First of course I have to say Rest In Peace to the late great Pop Smoke.
His sophomore album, “Shoot for the stars aim for the moon,” is an incredible surprise to me coming off his first release and introduction in the main stream rap scene. If you are a fan of his previous music you know it was heavily a drill sounding project, ushering in the era of Brooklyn Drill music. However this album is that and so much more. He shows his progression as an artist, his range as an artist, and shows why he was and is as popular as he was and is. This was a great showing from him as an overall artist. 50 Cent and Steven Victor did a great job executive producing and producing this posthumous album for Pop Smoke.
This album has a little bit of everything musically, the Brooklyn Drill sound he is known for and made popular, an R&B sound that I honestly wasn’t expecting at all but was throughly impressed by, (he sounds amazing on hip-hop/R&B tracks) and pop hip-hop tracks. The features he has on this album complement him and each song perfectly, not only because the artists featured on this project are great artists and the songs they are featured on are right in each of their wheel houses, but because the songs were all in the vein of Pop Smoke and non of the songs with featured artists sounded like Pop was trying to fit in a lane he want accustomed to just for the sake of the feature. Quavo, Lil Baby, DaBaby, Swae Lee, Future, Rowdy Rebel, 50 Cent, Roddy Ricch, Tyga, Karol G, Lil Tjay and King Combs all step into Pop Smokes sound all while maintaining their own sound which all compliments each other perfectly.
This 19 song project (more so 16 as there is an intro, outro and Dior as a bonus) is the perfect length for an album of this style and magnitude. What is even better is the entire album clocks in at under an hour (56 minutes to be exact) and at no point are you looking to see how many more songs are left. When I got to the end of the album I was actually surprised the album was done and to my surprise I wanted more. I will say I wasn’t a huge fan of his first album as to me it all sounded the same and at that time I could sit and listen to the same beat with the same vocal tone and similar lyrics for close to an hour. This album was completely the opposite of that and the direction he and the people who produced it after his death took with the album was fantastic. If this was the direction he was planning on going for future projects, there is no doubt in my mind that he would have been on a trajectory to become the next mega star.
You can clearly hear the 50 Cent influence on this album. “Got It On Me,” the last song of this album where he puts his spin on, “Many Men,” is phenomenal. “The Woo,” featuring 50 Cent and Roddy Ricch sounds like a 50 Cent record. However, I would have liked him to have a longer third verse on, “The Woo,” as he started the verse off with an ode to 50 Cent’s, “Candy Shop,” which ended after about six lines before the final hook. “Gangstas,” feels like a, “Get Rich or Die Trying,” record. The flows he uses, the beats he chose fit him perfectly and you can hear 50 Cent throughout the entire album. His vocal tone with these slower more melodic tracks is the perfect fit. To me, sometimes on his drill records, because of his low voice, he can get lost behind the track. For these records he is sitting right in pocket, and the tracks are giving him the space to show his full on rapping ability.
What surprised me the most about this album is the way Pop was able to get into his girl hip-hop bag. Again, knowing him for his hardcore street drill style of music, I would have never expected to hear so many slower, melodic, R&B influenced tracks on a Pop Smoke album. However I will say each and everyone of those style tracks on this album is absolutely incredible. “Something Special,” his flip of Fabolous’s, “Into You,” was great. Couple that with, “What you know bout love,” “Enjoy yourself,” and “Diana,” he is able to keep his drill style flow on slower beats which complement each other way better than I would have thought. Adding in what made him popular in the first place, the Brooklyn Drill records and the street sound tracks and this is a complete album, showcasing a range I didn’t think Pop Smoke had.
The only bad thing I have to say about this album is in regard to the Rowdy Rebel feature. His entire verse is through a phone, and where credit to the engineer is due for fitting these vocals in the track, it is still hard to understand and listen to an entire verse recorded through a phone.
Overall this album is sequenced great, the track selection was good, the features fit for every song, nothing felt forced or half put together. Flowing from one song to the next, the transitions are good and no song or feature seems out of place. The changed of the album cover was a vast improvement from the initial one that was posted earlier this week, (thank you Steven Victor for listening to the fans) and the black rose is the perfect symbol for this album. I highly recommend this album to anyone who is a fan of hip-hop. If you are a fan of Pop Smoke or 50 Cent you will enjoy this album tremendously, and the average hip-hop fan will enjoy it just as much.
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