Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon
| Pop Smoke
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. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Consequence of Sound
Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon neither blights nor burnishes Pop Smoke’s legacy. It’s fine. Better to remember Smoke as the dark-horse MVP candidate for summer 2019. Before he departed the here and now, he made Noo Yawk proud with an immortal, uncompromising banger.
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Uproxx
While an attempt at a critical favorite may have been expected, Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon focuses more on commercial expansion, making Pop Smoke larger than the life he lived.
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Rolling Stone
The rapper’s posthumous debut album shows us why he remains the voice of New York City.
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NME
Brooklyn rapper’s posthumous debut matches rising star’s ambition.
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The Young Folks
His name is forever set in the potential of what could have been, but for the most part, this is more of a memorial than a review. The music he recorded, and the people in his life, will speak for him in his stead.
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The Los Angeles Times
A chart-topping debut and a frustrating farewell.
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The Times
In keeping with an accelerated life, the posthumous debut album from the charismatic Brooklynite jumps straight to the high-budget stage of a recording career. Slick production from 50 Cent and countless guest spots drown out what made Pop Smoke special in the first place.
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The Independent
Late rapper's album is brilliant and bittersweet.
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Vulture
Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon is evidence of a star gaining his bearings, but as much as it is a product of a young and growing artist’s path toward refinement, it is also a document of his jarring absence.
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Legends Will Never Die
The cuts that’re done more in Pop Smoke’s signature UK Drill style are fine, but almost all the poppy sex songs except for “Something Special” are just fucking terrible. If we’re getting a follow-up, here’s to it being better.
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Pitchfork
The 20-year-old rising star was the voice of Brooklyn drill when he died. On his debut album, executive-produced by 50 Cent, his voice shines through despite a raft of unnecessary features.
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Paste Magazine
The late Brooklyn rapper’s hefty debut album shows us what could’ve been.
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DJBooth
The late Brooklyn rapper’s posthumous debut is a statement piece.
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Hot New HipHop
"Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon" is a bittersweet celebration of Pop Smoke's life; an album that should have claimed the summer of 2020 as his own, and mark the formal welcoming of New York’s brightest new star.
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Ratings Game Music
Before Pop Smoke passed, he was known to be a drill rapper. After listening to Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, you should be convinced that he was much more than that…
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Afterglow
This album would have further established Pop Smoke as a voice of not only the future, but the moment. Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon sees a collision of today’s hip-hop sound with a kid from New York who grew up in the bling era of hip-hop.
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Financial Times
This posthumous debut studio album is let down by repetitious raps and monotonous beats.
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Music Matters Media
Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon is a compelling portrait of the last works of a star extinguished too soon. It’s impossible to predict the breakthrough of a genre-shifting, landscape-bending hip hop upstart like Pop Smoke, but it is possible to never again take their gifts for granted.
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The Musical Hype
Pop Smoke, who was killed on February 19, 2020, lives on through his enjoyable, posthumous debut album, Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon.
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Hit Up Ange
Overall this album was definitely very enjoyable and has done Pop's legacy right, this has been one of my favourite releases of 2020 so far.
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The Feature Presentation
This time around on his posthumous album, Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon, Pop Smoke stays true to the tonality he possesses, all while presenting versatility in both his cadences and beat selection.
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What You Expect?
"Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon" Perfectly Displayed Pop Smoke's Out Of This World Trajectory.
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Pretty Hustlaz
Shoot for the Stars will have you wondering is it the hype or is this an instant classic’? From the start of the short intro, Pop’s voice booms on the track. The songs are melodic and he uses really familiar samples, like Ginuwine’ Differences on What You Know Bout Love.
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Slant Magazine
Pop Smoke’s Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon Is a Half-Baked Epitaph.
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HipHop Hopscotch
All I can say is RIP to a young man taken too soon, this album showed he had so much more to give and so much potential, it's just sad the way it all had to end.
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HipHop DX
Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon offers a fleeting peek into the artist Pop would become—beyond Drill, beyond Brooklyn, beyond even the United States.
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The Floor
Gone too quickly and too soon though he was, Pop Smoke has left us with an undeniable example of his star quality. R.I.P. Woo.
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Sputnik Music
This is an album that will appeal to hip-hop heads alike, especially a good chunk who didn’t vibe with Smoke of his earlier stuff. This centerpiece does justice and glory for the man, and it’s just really sad that he isn’t here to see the appreciation it got. It's simple, long live “the Woo”.
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Your Choice Way
Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon ’s flaws become an afterthought, and the good moments here will outlast them. Having new Pop Smoke music to play at backyard BBQs and out of car windows is good enough. All the album needs is his voice, which will last forever.
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Thirstkey
Pop Smoke was a star in the making. This album makes that unquestionable in my eyes. The flaws of a debut are present and a few of them at that. But the highlights outnumber and greatly outweigh them.
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Jimmy the Prince
I encourage listeners to make a playlist with all the songs from the album.
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Clash Music
A fantastic album from the late rap icon.
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Jeawok
In the posthumous release of his first commercial album Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon Pop delivers a complete album from start to finish and is a showcase of the lost potential of one of rap’s quickest rising stars.
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