On the occasion of his posthumous album Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon dropping, Pop Smoke was remembered by two of his closest collaborators. 50 Cent and Pop’s label manager Steven Victor discussed the album and the rapper’s ongoing murder investigation in a recent episode of Rap Life on Apple Music – which has since been deleted.
Billboard reports that 50 and Victor joined host Ebro Darden earlier this week to give an update on the late 20-year-old Brooklyn star’s ongoing murder investigation. Without revealing too much, Victor offered a positive outlook and seemed to be confident that the perpetrators will be found.
“I’m getting information from Pop’s criminal attorney and he’s in communication with LAPD and the detectives out there. It’s definitely way, way closer than it was a couple of months ago … Justice will definitely be served,” said Victor.
Pop Smoke was shot and killed at a Los Angeles residence earlier this year. The crime was first ruled a home invasion, however, new details revealed it was in fact a targeted hit.
50 touched on the Brooklyn music scene in the wake of Pop’s death. “It’s a lot of artists that are trying but some of them are building more consistency than others,” the rapper said. “The thing that’s really interesting about Brooklyn is they’re actually marketing each other. If they can figure out how to not kill each other in the process, and stay focused on what they actually want to do, this is our music.”
Victor also detailed how 50 convinced him to finish Pop’s album and make it a posthumous release. “50 was like, ‘You can’t be depressed and stop the legacy that he was building. How do you expect everyone around him, in terms of his family, to benefit off of all the work that he put in? It would almost be like everything happened in vain if you don’t put the album out.’”