Album Review: "Faith" by Pop Smoke

On July 16, late rapper Pop Smoke's sophomore album was released. Faith consists of 20 tracks and includes a handful of features from the likes of Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Pharrell Williams, and many more. The LP recently debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, despite a negative reception. However, I have yet to listen to the album in its entirety. Will it be a strong reminder of the young Brooklyn rapper's growing legacy, or is this a bloated cash grab? Let's find out

1. Good News

I thought Pop would be rapping on here, but instead this is a spoken word intro from his mother, Audrey Jackson. It is pretty funny how she's basically doing a motivational speech over the instrumental to "Welcome to the Party," a super gritty track and one of Pop's earliest hits. But this is a good intro nonetheless. I give it a 7/10.

2. More Time

I'm happy that this is a Pop Smoke track with only him on it, and that it sounds somewhat finished. It's a bit short, but this feels like the proper introduction into the album. The beat is menacing, which is what Pop works best with it. I give this track a solid 7/10.

3. Tell the Vision (ft. Kanye West and Pusha T)

Pop Smoke did good on here, but I'm not a big fan of Pusha's verse. Trying to promote your album on a dead man's song rubs me the wrong way, and I know he can do so much better than this. Also, what did Kanye do on here besides produce and say a few words? I feel like he was just credited as a feature to boost streams. This track gets a 6.5/10 from me.

4. Manslaughter (ft. Rick Ross and The-Dream)

People will probably hate me for this, but Pop was easily the worst part of this song. His hook sounds super awkward, and the way his verse is repeated twice is pretty dumb of the label. Even though it's not Pop's fault in any way, he sounds like filler on this track. However, Rick Ross has a good verse, and The-Dream comes through with some heavenly vocals. This track is basically his now. I give this track a 6.5/10.

5. Bout a Million (ft. 21 Savage and 42 Dugg)

I understand that this was probably meant to be a Pop and 21 collab, and that Dugg was just thrown into the mix. I'm not saying that his verse is bad, but it feels out of place. Plus, he can do better. Pop's verse is decent, but 21 is the main highlight. He goes all in and does justice to the AXL instrumental. I give this track a 7/10.

6. Brush Em (ft. Rah Swish)

This isn't a bad track, even though Pop opens it up in a weird way. The back-and-forth between Pop and Rah is entertaining, and it's obvious they have great chemistry. This may turn out to be one of the best tracks on the album, and hopefully it stays like this. I give this track a 7.5/10.

7. Top Shotta (with The Neptunes featuring Pusha T, TRAVI and Beam)

The Neptunes is a classic production duo, but this beat is absolute garbage. It sounds like something that belongs in an episode of Spongebob, not on a drill album. Also, why is there a Jamaican artist on this? Beam sounds extremely out of place. This isn't a dancehall track, it's supposed to be a Pop Smoke track. Pusha T has a somewhat decent verse, and TRAVI has some bars, but this is a big joke of a song. I can assure you I'm not coming back to this, because it's utterly disrespectful of the artist that Pop was. I give this track a 3/10.

8. 30 (ft. Bizzy Banks)

Although Pop has a decent verse, Bizzy Banks is the real highlight of this track. His flow and cadence are dope, and I have to check out more of his music after this. It makes sense, considering this was originally Bizzy's track. I give this a 7.5/10.

9. Beat the Speaker

Well, this is a nice little banger. It seems like I enjoy the solo Pop songs more than the ones with features. Too bad there are very few tracks with only Pop on the album. I certainly enjoyed this song. I give it a 7.5/10.

10. Coupe

Ayy, another hit! The production is top-notch here, and Pop Smoke goes off. I can see myself throwing this into a playlist and listening to it a few more times, because this definitely slaps. I give this track a solid 7.5/10.

11. What's Crackin (ft. Takeoff)

Pop did good on here, but Takeoff washed him. This is not as good as the previous tracks on this album, but it's still okay. It sounds much like an older Pop Smoke track, which is dope. I give this a solid 7/10.

