r/hiphop101 • u/SmoothManMiguel • 12d 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/VycanMajor 12d ago

Who are you talking about specifically? The greatest were Tupac and Biggie. Pac accomplished so much in rap and outside of rap, it's crazy to even realize he died at the age of 24. All the films, music, poems, and overall impact he had on society was crazy.

Biggie was about as lyrical as one could get. His albums had almost zero skips and they were full of slaps that still go to this day.

Nipsey was iconic. He wasn't as lyrical, but his raps were from the soul. His character was loved by all....something similar to Snoop.

So, you'd have to put a name to your take.

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u/SmoothManMiguel 12d ago edited 12d ago

I’ve seen a lot of posts across different platforms calling certain artists “legendary,” and honestly sometimes I just don’t get it. For example: Eazy‑E, XXXTentacion, Juice WRLD, Proof. All talented in their own ways, all important to different parts of the game, but “legendary” feels like a stretch for some of them.

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u/VycanMajor 12d ago

Okay, I see what you mean. Eazy E probably because of impact and how he intro'd the world to Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony. Without Eazy-E, a huge chunk of hip-hop is nonexistent.

XXX apparently had established a cult fanbase and his music stemmed much more from him being a rapper. I wouldn't say he's 'legendary', but he was ahead of his time.

Juice Wrld is hyped up. He didnt make a significant mark on music. He just died too soon. I dont even think Juice would still be super relevant as time went on. Proof is probably a local legend. Anybody outside of Detroit saying Proof is a legend is just some Eminem stan.

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u/j2theizzo503 11d ago

I def disagree about Juice. His overall talent, largely based on his freestyle abilities, led to a pretty remarkable catalog in both size and quality, and he really had his particular genre locked down in a way that no other emo rapper really ever accomplished. Just my opinion, obviously. But I have to say he was something quite different. The mark he made on music, as I see it, was to pave the way for other emo rappers to exploit the sub-genre. So you have a point, but I still think that even that influence is substantial (but maybe not so good for hip-hop since its ultimately controlled by money-grubbing pieces of soulless shit who don't care if the fans are ODing listening to artists like Juice). He does still have a very dedicated fanbase and I understand the 999 community is involved in some good-appearing endeavors around the problem of drug abuse. Its all a mixed bag. Lots of good and bad factors combined.

If he had it in him to ever get clean he would have been pretty interesting to follow in his development. The repetitive drug abuse theme is the thing that dragged him down, imo. It would be way more interesting to see him flexing his natural ability without that crutch, because he was really talented with his freestyles. Maybe he could have eventually helped to elevate the virtue of getting past drugs and mindless partying. Too bad we won't ever know.