Posthumous albums always make for a fascinating topic of discussion for a variety of reasons. Depending on how far along an artist was in the recording process, it can sometimes run the risk of feeling disjointed or constructed after the fact. It also runs the risk of relying on an abundance of guest appearances, which can make the album in question feel like more of a compilation.
In the case of Pop Smoke's Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, executive produced by the legendary 50 Cent, it would appear that a delicate balance was struck. Though there were indeed several features lining the album, the album actually managed to feel like a Pop Smoke project, albeit one that found the late rapper exploring a variety of different hip-hop styles.
While the album was a runaway success, absolutely dominating the charts to this day, it would appear that politics and behind-the-scenes developments were enough to shift 50 Cent away from Pop Smoke's team. During a recent interview with Kris Kaylin, he opened up about the possibility of reprising his role on Pop Smoke's next posthumous drop.
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"Steven was originally Pop's manager and the label person he was signed to," explains Fif. "He spoke to me about the new record. I'm not sure if I'll participate with that record. I just wanted to make sure that his record did what it was supposed to. My interaction with Pop was that he was looking at me like I could tell him the right way to go and everything would work based on what I was saying. It's unfortunate that it actually happened. It's like the other side of it -- when I'm coming up early on, I'm so connected to the environment that everything in the environment I'm subjected to the same.
"So even with my success in music, I'm still subjected to everything the neighborhood is subjected to," he continues. "Cause of who I'm standing next to. In Pop's scenario, personally, he told me he wanted to take his mom to an award show. Outside of producing the record and having it perform well, I did all the promotion for that record to have it work. They would have put it out and you'd have to find it out of basic interest."
For more from 50 Cent, be sure to check out his full interview with Kris Kaylin below.