Frequent collaborator of Pop Smoke’s, Rico Beats, claims his second posthumous album is near completion.
Five months after Pop Smoke‘s untimely demise in February 2020, his first posthumous album Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon dropped on July 3.
With smash hits “For The Night (feat. Lil Baby & DaBaby)” and “Mood Swings (feat. Lil Tjay),” Pop Smoke’s versatility and top-tier talent was on full display all over the record. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and 17 of the album’s 19 songs charted on the Hot 100 chart.
Pop Smoke had plenty work left in the vault. Two and a half weeks after the album’s release, the deluxe version of Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon was released including hits like “Hello (feat. A Boogie wit da Hoodie)” and “Paranoia (feat. Gunna & Young Thug).”
Also, since his passing, there have been numerous posthumous Pop Smoke features across the industry. In May 2020, he was featured on Lil Tjay‘s “Zoo York” track with Fivio Foreign as well as NAV‘s Good Intentions album on the song “Run It Up.” Then, he made an appearance on Kid Cudi‘s Man On the Moon III: The Chosen album in December for the song “Show Out” also featuring Skepta.
In April, he starred in the film “Boogie” as the antagonist, and was included multiple times on the movie’s soundtrack with songs like “AP” and “Fashion (feat. Polo G).”
Last weekend, he made two separate appearances on major album releases. Not only was he included in Polo G‘s Hall of Fame album for the song “Clueless” with Fivio Foreign, but he made it onto Migos‘ third installment of their Culture series on the song “Light It Up.”
Pop Smoke’s first posthumous album was executively produced by hip-hop legend 50 Cent and his manager Steven Victor. But, this time around, it doesn’t appear that 50 Cent has anything to do with this upcoming posthumous release.
Last night, June 15, Rico Beats announced that the album was 95% compete in an Instagram post portraying himself, Pop Smoke, and Steven Victor as the dynamic trio of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and coach Phil Jackson.
Rico Beats seems to be a credible source, considering he has collaborated with Pop Smoke several times, dating back to his first mixtape Meet The Woo. Rico has produced tracks such as “Brother Man,” “Iced Out Audemars,” “Armed N Dangerous” and “Hello.” So, it’s certainly plausible he would have a hand in the completion of upcoming Pop Smoke music.
If Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon is any indication of the quality we can expect on this next album, hip-hop fans should be in for another treat.
