Faith (Pop Smoke album)

After American rapper Pop Smoke was shot and killed at the age of 20 during a home invasion, fellow American rapper 50 Cent decided to help finish the late rapper's album Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon by serving as executive producer. After the album was released on July 3, 2020, it was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200, and spawning four US Billboard Hot 100 top 20 singles "For the Night", "What You Know Bout Love", "The Woo", and "Mood Swings". On May 1, 2021, American producer Rico Beats hinted at the release of another posthumous Pop Smoke album. The producer posted a mirror selfie and added, "I see and hear everything kept it cool tho no worries pay back around the corner Pop smoke new album loading". On June 4, Haitian-American record executive Steven Victor announced that there would be a second posthumous project released. Rico Beats announced that Faith was "95% loading the fuck up" and also confirmed that he would be one of the producers on the album through a post on Instagram on June 15. ==Music and lyrics==

Faith is a drill, trap, and hip hop record, with the songs containing elements of pop-trap, gospel, and pop. and soul while explaining the reasoning behind the album's title "Tell the Vision" featuring Kanye West and Pusha T is a drill track that uses a synth-pop production and features the use of drill drums, lurching synths, choral flourishes, and interspersed spoken testimonials. while it features a sample of Power 105.1 host Angie Martinez delivering an ode to Pop Smoke. Pop Smoke raps about his early life in Brooklyn, New York, and the struggles he faced at the time, and hints on releasing an album soon. "Manslaughter" featuring Rick Ross and The-Dream is an R&B, hip-hop, and downbeat percussion. The rappers discuss how they would go to great lengths to defend their loved ones. Pop Smoke sings of being willing to commit a crime if someone upsets him or his family. track with braggadocio, and their upbringing and experiences throughout different places in the United States. track that uses percussion. Pop Smoke and Rah Swish both rap about their dangerous tendencies "Top Shotta" with The Neptunes, featuring Pusha T, Travi, and Beam is a dancehall-inspired drill and caribbean-style steel drums. The track was originally supposed to feature American rapper Eli Fross. It is followed by drill Robin Murray from Clash stated that "Coupe" and "Beat the Speaker" are "freestyle[s] carved out into individual track[s]". "Mr. Jones" featuring Future sees both rappers rap about their lavish lifestyles and pursuit for self-gratification. "Woo Baby Interlude" is sung A cappella and was originally called "Tiger". song. The song uses an uncredited sample of American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo's 2005 number one hit single "So Sick". "Demeanor" featuring Dua Lipa is an electropop that uses a bassline, rhythm guitar, drums, It contains a spliced-in verse from an unreleased Pop Smoke track called "Face2Face". The late artist then raps about suffering through poverty. Lipa gets her own verse as she sings: "You can't say Pop without Smoke", referring to Pop Smoke's line "You cannot say Pop and forget the Smoke" in his 2019 song "Gatti" with JackBoys and Travis Scott. Its lyrics discuss women as being spoiled. Pop Smoke raps about attacking his enemies, Bonus tracks The first new track on the deluxe edition of Faith is "Questions". Pop Smoke sings about being emotional and vulnerable. The track interpolates 50 Cent's 2003 number one hit single "21 Questions". Alexander Cole for HotNewHipHop stated that "Money Man" featuring Killa has "high-flying production all while Pop Smoke and Killa bring some hungry energy to the mix". "Defiant" and "Rumble" include further contributions from Dread Woo, Travi, and Tay Floss, respectively. "Don't Know Em" featuring Rah Swish sees Pop Smoke raps the lyrics: "'Man, I'm fuckin' gone nigga, Yo Rah, we outta here nigga, it is (Ayo, pull up we at the spot gang), I can barely walk nigga (Like stand the fuck up nigga, 'cause I got you, look)." "Mr. Jones" featuring Anuel AA is a remixed version of the original track. in which, according to Karen Civil, Pop Smoke "lays the intro as Fetty [Luciano] floats all over the solid production". Last year, Jackson previewed the original verse for Pop Smoke's 2020 hit single "Dior". He would later flip the original verse and place it on "Bad Boys". and hip hop song with lyrics about flirting with women and buying the latest designer clothes. ==Cover artwork==

