The world lost Bashar “Pop Smoke” Jackson in 2020 when the rising rap star was murdered in Los Angeles at the age of 20. While the Brooklynite was killed before he could see mainstream success, his fans continue to keep his legacy alive.
Pop Smoke’s second posthumous album, Faith, opened at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The collection brought in 88,000 equivalent album units and 113 million on-demand streams in its first week of release.
Faith is the second Pop Smoke project to land in the top spot of the weekly album rankings. 2020’s Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon led the Billboard tally for two non-consecutive weeks last year.
With Shoot for the Stars, Pop Smoke became one of five deceased Hip Hop acts (The Notorious B.I.G., 2Pac, XXXTentacion, and Juice WRLD) to top the Billboard 200 following their passing. According to Chart Data, Pop Smoke is the first act to ever posthumously debut his first two studio LPs at #1.
Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon was one of the most celebrated albums of 2020. The project helped Pop Smoke win Top New Artist, Top Rap Artist, Top Rap Male Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album, and Top Rap Album at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards. Shoot for the Stars is presently certified 2x-Platinum by the RIAA.
Pop Smoke’s Faith features a “who’s who” of guest features. Steven Victor’s Victor Victor Worldwide label recruited Kanye West, Pusha T, Rick Ross, The-Dream, 42 Dugg, 21 Savage, Takeoff, Lil Tjay, Swae Lee, Future, Chris Brown, Dua Lipa, Pharrell, Kid Cudi, Quavo, Kodak Black, and more.
Fellow Steven Victor associate, Pusha T, used his appearance on the Faith track “Tell the Vision” to suggest the latest Pop Smoke body of work will be considered Album Of The Year. However, the 20-track standard edition has been met with mixed reviews from professional music critics.
Elsewhere on the most recent Billboard 200 chart, Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon jumped two spots to #9. Doja Cat’s Planet Her (#4), Lil Baby and Lil Durk’s The Voice of the Heroes (#6), and Polo G’s Hall of Fame (#7) made the Top 10 as well.