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When it comes to posthumous albums, for recently deceased and iconic deceased artists, the release of one can bring in big dollars for their estate and more fans to their musical catalog. Over the years, some artists have had their unreleased tracks flipped and released posthumously, with good and bad results. With the news that Drake is hoping to produce a posthumous album for the late Aaliyah (his imaginary girlfriend), the release of the first single, “Enough Said,” and the recent news that Missy and Timbaland will contribute to the project, we’re wondering if the upcoming album will be a huge hit, or a hot mess of a miss. We’re also thinking about past posthumous projects and the marks they’ve made, or the missteps made in releasing them to the world. Shall we discuss? Let’s take a look at a few…

Notorious BIG – Life After Death  (Loved)

To be clear up front, posthumous refers to a work published after someone’s death. Though BIG worked on this double album himself and it was actually supposed to be released on Halloween of ’96, it was released two weeks after his death in ’97. Not only was it a commercial success (diamond status) and considered one of the best selling hip-hop albums of all time, it was also a huge success with critics and fans alike. There was a little bit of something for everybody, including the mainstream cats (“Hypnotize”), the ladies (“F*** You Tonight”), the hardcore fans (“Notorious Thugs” and “What’s Beef?”), and…Diddy, of course (“Mo Money Mo Problems”).

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