On July 13, 2021, Pop Smoke's team unveiled the album cover, which is a close-up of Pop Smoke in a black-and-white photo, with the word "Faith" tattooed above his left eyebrow. The cover art was originally taken by photographer Flixz, who snapped photos of Pop Smoke at a nightclub. The late rapper wore a collared unbuttoned Dior shirt with a set of chains in the original photo. ==Release and promotion==

On June 23, 2021, Victor announced the album's release date of July 16, 2021. A trailer video for Faith, which features Pop Smoke's career highlights and a motivational short speech from him, was also released. A 30-second promotional single, "Outro", was released on July 4, 2021. In the promotional single, Pop Smoke talks about following your dreams and not giving up. Initially, it was assumed that the album would be self-titled after Pop Smoke was the title of the album on Apple Music during its pre-order as a placeholder. Victor announced on July 11 that the album would be titled Faith. On July 10, posters started going up in New York City and Los Angeles in support of the album. According to reports, the ads had QR codes in them that could be accessed through Snapchat. "Mr. Jones" was released as the lead single the same day as the album. The song debuted and peaked at number 71 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 70 on the Billboard Global 200. A music video for the song was released on the same day. while showing Future hanging out with a plethora of women. The song also impacted contemporary hit radio in Italy on July 23, 2021. It debuted and peaked at number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 62 on the Billboard Global 200. In the United Kingdom, "Demeanor" debuted and peaked at number 14, making it the highest new entry on the chart dated July 25, 2021. A music video for the song was released on Pop Smoke's YouTube channel on July 29, 2021, and was directed by Australian-American director Nabil Elderkin. In the visual, Pop Smoke is a ghost and is seen on a medieval tableau that comes to life and depicts different versions of him, as well as white doves flying around in the painting. Lipa wears a vintage corset-style lace-trimmed ballgown from Jean Paul Gaultier's Spring 1998 couture collection, which was inspired by Marie Antoinette and the Age of Enlightenment, "Woo Baby" was also sent to American rhythmic contemporary radio as Faith third single on July 22, 2021. The song debuted and peaked at number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 49 on the Billboard Global 200. The video was directed by JLShotThat. The visual takes place in Pop Smoke's hometown of Canarsie, Brooklyn and was primarily filmed at a basketball court in the late rapper's neighborhood. The visual sees a group of people celebrating Pop Smoke's birthday and legacy, while riding cars and bikes through the streets. ==Critical reception==

Faith was met with mixed reviews from music critics, most of whom criticized the number of features on the album. In a more positive review, Billboard Jason Lipshutz felt impressed with Faith, believing it was "made with the same type of thoughtfulness and precision" as Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon. Mahalingan praised the album, saying that "unlike the majority of [posthumous releases], Faith speaks to Pop Smoke's perpetuity in hip-hop's current context, serving as less of a lament of what could have been and more as a memorial for what was and still is". The staff of HipHopDX condemned the album, mentioning it has "recycled lyrics, forced guest spots and seemed to stray further from what endeared the King of Brooklyn drill to fans in the first place". They opined that even though "the smoke will never clear, it's time to let Pop Smoke's legacy rest". Evan Sawdey for Yardbarker placed Faith at number 19 on his "The Most Disappointing Albums of 2021" list, saying it "feels like a violation of his legacy". He commented that the late rapper "has very little time on his own album, pushed aside for the many guests to jump onto verse fragments [he] left behind". Sawdey concludes by saying Faith is a "prime example of how not to honor a fallen artist. Disappointing on every front". On Capital Xtra's list of "The Top 20 Best Albums of 2021", Faith was placed at number 18. Cat Warner stated the album helped keep Pop Smoke's legacy alive, and "doing so perfectly". ==Commercial performance==

