Content warning: substance abuse, death
In the last five years, the world of hip-hop has lost more talents than it bears thinking about. With the majority of these tragic deaths coming as a result of violent incidents, such as the shootings of Migos member Takeoff and Florida rapper XXXTentacion, or substance abuse like Mac Miller and Juice WRLD, it is clear that in this bright and empowering culture there is a need for change.
There is a lack of constructive support being offered to these young musicians, who can build a mountain of money and a dedicated, but volatile, fanbase overnight. Instead, they often find themselves surrounded by advisors, managers and even friends who put their own monetary gain first, neglecting the reputation of the artists and quality of the art they produce. Nowhere is the true intentions of many of the people who surround these rappers more clear than in the way that their music is treated following their premature deaths.
Pop Smoke was a pioneer of Brooklyn drill, one of the most exciting up-and-coming rappers in the world, when he was shot and killed during a home invasion in 2020. Due to the soaring popularity of his biggest track to date, “Dior”, which had been released as a single just a week prior, it is no surprise that there was great demand for his unfinished projects. Fans craved more songs from an artist they deemed as a future great and Pop Smoke’s managers and label executives smelt a seriously significant paycheque. Therefore, less than five months later, the album Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon was released under the late rapper’s name.
This debut record was, overall, a musical and commercial success. Despite the star-studded feature list, including the likes of Lil Baby, Quavo and Roddy Ricch, Pop Smoke remains the main event of the project, and for good reason. The album pushes the boundaries of the genre which he almost single-handedly propelled into the mainstream. It is a surprisingly sincere project, with the rapper unashamedly discussing his vulnerabilities throughout. Pop Smoke and his producers manage to introduce sparkling melodic aspects, while showing a complexity of emotion rarely expressed by his peers. All the while, the album maintains integral aspects of drill, including intense 808s and a boisterous arrogance. Whatever you think of the polarising themes, language, and culture of drill music, it is impossible to ignore the artistic value of Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon.
In a lot of ways, this is a prototypically ‘good’ posthumous release. It meets a number of key criteria which are vital for an artist’s original vision to be realised in music released after their death. Firstly, there has to be enough content already arranged by the artist themself into some sort of structure, so that the project appears authentic. In this case, the album was nearly complete before Pop Smoke’s death so it’s certainly characteristically his. Secondly, the motives of the people finishing off the record must be genuine. For Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, the most influential person was legendary rapper 50 Cent, who acted as executive producer. The esteemed New Yorker says he “fell in love” with Pop Smoke after just one meeting, and after his tragic passing, Fif worked to complete the album, acting as the driving force behind bringing in the big names that eventually made the feature list. Furthermore, in a tribute on Instagram, he recalled Pop Smoke telling him that he dreamed of taking his mother to an award show, and how he “just wanted to make this part real” for the late rapper. Whilst it would be naive to claim that he didn’t see the commercial benefit of being involved in such a project, I believe that 50 really didn’t embark on the project simply to make a quick bag.
By all accounts, the release of Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon would have been a poignant final release for Pop Smoke. A well-structured, brilliantly produced album, with plenty of hits, masterminded by a name ubiquitous with hip-hop in New York. Unfortunately this wouldn’t be the case. Just one year later, another posthumous album was released which was only really identifiable as Pop Smoke’s by the name on the cover. It is clear that Faith had been haphazardly stitched together from a series of audio clips that bore no relationship to each other, and would probably have never made it to the public ear had the star survived the shooting. The album is a stark reminder of the greed that motivates those not only at the very top of the music industry, but also the creatives who supposedly have the art at the forefront of their minds.
In fact, the main player behind the development and release of this patchwork project was producer and Pop Smoke’s former manager Rico Beats, who you’d hope would want to protect the artist’s legacy more than anyone. If it wasn’t obvious that Rico was motivated by factors beyond satisfying fans and consolidating Pop Smoke’s legendary status from the state of this album alone, his leaked Instagram DMs from earlier this year make it abundantly clear. In response to a fan desperate for news on a further Pop Smoke release, the producer bluntly replied “Who said he had music left?”. He went on to shamelessly admit that if Pop Smoke was still alive “he would not [have] approved of 99% of the stuff they put out”.
Such a bleak state of affairs is hardly unique in the industry. Take the most recent release from the estate of XXXTentacion for example. It was a notorious mess, even at a commercial level. Despite the rapper having tens of millions of monthly listeners, Bad Vibes Forever failed to chart in the top 3, an indication that even fans of X’s many other posthumous releases couldn’t stomach listening to the album more than once. Regardless, producers and executives are refusing to let Juice WRLD rest, with the release of two albums already since his death in late 2019, and a third seemingly in the works.
From the perspectives of those left in charge of late musicians’ catalogues, it makes sense to keep the posthumous tracks flowing whilst they satiate the artist’s fanbase. Unfortunately, fans are often too infatuated with the idea of hearing from their favourite artists one more time to acknowledge the ethical ambiguities of consuming music unapproved by the artist they love. As a result, some performers, such as Tyler, The Creator, have publicly stated that no music of theirs will be released after their deaths.
Nonetheless, tasteful posthumous releases are possible. Circles by Mac Miller epitomises the potential emotional impact that an album released after the lead artist dies can have. Again, it was spearheaded by someone that was genuinely invested in the artistic integrity of the project, with film soundtrack legend Jon Brion adding the finishing touches, having already worked with Mac on his previous release. Of course, it also had a clear structure, belonging in Mac’s discography as a sequel to the final album released during his life, Swimming. The result is a powerful full stop on the Pittsburgh legend’s career, satisfying his many fans without stitching together snippets of audio from various points in his career.
It is these contrasting examples of posthumous albums which make the topic such a nuanced and multi-dimensional discussion. On the one hand, the obvious solution may appear to be to withhold all of the artist’s incomplete music after they die. After all, it is impossible to know whether they would approve of it, or which tiny details they would have altered before its release. However, if this blanket rule was applied, many talented musicians would leave behind incomplete discographies, where much needed closure would have been possible.
Ultimately, though, this conversation may not be worth anyone’s breath. As much as it pains to say, money is the ultimate persuader, and the dead are easy to negotiate with. If there is no one to intervene, major labels will continue to release music from deceased artists, until there is nothing left to put out, as in the case of Pop Smoke. The only way to prevent this, if a catalogue isn’t left in the hands of a responsible loved one, is through the judgement of the listener themself. And they don’t have an easy decision to make.