Less than a year ago, things were on the upswing for the 20-year-old rapper Pop Smoke. He’d already made it onto the Billboard Top 100 chart four times at the time of his death. He’d received praise from legends such as Nicki Minaj and 50 Cent. Pop Smoke was on his way to becoming a household name in the music industry. His unique sound, coupled with the UK drill beats invited a diverse audience to his music. Things took a tragic turn, however, after a houseparty on February 19, 2020.
After his tragic death at the hands of a home invader, 50 Cent took it upon himself to executive produce Pop Smoke’s posthumous album. The album, Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon, includes features from Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, Future and numerous other big names in the music industry.
The album begins with the classic Pop Smoke flow, however, three songs in and you hear Pop Smoke doing something you rarely heard before… singing. On “The Night” (feat. Lil Baby and DaBaby,) Pop Smoke starts the song with a chorus sung by himself. His singing voice is surprisingly smooth and calming.
Speaking of his singing voice, for an artist whose earlier music was a bit one-dimensional, Pop Smoke proved that he was capable of many sounds on this album. A New York artist making west coast music is rare for a veteran in the game, let alone a 20-year-old newcomer. However, Pop Smoke merges his sound with the west coast sound for the song “West Coast Sh*t” (feat. Quavo and Tyga).
The features on this project were great, but Pop Smoke commanded nearly every track. His presence is definitely felt throughout the album. His love for old-school music shines through alongside his 50 Cent influence, with him interpolating countless classics into his melodies and instrumentals.
Overall, this album was extremely well put-together. It felt like a complete, cohesive body of work rather than a thrown together mess that posthumous albums tend to turn into. The chemistry between Pop Smoke and the featured artists felt genuine, even if they had known each other for less than a year.
Edit: The deluxe version of the album was not handled by 50 Cent as the regular version was.
Therefore, the deluxe version sounded more like throwaway tracks with features thrown on to complete the song. If you have not listened to the album yet, we recommend listening to the regular version before you venture into the deluxe.
-Sojourner Freeman
