Pop Smoke

Earlier this month marked one year since the world received Pop Smoke’s first posthumous album, Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon. It also came five months after the rapper was tragically shot and killed during an attempted robbery that took place in a Hollywood mansion he rented. By the end of the year, the project was one of the most popular releases of 2020 as it became a mainstay on the Billboard 200. Since its arrival, the late rapper’s team has promised a second posthumous effort from the Brooklyn native, something they confirmed last month with the announcement of Pop Smoke.

At this point the music world is just days away from receiving the new project, but for folks in a pair of cities there’s an early opportunity to listen to records from the upcoming album thanks to a unique promotional tactic. Pop Smoke fans can preview songs from the upcoming album thanks to QR codes located on flyers throughout New York City and Los Angeles. The specific location of these flyers is unknown, but some have been discovered and shared on social media by excited fans.

The flyers were posted days after the late rapper’s team released the “Outro” for the upcoming album. In it, he delivers a motivational message that lines up with the thoughts he shared in a trailer for the upcoming album. “Never let anybody get in between you and your creations,” the late rapper says in the video. “Why you just trying to be cool? You gotta make history.”

You check out videos of the flyers with the QR codes above.

Pop Smoke is out 7/16 via Victor Victor Worldwide/Republic. Pre-order it here.

A year and a half has gone by since the music world was stripped of one of its most promising rappers, Pop Smoke. The Brooklyn native was shot and killed during a home invasion in a Hollywood mansion he rented in an attempted robbery gone wrong. Four individuals were arrested for the tragic murder: Corey Walker and Keandre Rodgers, who were 19 and 17 respectively at the time of their arrest, as well as a 17-year-old and a 15-year-old whose names were not revealed, due to them being minors.

Almost a year after their arrests, Walker’s trial is underway, and on Tuesday a big decision was shared by the court. According to video provided by The Shaderoom, Deputy District Attorney Hilary Williams, the prosecutor for the case, said that the maximum sentence that Walker would face if he were convicted is life without parole, meaning that the now 20-year-old defendant will avoid the death penalty.

The reason could be that he was not the individual who pulled the trigger on Pop Smoke. The defendant who was 15 years old at the time allegedly confessed to being the triggerman in the murder during a recorded interview at a juvenile detention center in May 2020. “He admitted that he shot the victim three times with a Baretta 9 (mm.),” LAPD Detective Carlos Camacho said during a preliminary hearing for Walker. He added that the teenager “admitted they asked for the jewelry” from the rapper before ending up in a “confrontation” that led to shots being fired.

In other news related to Pop Smoke, the late rapper’s second posthumous album is set to arrive on July 16. The self-titled effort contains 17 songs and the already released track “Outro.”

The music world is just a day removed from the one-year anniversary of Pop Smoke’s first posthumous album, Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon. The 19-track effort, which extended to 34 songs after a deluxe reissue, stood as one of last year’s most popular albums. In fact, at this year’s Billboard Music Awards, the project won Top Billboard 200 Album and Top Rap Album. Now, the late rapper’s team is preparing to release a second posthumous album as its impending arrival was confirmed at the end of last month.

At the time of the announcement, a title for the project had not been revealed. That changed when the pre-order for the album went live on streaming services Saturday night. The late rapper’s second posthumous album will be titled Pop Smoke and it will deliver 17 songs to listeners. Fans will have to wait a bit longer to view the album’s official tracklist and possible guest features, but in the meantime, they can press play on the outro for Pop Smoke which finds the Brooklyn native giving a motivational speech to listeners.

Along with the announcement of Pop Smoke, the late rapper’s team shared an album trailer that portrayed interviews and behind-the-scenes footage with the Brooklyn native. “Never let anybody get in between you and your creations,” the rapper says in the trailer. “Why you just trying to be cool? You gotta make history.”

You can listen to the outro from Pop Smoke in the video above.

Pop Smoke is out 7/16 via Victor Victor Worldwide/Republic. Pre-order it here.