It is a rarity that an artist’s debut album is released posthumously, but Pop Smoke’s “Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon” is just that. After being murdered in February 2020, the release of this album is a stake in the ground for the rappers legacy given that it debuted at No. 1, the first ever posthumous album to do so.
While we can’t know how much of the direction and end product was truly Pop Smoke’s vision, the album is polished and has clear structure. It would be easy to question 50 Cent’s influence over the project especially politically within Rap, given he put up the money for it, was Executive Producer, and is known for his strong opinions of major players in Rap and loving controversy, but without reading between the lines too much it seems like he was aware of his influence and didn’t overstep those boundaries. There is nothing overdone, and even the Drill sound that Pop Smoke is known for wasn’t tired out as many were fearful of. However, there are some interesting production choices, like the Ad Libbing in the track 45 Bulldog which takes most of the spotlight and detracts from the tracks feeling overall, but this is more of a mixing qualm and does not take away from Pop Smoke’s performance or the tight production. Similarly the quantizing of the voicemail on Make It Rain seems disjointed and takes you out of the track, but a few minor issues in an album this stacked is hardly enough to sway the overall quality.
Complimented by more than a dozen A List rappers, and top shelf production, this provides enough of a spread of styles to make this a complete and rounded out album. Since its release on July 3rd it has stayed at No. 1 and is in the running to be one of the top albums of the year.