I first came across Pop Smoke about a year ago when I first heard “Welcome To The Party” off his debut mixtape, Meet The Woo. Singles like “Welcome To The Party” and “Dior” catapulted him out of obscurity and into the mainstream as one of the leaders of New York City’s rendition of the drill movement.
Unfortunately, the 20-year old’s life was cut short on February 19, 2020 after being shot twice during a home invasion in the Hollywood Hills (a suburb of Los Angeles, CA). During this time period, he was hard at work putting together his debut album. After his passing, 50 Cent stepped up to plate in the role of Executive Producer to finish the task and get Pop Smoke’s music out to the world. This video, "The Woo" (feat. 50 Cent & Roddy Ricch) released on what would have been Pop Smoke’s 21st birthday, gives us a good sampler of what is on his posthumous debut album, Shoot For the Stars, Aim For The Moon.
In traditional commercial hip-hop sense, Roddy Ricch and 50 Cent can be found surrounded by beautiful women, fast cars, and bottles of champagne. But in the corner of the room, there’s a collection of TV screens, and on each of those screens displays old music videos, live shows, and raw tour footage of the late Pop Smoke. Roddy and 50 deliver a very modern “2020” hip-hop flavor in both of their verses. You almost wonder how much Pop’s going to contrast with his counterparts, but when he starts that final verse of the song, you almost think 50 was delivering another verse of his own. But no, it’s Pop. Dropping references to “Candy Shop” and “Hate It or Love It” in a slightly melodic tone, two things become abundantly clear: First, 50 Cent was a huge influence on Pop Smoke, and it makes sense why 50 jumped up to the task. Secondly, Pop intended to make an album that showed us more sides of himself than just a drill rapper. Its rumored Pop Smoke has up to 400 pieces of unreleased records, so my hope is we can see more of this stuff down the line.
Rest In Power, Pope Smoke
- Kris