On Sunday (July 11), Pop Smoke’s manager, Steven Victor, confirmed the name of the late star’s second studio album, which is due out Friday. The project — titled Faith — comes one year after the posthumous release of Pop’s highly successful debut album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon.
The official trailer for Faith premiered on Pop Smoke’s YouTube Channel on June 23. In the clip, the late hitmaker is heard saying, “I always knew I was gonna be something good. I feel like it’s coming back to New York.”
He goes on to say, “When you keep winning, they can’t stop you. The fake can never succeed at nothing. When you know what you want, don’t let anybody get in between you and your creation. I ain’t trying to just be cool, we gotta make history.”
The Brooklyn native, né Bashar Barakah Jackson, died on Feb. 19, 2020, at age 20. Ahead of his death, Smoke released the fan-favorite mixtapes Meet the Woo and Meet the Woo 2. The latter debuted on Feb. 7, 2020, just two weeks before Pop Smoke was killed in a home invasion in Los Angeles.
Released on July 3, 2020, Pop Smoke’s first studio album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has charted for 52 weeks. It also gained international success, hitting No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums tally, where it charted for 45 weeks. Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon also charted in Greece, Germany, Australia and Italy.
Ahead of his death, Pop Smoke starred in Eddie Huang’s drama film Boogie, which premiered March 5. He appears on Migos’ latest album, Culture III, Polo G’s latest work Hall of Fame and the film soundtrack for Fast and Furious 9. During the 2021 Billboard Music Awards in May, Pop won the Top Billboard 200 Album award in recognition of his tremendous work. Last year, Smoke was nominated for a Grammy for best rap performance for his smash hit song “Dior.”
See Victor’s announcement, and watch the trailer for Pop Smoke’s sophomore album:
