Music is one of the few things that can survive a person’s death. It’s been a year since Pop Smoke’s unexpected death, and while music can’t replace his physical presence, it has provided comfort to many. Because of his influence on the music industry, the GRAMMY-nominated rapper will never be forgotten. Furthermore, Pop’s family, friends, and fans continue to honor his memory. Pop’s posthumous debut album, “Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon,” continues to break records even after his death.
The album became the longest-running number-one R&B/Hip-Hop album on Billboard since 1990, as we previously reported in March. For 17 weeks, the album topped the charts. This level of chart success hasn’t been seen since M.C. Hammer’s 1990 album, “Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt Em,” which spent 29 weeks on the charts. Pop’s manager, Steven Victor, stated on Twitter earlier this month that he is working on another posthumous album, and fans went berserk. While no specifics were available at the moment, Steven finally gave Pop fans what they wanted today by announcing his second posthumous album will be released on July 16th.
Steven made the announcement on Instagram, where he posted a clip of Pop speaking. “I always knew I was destined to be somebody big,” he says in the video. Obasi Jackson, Pop’s brother, also shared the footage on his Instagram story. Last month, during the preliminary trial for his murder, he wrote a letter to his brother. “Bashar on God, we are getting to the bottom of it,” Obasi wrote. I’m sorry the real wasn’t with you. I’m sorry you said ni***s would shoot back, and they didn’t. I’m sorry you thought ni***s would fight for you, and they’re not even doing that in death.”
