Pop Smoke has potential in the same way every young black male with an opportunity does. His death was a shock and it’s one that still verbeates through all of hip-hop. Partially because we’re in the middle of a Pandemic and haven’t been given the chance to truly grieve, but mostly because he was just getting started on his career. Before Pop died he was working on a highly anticipated debut album that would’ve cemented his spot in the game. When he passed 50 Cent took it upon himself to make sure this album was finished. So with that said let’s get into “Shoot For the Stars, Aim For The Moon”
This album bums me out for so many reasons.
First things first I hate hearing rappers collab with dead rappers vocals. Even when it’s good it feels like a Weekend At Bernies gag where the deceased is in the studio with sunglasses and no one notices. I especially don’t wanna hear turn up music cuz that just sounds like you’re dancing with a corpse. You can hear a somberness in the voice of a lot of these features, so instead of matching his energy they sound like they’re just going through the motions. Also a lot of these features just don’t make sense, Pop Smoke collaborated with a lot of people, and none of them are really on the album. Instead of the Brooklyn Crips we know and love we get features from guys like Swae Lee and DaBaby. Those artists are fine on their own but they don’t match his energy.
I don’t want to keep shitting on the features but they just don’t fit, it’s like if I died and a comic like Joe Rogan did my memorial show. Bigger artist doesn’t necessarily mean better fit. I place most of the blame on 50 Cent. Now I love 50, he was my password on AIM, MySpace and Facebook but god damn he didn’t need to EP this. The executive choices on this album show that the people handling it had no idea what Pop Smoke’s allure was. People liked him because he took risks and figured out how to work with artists. This album is full of the same bland material over and over. It’s like if that one aunt who buys you socks for Christmas got to pick out your whole wardrobe.
The song choices don’t show why Pop Smoke was special, mostly because Pop was still figuring out what made HIM special. He was early in his journey, but this album treats him like he’d “arrived”. It’s a complete album for an incomplete artist. All the flaws and potential unique areas of Pop’s artistry were smoothed out to make something that felt finished. To be honest, we didn’t need that. We didn’t need to feel like he was still alive, we needed to honor his memory as he was.
I can’t be too harsh, there’s some solid songs on this tape, but they are far and few between. I don’t blame Pop Smoke though, he didn’t have too much of a say in the creation. I just hope that the Deluxe version and potential follow up EPs are better. I give “Shoot For the Stars, Aim For The Moon” a Virgil* out of 100.
RIP Pop Smoke
*Oh and I have to say, Virgil is an ass for that lazy original cover. I couldn’t find anywhere else to say this in the review but I honestly don’t think Virgil likes niggas. I think he works among blackness because that’s the only place he’s praised but I don’t think he actually likes us. The Offwhite Jordan’s are still dope tho.