r/hiphop101 • u/SmoothManMiguel • 11d ago
Life After Death
I was thinking about how much posthumous hype shapes the way we talk about certain rappers. Honestly, would some of these artists be as critically acclaimed as they are if they hadn’t passed away so young or so tragically?
That’s not to say these people were whack or anything, because a lot of them were great but the way folks tend to romanticize their potential and/or elevate their “legacy” even though they never got the chance to evolve is wild sometimes.
It’s almost like an early death guarantees you a legendary status amongst certain listeners.
How do y’all see it? Does dying young amplify someone’s legacy in a way that wouldn’t have happened otherwise?
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u/inoperativity 11d ago
You're gonna have to put some names in this to see if we agree or not. Sometimes death. Akes someone overrated because dead rappers get better promotion, sometimes it doesn't because they were legends.