Pop Smoke - Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon ALBUM REVIEW

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I have to admit, I never really listened to Pop Smoke until after his tragic death in February 2020. The first time I had heard him on a track was as a feature on Travis Scott’s label album JACKBOYS, “GATTI” being the name of the track. After his death, I went into a little bit of research about Pop Smoke and his projects. He’s widely considered to be one of the first artists to bring UK drill to the Brooklyn rap scene, and since his death, this sound has taken the East Coast scene. I ended up listening to his breakout mixtape Meet The Woo 2, and it didn’t do a lot for me personally, but I can see the potential that he had. Now, after his death, none other than 50 Cent came in to finish up his debut album and is credited as the executive producer. Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon is the name of the record, and we’re gonna see how it is.

Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon is a hip-hop/trap album with UK drill influences. This was going to be a weird review to write. The best way to describe this album is melodic. Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon takes an approach that’s a little more generic and trap-inspired, and that’s both a pro and a con. I see that as a pro because the first half of the album is a lot more trap than UK drill, and it’s so much better than the second half of the record. The first ten tracks here are all pretty great, and I enjoyed them all thoroughly. It’s the second half that really begins to bother me. It’s been confirmed that Pop Smoke had wanted Karol G and Tyga on the record when he was alive, but their inclusion just feels forced. It’s not bad by any means, but it felt really out of place. The rest of the features, though, are actually pretty great. Quavo’s three features are all good (somehow), Future had an enjoyable appearance, and Lil Tjay was one of the bigger surprises on the album.

I just felt confused about one thing on this record. Pop Smoke made his breakthrough with the UK drill sound, a sound that’s not my favorite, but I’ll certainly take over the generic trap beats. So why were most of the tracks trap songs? It feels oddly in the middle of a record that could have been like Mac Miller’s Circles from earlier this year and XXXTENTACION’s slew of truly awful cash grabs. It isn’t Circles, but it certainly isn’t Skins or BAD VIBES FOREVER. Maybe it was to show some of Pop Smoke’s versatility, which is understandable, but I just didn’t get that in the second half at all.

Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon is a pretty solid release. It’s nice to know that other estates than the Mac Miller estate are putting care into their posthumous releases, but it feels pretty front-loaded to me in general. You can clearly hear 50 Cent’s influence, and it brings in a kind of outdated sound to the record. Overall, I liked it, but I’m not obsessed with it. R.I.P. Pop Smoke.


7/10


Stream Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon here

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