Today, Steven Victor, the owner of Pop Smoke’s label, revealed the release date for the late rapper’s posthumous major-label debut album: June 12, 2020. A summertime release feels appropriate, as it was Pop’s 2019 anthem “Welcome To The Party” from his debut mixtape Meet the Woo that first introduced him to a mass audience and set him on the path to stardom — a path that was cut short earlier this year when Pop was shot to death in a home invasion in Los Angeles.
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At the time of his death, Pop Smoke’s buzz was such that many members of rap’s fraternity from all over the map were clamoring for a verse from the Brooklyn star. The result was a spate of feature bars from Pop that have since cropped up on projects from the likes of Gunna, Lil Tjay, Nav, and Fivio Foreign’s upcoming debut.
The release date of June 12 is just a little later than the date promised by 50 Cent, who maintained that he would be executive producing the project, reaching out to artists as wide-ranging as Chris Brown and Roddy Ricch for their involvement.
While Victor himself has yet to confirm 50’s involvement — or indeed, whether the artists 50 reached out to will appear on the project after all — we at least have a better idea of when we’ll all find out.
Pop Smoke’s debut album is due 6/12 on Republic Records.