12. Genius (with Lil Tjay and Swae Lee)

For once, Pop is actually the weakest link on this track. However, Tjay and Swae deliver on their ends. Tjay brings the most energy, whilst Swae has the vocals and a surprisingly tough verse. Also, that Tay Keith and Rico Beats production is dope. I give this track a 7/10.

13. Mr. Jones (ft. Future)

I applaud Future's efforts, but this feels like a largely unfinished Pop Smoke track pulled from a random folder on one of the producer's computers. He only has a hook and an extremely short verse, which makes it feel more like a Future track than a Pop track. That's not a good thing. I give this track a 5.5/10.

14. Woo Baby Interlude

There's another version of this song, except with a beat and a feature from Fivio Foreign (an artist noticeably absent from this project). Pop's label really just wasted a hard verse for no reason at all. Believe me, I would've liked this if it had a beat. I give this track a 4/10.

15. Woo Baby (ft. Chris Brown)

Another obviously unfinished track from Pop Smoke, although Breezy tries to fill in the gaps. However, this song was supposed to feature Tory Lanez, who would've worked better. Still, this is a bop. I give this track a 6.5/10.

16. Demeanor (ft. Dua Lipa)

Dua did her thing for sure, but Pop Smoke feels out of place on this track. Probably one of the worst things they could've done was take an unused verse meant for a gritty DMX song and slap it on here. And they did just that. This label is really not making smart moves. I give this track a 6/10.

17. Spoiled (ft. Pharrell Williams)

Pharrell and Pop is a good duo, but this again feels like an unfinished track. Pop's refrain is repeated three times, and he has no verse. Neither does Pharrell, which is a shame considering he had such a smooth hook. But when a label screws up, you can only sit back and watch. I give this track a 5.5/10.

18. 8-Ball (ft. Kid Cudi)

Come on, Cudi. It's pretty obvious you can do WAY better than this. Also, I really wanna hurt the label for using unfinished songs and slapping big-name features on them to make them feel complete, because they don't feel complete. It doesn't help that Pop's hook is half-assed. I give this track a 4.5/10.

19. Back Door (ft. Quavo and Kodak Black)

I wish the label would've kept NBA YoungBoy's verse on here, because this sounds just like a beat that he would rap on. However, I'm fine with Quavo and Kodak Black filling in his place. Kodak is accustomed to these types of instrumentals, too, and Quavo is good at switching up his style. However, Pop only has a hook, making this feel unfinished yet again. It sounds better than the previous tracks on here, so I'm giving this a 6.5/10.

20. Merci Beaucoup

This track has a pretty good verse, even though the hook is pathetic, and the outro is absolutely beautiful. It encapsulates Pop Smoke's legacy with a clip from an interview. However, at the same time, it's kind of sad that an excerpt from The Angie Martinez Show was better than half of this album. I give this track a 7/10.

FINAL RATING: 6.3/10

BEST TRACK: Coupe

WORST TRACK: Top Shotta (with The Neptunes featuring Pusha T, TRAVI and Beam)

SUMMARY:

Faith is an album that will either unite or divide fans of Pop Smoke's music. I've never been a huge fan of Pop, so maybe that's why I gave this album a decent rating. I probably wasn't as affected as some longtime fans who felt that their favorite rapper's legacy was downplayed. And I can understand that. There are some very high points in the album, most of them stemming from the solo Pop tracks and some strong enough guest features. However, many songs feel unfinished, and with a few out-of-place, high-profile artists slapped onto them, it feels disrespectful to a dead man who was slowly forging his path in hip-hop. Tracks like "Top Shotta" and "Woo Baby Interlude" are perfect examples of what Pop wouldn't have allowed if he was with us today. With that being said, Faith is still a reminder of the young drill legend know as Pop Smoke.