Does the artists triumph after death?

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After two weeks of his death, the debut album of rapper Nipsey Hussle has risen exponentially in all playlists, should we die to paste?

It is an ancient dilemma in art and entertainment. It was not until Van Gogh died that his work would finally be valued. It is the tragedy of the misunderstood artist whose work is valued after his death. While Nipsey Hussle was respected within the world of rap, his songs had not arrived, like those of other rappers, so far outside the United States. On Sunday, March 31, he was murdered in front of his Marathon Clothing store, with which he tried to help and employ people in his community south of Los Angeles. With this, then, Nipsey Hussle became a hero and a martyr. Since then many tributes have been made to the rapper and his work to help his community and make rap a genre that not only feels proud of his neighborhood but does something about the violence in which he grew up.

Leer en español: ¿En el arte se triunfa después de la muerte?

According to People magazine, just one week after his death, Victory Lap, his debut album, climbed to number 2 on the Billboard charts. These are two posts higher than what he achieved in March 2018, when the album had just come out and reached fourth place. Nipsey Hussle, then, reached the peak of his career after his death. Although well respected in life as well, the rapper has reached more than twice as many reproductions now as he would arrive in the time of the release of his album. In just one week, also, Victory Lap managed to sell 66,000 units, of which 17,000 are physical LPs. Finally, four of his other mixtapes also reached the Billboard 200 chart: Crenshaw (2013, position 63), Slauson Boy 2 (2016, position 109), The Marathon (2010, position 179) and Mailbox Money (2014, position 192).

Read also: Nipsey Hussle dies at 33 in the streets to which he dedicated his life

Die to hit?

Although it could not be said that Nipsey Hussle was a misunderstood rapper, these figures leave no doubt that the peak of his career happens now, after his death. Many of his fellow musicians respected and admired him not only for the music he made but also for his work in his neighborhood. It is through these other colleagues, such as Snoop Dogg and Teyana Taylor, that during these two weeks after his murder they have honored his friend, that another public outside of rap has been able to approach Nipsey Hussle. Undoubtedly the news of his death has made his friends, in their pain, create a campaign in their favor and in these tributes the audience of the rapper has grown.

This could make the public wonder if the new fans of Hussle are because they have discovered their music after his death and they have liked and introduced them to an artist that they did not value before or because they are the music of a martyr. This is not the first time this happens, as I said above, this seems to be the tragedy of the artists who reach the top after their death: in life, they could never have seen this success. Hopefully, this is not a momentary success, and new fans of Hussle give a new meaning to their songs, which reflected on the violence of the streets in which he died.

LatinAmerican Postt | Juliana Rodríguez Pabón

Translated from "Morirse para ganar: después de la muerte del artista"