Singer Anderson .Paak recently revealed his posthumous wish, and it’s in the form of a massive tattoo. As the trend of releasing albums in the aftermath of an artist’s death continues to grow, .Paak has officially chimed in on the trend’s subsequent debate regarding how artists’ legacies should be kept up years after they’ve passed.
Earlier this week, the “Leave The Door Open” songster shared a photo of his new artwork on his Instagram story, which featured explicit instructions on how he’d like his legacy to be carried on following his death. It read: “When I’m Gone Please Don’t Release Any Posthumous Albums Or Songs With My Name Attached Those Were Just Demos And Never Intended To Be Heard By The Public.”
Many fans found themselves in agreement with the California native, including one Twitter user who wrote, “This should be the standard for all rappers but people are greedy af.”
“I have never supported posthumous music or project. Am glad Anderson Paak came out and stood against it, even made a tattoo warning,” another person commented. “What a LEGEND.”
“Anderson Paak literally took the meaning of ‘tattoo it so I know it’s real’ love that,” wrote a third.
However, one critic believed that the music industry would be too greedy to respect his wishes. “Anderson Paak recently got a tattoo to state that he doesn’t want his music released posthumously,” they wrote. “The sad thing about it is that execs will look at this and come up with a reason to do otherwise. Greed is the most powerful thing in the music industry.”
“He told the truth on the tattoo itself; don’t make no album after he good and gone! ya’ll ain’t gon’ milk tf out his good name and ruin his legacy,” wrote a fifth. “I mean look at the way they milked Pop Smoke’s posthumous album.”
As fans have seen in the past with acts such as Pop Smoke and Mac Miller, artists have often seen tremendous success following the release of a posthumous project.
In February 2020, the 20-year-old Brooklyn native, whose real name is Bashar Barakah Jackson, was shot and killed during a home invasion at a residence he was renting in Hollywood, California. Pop made history by becoming the first artist to posthumously debut his first two studio albums, “Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon” and “Faith,” respectively, at the top of the Billboard chart.
However, his second project, released on July 16, garnered criticism after it was revealed that the late rapper had little to do with its production.