When a rapper releases work after their death, there’s an extra weight on sadness attached to the posthumous project, especially in hip hop, when it’s almost always in tragic circumstances.
The heartfelt emotions which occur when listening to these records provide different energy from anything else in the late artist’s discography, with their mortality leaving a tangible marker.
While these records are a pertinent reminder of a life lost too soon, they also act as a bittersweet memory of their talent, even if it is entrenched in sadness. Heartbreakingly, all the artists who feature in this list lost their life painfully young, and despite that, they still managed to become hip-hop greats in their short lives.
This feature looks at five of the best efforts from artists who sadly didn’t live to see some of their best work immortalised in the hip-hop history books.
Five best posthumous hip hop albums ever
5. Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon – Pop Smoke
When Pop Smoke was murdered in 2020 by burglars, he was only 20, and horrifically, he didn’t even live to see his debut album Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon be released.
The record was almost finished before his death, but executive producer 50 Cent stepped in to put the last lick of paint on Pop Smoke’s creation. Tracks like ‘What You Know Bout Love’ and ‘Mood Swings’ were the sound of a rapper who could have dominated for a decade to come.
Upon its release, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon spent two weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 before spending 34 weeks in the top five of the Billboard 200. It became the fourth album in the 21st century to achieve this wild feat.
4. The Shining – J. Dilla
Everybody knows that J. Dilla was one of the most talented producers in the history of hip-hop. It takes a rare skill for listeners to be able to spot a Dilla beat from a mile away, but his incredible talent reflects that his productions are so recognisable.
Sadly, towards the end of his life, a rare blood disease had left him in seriously ill health, and he toured Europe in 2005 while in a wheelchair. Additionally, Dilla had racked up huge hospital debts and had nothing by the end.
Despite the turmoil surrounding him, he still found a way to work on The Shining. Even though he was dying, Dilla managed to make his opus and create a record that continues to influence new hip-hop artists today.
3. Circles – Mac Miller
The late Mac Miller proved he was one of the finest wordsmiths of his generation, and his innovative approach to rap music has left a gaping hole in the scene since his departure in 2018.
Miller’s music incorporated many different influences under the umbrella of hip-hop. He went from a teenage prodigy to an undisputed megastar who became another victim of the fentanyl crisis.
Swimming was released just a month before his death, and in 2020, Circles arrived as a painful reminder of a life lost too soon. The album was made as a companion album for Swimming, but, unfortunately, it’ll always be remembered in a different light.
2. The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory – Makaveli
Tupac Shakur’s fifth album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, was completed just a matter of weeks before his death in 1996 under his new alias, Makaveli, and it was a back to basics record of sorts for Pac.
Rather than seeking out star-studded features, Shakur instead chose to enlist The Outlawz, and it was all recorded in a seven-day period, as the title suggests. His lyrics were raw and written in just three days, which made them feel like Pac’s final stream of consciousness and gave listeners a priceless insight into his mind during his final days.
1. Life After Death – Biggie Smalls
The title of Biggie’s sophomore album, Life After Death, suggests that he knew that his final days were upon him, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. His death came just a fortnight before his 25th birthday in 1997 and just 16 days before the release of Life After Death.
While most rappers are yet to hit their stride at that age, Biggie was one of the greatest of all time. He may have only had two albums under his belt, but both are held in the same breath as Nas’ Illmatic or Kanye West’s College Dropout when it comes to hip hop classics.
The album spawns hit after hit, including ‘Hypnotize’, released just a week before Biggie’s death and became just the fifth track to reach number one in the charts posthumously.