Faith debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 88,000 album-equivalent units that consisted of 113.34 million on-demand streams, 4,000 pure album sales, and 1,000 track-equivalent albums. This gave the late artist his second number one album, and third top-10 hit overall in the United States. Faith also topped the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Canadian Albums Chart. The album further peaked within the top-10 of record charts in Austria, both the Belgium Flanders and Wallonia charts, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. ==Impact==

Upon release, Faith received mixed responses from Pop Smoke's fans. Some people praised the album and said it paid tribute to Pop Smoke, while others criticized the album and wanted the late rapper to rest in peace. ==Track listing==

Notes • signifies a co-producer • signifies an additional producer ==Personnel==

Performers • Pop Smoke – rap vocals • 808MeloBeats – programming (1, 6, 9, 21, 27, 30) • L3gion – keyboards (2) • Rico Beats – programming (2, 3, 8, 11, 12, 23) • Boogz – programming (3, 15) • Jahlil – programming (3) • Kanye West – programming (3) • SethInTheKitchen – programming (3) • Pusha T – rap vocals (3, 7) • JMoney – programming (4) • The-Dream – vocals (4) • Axl – programming (5, 26) • 21 Savage – rap vocals (5) • 42 Dugg – rap vocals (5) • Jess Jackson – programming (6, 16) • Rah Swish – rap vocals (6, 26) • The Neptunes – programming (7, 17) • Beam – rap vocals (7) • Travi – rap vocals (7) • Bizzy Banks – rap vocals (8) • Fritz Tha Producer – programming (9, 24) • Los the Producer – background vocals, guitar, keyboards, programming (28) • Foreign Teck – programming (13, 28) • JW Lucas – programming (13, 28) • Future – rap vocals (13) • 2300 – programming (15) • Chris Brown – vocals (15) • Mike Gomes – background vocals (16) • Mantra – bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, percussion (16) • Corey "Cutz" Nutile – programming (16) • Dua Lipa – vocals (16) • Pharrell – vocals (17) • Kasseem Dean – programming (18) • Kid Cudi – rap vocals (18) • Kidd Fredo – programming (19) • TNT – programming (19) • Tahj Money – programming (19) • Yoz – programming (22) • G Herbo – vocals (22) • OnPointLikeOP – vocals (22) • Killa – vocals (23) • LSP – programming (24) • Dread Woo – vocals (24) • Joezee – programming (25) • Tay Floss – rap vocals (25) • Fetty Luciano – rap vocals (27) • Anuel AA – vocals (28) • Obasi Jackson – rap vocals (29) Technical • Jess Jackson – mastering engineer (1–26, 28–29), mixer (1–14, 16–20, 22–24, 26, 28, 29), mix engineer (2–20, 22, 25) • Patrizio "Teezio" Pigliapoco – mixer, recording engineer (15) • Ben Lust – mixer (21) • Elvin Molina – mixer (27) • Jaycen Joshua – mixer (30) • Andrew Yanchyshyn – recording engineer (1) • Vic Wainstein – recording engineer (2, 3, 30) • Brandon Harding – recording engineer (4) • Corey "Cutz" Nutile – recording engineer (4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 14–18, 20, 23, 26–27) • Dom Martin – recording engineer (6) • Aleksi Godard – recording engineer (7) • James Dimino – recording engineer (10) • DJ Durel – recording engineer (11) • Barrington Hall – recording engineer (12) • Randy Lanphear – recording engineer (12) • Nate Alford – recording engineer (13, 28) • William J. Sullivan – recording engineer (18) • BL – recording engineer (19, 25) • Chase Davis – recording engineer (20) • Ryan Press – recording engineer (20) • Tony – recording engineer (21) • Jason Goldberg – recording engineer (22) • LSP – recording engineer (24) • Obasi Jackson – recording engineer (29) • Yung Ave – recording engineer (30) • Ciel Eckard-Lee – assistant mixer (1–20, 22–24), mix engineer (22), mixer (28) • David Bone – assistant mixer (22–26, 28–29), mix engineer (22) • DJ Riggins – assistant mixer (30) • Jacob Richards – assistant mixer (30) • Mike Seaberg – assistant mixer (30) • Tali Zara Sulcas – assistant recording engineer (4) ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==