Steven Victor Addresses Criticism Surrounding Pop Smoke's "Faith"

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Steven Victor speaks out after fans criticize Pop Smoke's new album "Faith."

The second posthumous album from Pop Smoke arrived on Friday, though some people weren't exactly keen on the outcome. For one, the star-power that backed the project, such as Kanye West and Dua Lipa, didn't appease Pop's fanbase while a few of the tracks had been leaked and then reworked for the album.

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A few people have voiced their issues with the project such as 808Melo, Pop's childhood friend Mike Dee, as well as Rowdy Rebel. The "Re-Route" rapper specifically felt a type of way about the release of "Top Shotta" that initially featured Eli Fross and had an entirely different beat. Rowdy called out the industry politics for removing Fross from the song, especially since it could've been a huge breakout moment for him.

Pop Smoke's team was bombarded with criticism surrounding the project from fans, as well. Steven Victor took to Twitter where he addressed the controversy surrounding two songs, specifically, "Top Shotta" and "Manslaughter" ft. Rick Ross and The-Dream. The former, unfortunately, wasn't able to be cleared on time, according to Victor. Though he did mention a deluxe edition of the album was going to drop soon.

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"Y’all need to chill the original top Shotta beat wasn’t clearable.. could not find Louie rankin estate," Victor tweeted. "Working on the deluxe w Rico & obasi let us know what you want to hear."

In a subsequent tweet, he addressed the single, "Manslaughter" which he said was initially planned to appear on Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon.

"OG Manslaughter was a song called tricky dick by the train robbers  And every member of that group estates was unreachable the record label AND parent label were defunct with no point of contact  = Could not clear We tried during the last album," Victor added.

Check out his tweets below and let us know your thoughts on Pop Smoke's Faith

About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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