Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon


Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon is the debut studio album by American rapper Pop Smoke, and first posthumous project following his murder from a home invasion on February 19, 2020. It was released on July 3, 2020, by Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records. The album contains features from Quavo, Lil Baby, DaBaby, Swae Lee, Future, Rowdy Rebel, 50 Cent, Roddy Ricch, Tyga, Karol G, and Lil Tjay, and King Combs.
It was executive-produced by 50 Cent, who was one of Pop Smoke's biggest inspirations. 50 Cent personally took it upon himself to finish the album for Smoke by calling the featured artists and taking care of the deadlines.
Shortly before the album release, his family announced they would be taking on the non-profit Shoot for the Stars Foundation that Pop Smoke had begun to set up before his death. He created it with the purpose in mind to "establish a platform that helps youth achieve their goals amidst living and growing up in difficult circumstances," providing access to technology among other resources.
The album has become a commercial success, debuting at number one in several countries, including on the US Billboard 200, where Pop Smoke became the first act in hip hop history to have a posthumous debut album debut at the top of the chart.
A deluxe edition of the album was released on July 20, 2020, on what would have been Pop Smoke's 21st birthday. The deluxe version features 15 tracks, including remixes of three songs from the original album, and includes guest appearances from Davido, Young Thug, Gunna, Jamie Foxx, A Boogie wit da Hoodie and Burna Boy, among others.

Background

Before the album, Pop Smoke had two posthumous guest appearances, both released on May 8, 2020. He was featured on "Run It Up" by Canadian rapper Nav from his third studio album, Good Intentions. He was featured alongside American rapper Fivio Foreign on "Zoo York" by American rapper Lil Tjay from his commercial mixtape, State of Emergency.
Originally announced on May 14, 2020, the album had a planned release date of June 12, 2020. However, the album's lead single, "Make It Rain", featuring American rapper Rowdy Rebel, was released instead, and it was announced that the album had been pushed back to July 3, 2020, out of respect for the George Floyd protests against police brutality and systemic racism. The album name was revealed on June 16, 2020, as it was made available for pre-order on his online store. It was also announced that Pop Smoke's estate had signed a co-publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music, covering all his past music as well as the upcoming album.

Cover art controversy

The tracklist was revealed on June 29, along with new artwork. However, the Virgil Abloh-designed piece was met with significant criticism from fans who called it "lazy" and "rushed" and felt it was disrespectful, even prompting a Change.org petition with tens of thousands of signatures. Notably, the picture of Pop Smoke that Abloh used was the very first result on Google Images. Only a few hours later, the label announced that it would be replaced in time for the release date.
50 Cent further criticized his work and posted over 35 fan-made designs, saying that "they ain't going for this bullshit".
After posting an explanation that he based the design on a conversation he had with Pop Smoke, Abloh was accused by a conceptual artist Ryder Ripps of stealing his chrome rose concept and " it with a careless design", adding that it was "so sad that someone would care this little about art, design and the memory of a human who was so loved to wrap his name up in lies and theft." Ripps created the final cover art with the chrome rose against black background.
The final album cover was revealed just hours before the album was commercially released and was chosen by his mother.

Critical reception

Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon received positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, it holds an aggregate score of 70 out of 100, based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Dhruva Balram of NME wrote that the posthumous album is "measured with care", complimenting the production and Pop Smoke's ventures into different genres: "Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon showcases a multi-faceted artist only just discovering his potential. What makes the album truly stand out is that it serves as a testament to the strength, power and knowledge Smoke held in his ambition to go to the very top. Tragically, his death prematurely vaulted him there, but at least this posthumous release will serve as a lasting reminder of Smoke's immense talent." Danny Schwartz of Rolling Stone wrote that "While Stars features a handful of hell-raisers in the vein of the Woo tapes, it also works to merge drill's swooping rhythms with the kind of austere Atlanta trap that Migos and Zaytoven mastered mid-decade, as well as the guitar lines that ornament the music of A Boogie, Gunna, and other melody-minded rappers." Alphonse Pierre of Pitchfork wrote that the album "attempts to cement his legacy by expanding his world". Pierre praised the album for being "big, polished, versatile, feature-packed, and loaded with radio and playlist-friendly records." Wongo Okon of Uproxx wrote that Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon aimed to "bring the Brooklyn rapper's name, sound, and presence to previously untouched corners and uncharted roads once and for all", with the hope of "making Pop Smoke larger than the life he lived."

Commercial performance

Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 251,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. This became Pop Smoke's US number one debut. The album also accumulated a total of 268.44 million on-demand streams of the set's tracks in the week ending July 18. It made Pop Smoke the first hip hop act in history to posthumously debut at number one on the Billboard 200 with a debut studio album. He joins The Notorious B.I.G., 2Pac, XXXTentacion, and Juice Wrld as the only hip hop acts in history to posthumously hit number one. Additionally, all 19 tracks on the album charted on the Billboard Hot 100 following its first week of release. Pop Smoke now holds the record for the most simultaneous songs on the Hot 100 posthumously. The late American rappers XXXTentacion and Mac Miller previously held the record with 10 each.
Internationally, the album also debuted at number one in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland, while reaching the top ten in several other countries.

Track listing

Track listing adapted from Tidal.
Notes
Sample credits