeeded in not only making an album that immediately hit Billboard charts, but also teaching listeners more about Juice’s struggles with addiction and giving his words a much more powerful impact on listeners since we already know how his battle to get the upper hand over his drug problems ended for him.  

Many others may argue that making posthumous albums is simply a method for producers to get easy cash and that they don’t have permission from the artist to go through their private recordings and release them to the world (Haddow). But even if the only reason they release the music is for their own benefit, that doesn’t make hearing it any less meaningful for hardcore fans. Furthermore, though in some cases, yes, producers invade the private recordings of artists by going through them for release against their permission, but in most cases, the artist had already planned on releasing the recordings that are later put into posthumous albums and the producer is just finishing what they had started. 

Although posthumous albums can be very controversial, they do have their benefits. Posthumous albums are not only a way for the world to honor popular artists who have passed, but they are also a way to teach and inspire others through the words of someone who has already lived out their life to its full extent. Although they push the boundaries of some people’s morals, it is worth it for others to hear the voice of their favorite artist one last time.