First and foremost, rest in peace Pop Smoke.
This week his dreams came true as his debut album “Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon” went #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart.
Executive produced by 50 Cent the posthumous Pop Smoke album features Roddy Ricch, Quavo, Lil Baby, DaBaby, Swae Lee, Future, Tyga, Karol G, Lil Tjay & King Combs. Album production was handled by an assortment of producers including Mustard, 808Melo, Tyy Beats, & others.
The album consists of 19 new songs including a remake of 50 cent’s “Many Men” on “Got It On Me”. The comparisons between 50 & Pop stem from their similarities in look and sound. 50 once stated that he & Pop are the same person from two different generations and that the only difference is that 50 is an example of “Getting Rich” while Pop sadly “Die(d) Trying”.
50 cent was shot 9 times on his rise to the top but was lucky enough to live. This explains his involvement in the project as he saw a younger version of himself in Pop Smoke.
50 Cent along with Pop’s manager Steven Victor took on the responsibility of finishing Pop’s debut album and its safe to say the duo completed the mission. Very few rappers go #1 on their debut and Pop is officially on that shortlist of rappers.
The album release came with some controversy as a few weeks ago they released the original artwork from Virgil Abloh. The internet was very disappointed with the lazy album art and 50 Cent made it a point to call upon Virgil to redo the cover.
One of Pop Smoke’s wishes for his debut was to have the Off-White designer do the cover art. The final product was much cleaner and well received by the community.
Rest in Peace Pop Smoke, your name won’t be forgotten!
Brooklyn stand up! Woo!
RIP Pop.