Like many others, my music taste is diverse whether that be artists or genres; but, my playlist is dominated by a handful of artists that have meant more to me as I get older. Not a day goes by where I don’t hear Kendrick Lamar or Fall Out Boy blasting through my phone’s speakers. Just like many others, a lot of my favorite artists have passed away or I’ve discovered them after their passing.

One of my favorite artists in high school was Juice WRLD, and I can remember where I was when he died in late 2019. It literally hit close to home, as he died less than an hour away from my house in Chicago. 

I’m sure like many other fans of his, I was sad and wanted to see where the rest of his career would’ve gone, but I never even thought about him releasing projects after that. So when I heard “Legends Never Die” in 2020 I was really shocked and kind of uneasy.

Despite the album being a commercial hit and having a lot of input from Juice WRLD before he died, “Legends Never Die” felt more like a stepping-off point to keep reaping the success of his music rather than a send-off; and that is dangerous.

Posthumous albums aren’t new or even from the modern area. They go back to the 19th century when writer and musicologist Ludwig Nohl found and published Ludwig van Beethoven’s Für Elise in 1867, 40 years after Beethoven died. Others like David Bowie, Michael Jackson and Prince have had music released posthumously. 

The world got to experience those albums and projects, and those releases are those people’s favorites from those artists. Some might say we got to experience the music; Für Elise itself is iconic, being used in movies and shows like the Harry Potter franchise, “Django Unchained” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

Taking it away changes a lot from the world of classical music. However, regardless of how good or influential it is, nobody should release it.

There are a lot of posthumous albums being released, most recently Mac Miller’s album “Balloonerism,” which was another success. Despite the album’s songs being almost completed by Miller, I don’t think it was an ethical decision to put his work out without having his final say.

Is it not concerning that albums and projects by artists have no guidance by the actual artist and instead profit is prioritized over legacy? I would argue that it is.

There’s an argument that the money made off these albums goes to the artist’s estates or directly to family; however, families shouldn’t profit off of dead family members, the same way labels shouldn’t make money off of their artists who have died.

Late artists are just automatic successes for managers and labels. A lot of artists will record multiple tracks for albums or features, even though some never see the light of day. They can take these tracks and edit or combine them to make something that the artist feels good about putting out. Some artists have so many unreleased tracks that they can even make up a whole album, like Kendrick Lamar’s “Untitled Unmastered.”

There is always a market for more music. Fans will see their favorite artists and without thinking, stream whatever it is.

There is also no telling how those in control of a late artist’s music use it. One of the more notable collaborations was between Lil Peep (Peep) and XXXTentacion (X). When their song “Falling Down” came out after both artists had passed away, their music was similar, so there was an overlap of fans who wanted this collaboration to happen, creating a sense of posthumous unity. 

Both artists cared about their music when they were alive, but it remains unclear if this was both artists’ wishes, especially as the song is riddled in controversy.

“Sunlight On Your Skin” was the song that turned into “Falling Down” and it was made between Peep and ILoveMakonnen, his producer, before his death.

After Peep’s death and hearing the song, X asked ILoveMakonnen if he could hop on the track. There is even a snippet of X praising Peep and talking about how life is so short. It was then released in September 2018, months after X’s death.

The issue is that Peep didn’t like X due to domestic violence allegations, but his producer gave the OK. If Peep had been alive, are we supposed to believe he would let someone on one of his songs that he didn’t like? More importantly, as both artists were dead, ILoveMakonnen profited off these songs. 

Posthumous projects have the potential to morally compromise artists, and to use someone’s success to further your own is a horrible way to honor someone.

It’s not like these projects are all great. Most of them are horrible from a lack of input from artists, and to make up for the lack of variety and polish, posthumous albums will have a ton of features from other artists.

Take “Bad Vibes Forever” by X, an album released two years after his passing that has 25 songs on it. Out of those 25 songs, 14 songs have other artists featuring on them making it more bloated and have less of the main artist’s voice.

You can look at Peep’s discography too. Since his death, over 10 singles and six albums have been released under his name. The music is just bad, there’s nothing of substance and it’s all filler at best. 

I don’t like his music all that much so it would never be for me; however, I can tell that it is bad music when it falls off in quality after his death versus not showcasing a reflection of his talents when he’s alive.

It’s telling of how much care is actually given to someone’s passing and the work they left behind. 

It’s clear that the music industry sees talent and legacy and ignores it when music can get streams and dollars. The death of an artist should be a time to reflect on their impact; instead, profit has superseded legacy.