Author’s note: This review was originally written and set to be published on Tuesday (February 18), just one day before Pop Smoke was shot and killed at a Hollywood Hills home in Los Angeles, California. While the review and rating remain the same, updates have been made to reflect his passing.
It may seem a little presumptuous to call a relatively new rapper the “godfather” of anything, but if anyone deserves the title of being the Godfather of Brooklyn drill — or if preferred, the Godfather of New York drill — it’s Pop Smoke.
Meet The Woo 2 was only his second-ever offering — the OG version of the mixtape blessed the world with the banger “Welcome To The Party,” which even got itself a Nicki Minaj remix — but it’s already played a huge part in putting New York drill on the map.
Sounding more like its European/British predecessor (danceable, quasi-electronic) than its more guttural Midwestern/Chicago cousin (as first made famous by Chief Keef), Pop Smoke’s raw growling was jarring and hard against these bouncy beats but surprisingly, it’s also wildly effective.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP1PpQT4oC8
In typical drill fashion, Pop Smoke does best when he’s paired with UK producers. Who would know better than them about the sound they first created? As such, “Get Back,” a track produced by acclaimed London-based producer 808Melo, is the true standout.
Every line he delivers from the first to the last feels like a roller coaster and machine gun combined (“Buddy gon’ grip that, glit that, blit that, blit that /Send shots make him get back”), and when paired with a producer like 808Melo, it’s *chef’s kiss* perfection.
But that said, Pop Smoke does fall short in a few places. It’s not necessarily through any fault of his own — he wants to represent New York, which is why he enlists the aid of folks like Bronx native A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, but the duo is far from equally yoked, which makes the track “Foreigner” redundant and extraneous.
And as for “Shake The Room,” the Off-White produced track with Quavo, the two rappers, by themselves, do just fine, but whereas there’s some explanation for the Boogie/Pop collab, there are absolutely zero reasons for these two to be in the studio together.
What is, perhaps, the saddest part about Meet The Woo 2 is that, while it was meant to serve as a sophomore effort of a rising star in Brooklyn drill, it has now, in the wake of its creator’s murder, served as both a cautionary tale about the trappings of fame and a bittersweet reminder of a life that could have been. No one will never know if Brooklyn drill will ever scale the mainstream heights Pop Smoke was attempting to scale — and no one will ever know if Pop Smoke himself could’ve been a crossover superstar like Nicki Minaj, 50 Cent or any of the myriad of New York rappers who came before him.
If nothing else, Meet The Woo 2 is a dragonfly in amber — forever frozen in time, never growing old but unfortunately, dying way too young.
[apple_news_ad type=”standard”]
ya’ll only did this cuz he died today. ya’ll fake
They always late with a large amount of these to be fair. Why do you think there’s whole YouTube channels for reviews?
You’re nobody til somebody kills you
– Frank White
Frank White needs to get spanked right for settin’ traps
“A dragonfly in amber?” What the fuc kind of shit is that?
You ever see Jurassic Park? Dumb ass
You ever heard such a shit analogy, dumd anus
Jurassic Park
Yal some click bait clowns for this one fr . Wooow
Imagine if Pop Smoke would have checked in when he came to LA. He would still be alive. It’s a damn shame.
It’s the best album out of ny. Y’all slept on it and now it will get what it deserves but honestly this guy was the next 50. Fif should have scooped him and protected him. Now we will all be deprived of a legend. It’s sad. Nothing is worse than wasted talent
He wasn’t the next fifty then, just saying your statement is bullshit ? good luck, did his debut album sell what get rich did, no, so how is he the ‘next’? Analogys of the arse my friend
How will the world succeed now without his much needed wasted talent?
trash
Was up this is red
Pop smoke get back utter shite 1:40 is not a song but a joke commercial, he’s a sign of the utter shit in the uk, now suckinG up to America, to produce trash, bless you and what a waste of human air, shame he died that’s sad though
A dragon fly in Amber, you lot are utterly stupid when it comes to your comparisons lol, hip hop is now the wankest most pisspoor example of integrity, just saying, Debbie’s fuming
So for comparison, most of MF DOOMs Madvillainy is tracks that clock in at around 2 minutes so I don’t think song length is a good measure of quality. I think you’ve also mistaken Pop Smoke’s origins? Mans from NY but the drill sound he’s using is taken more from the UK Drill scene which exists pretty solidly within the UK without too much US crossover (so, in this case, it’s the US taking influence from the UK or as you put it sucking up). Additionally, the UK Drill scene is strong, vibrant and like any music, genre varies in quality and content.
In the words of Kool Keith “You Wack MC”
First and foremost R.I.P. to the young man.
In terms of the music I’m not a fan…too similar to Grime for me and the Grime scene in UK has better MC’s
New York needs to either go back to being New York or create something new cause this biting from other regions thing is tired.
?