Smoke x Mirrors '20|02: III (R.I.P. Pop Smoke)

There’s no silver lining in senseless tragedies. Hip-Hop has (yet again!) been robbed of another talent; I’m talking about Pop Smoke. The kid was only 20! One of my homies was just lamenting about only getting on the Brooklynite’s explosive brand of drill. And a week ago, another one was sadly observing how they ran an honorific medley of Pop’s hits in a Lagos club and the (mostly) working class crowd was just unaware of the upstart emcee. it just goes to show that he had a lot of promise and I firmly believe he had the potential to bulldoze his way to the upper tiers of the pop music elite. There was supposed to be more to follow his solid Meet The Woo 2.

I’ve built this playlist around some of the notable gems in Pop Smoke’s last mixtape, as well as the latest Show Dem Camp opus (The Palmwine Express), and the Gorilla Blue project, which is a collaboration between The Heatmakerz, Joell Ortiz and Fred the Godson. Allow me to quote from a Paul Oakenfold classic: “This should be played at a high volume! Preferably, in a residential area!“.

If you’re new to this, every week, I try to put together songs that push the envelope, that are dope and that have lots of replay value. Let these joints make your commute smooth and rock you into reflection and meditation. As always, I’ll be back next week.

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The Tracklist

01. The Heatmakerz, Joell Ortiz & Fred the Godson ::: KILO
02. Meek Mill ::: Believe (feat. Justin Timberlake)
03. Roy Woods ::: Shot Again
04. Pop Smoke ::: Shake the Room (feat. Quavo)
05. G-Eazy ::: Still Be Friends (feat. Tory Lanez & Tyga)
06. Pop Smoke ::: Dior
07. French Montana ::: 50’s & 100’s (feat. Juicy J)
08. Pop Smoke ::: Invincible
09. J Hus ::: Reckless
10. Young T & Bugsey ::: Don’t Rush (feat. Headie One)
11. Shane Eagle ::: Storytime
12. Show Dem Camp ::: Alariwo
13. Govana ::: Champ
14. Show Dem Camp ::: True Story (feat. Burna Boy)
15. Blaq Diamond ::: Love Letter
16. Sha Sha ::: Tender Love (feat. DJ Maphorisa & Kabza De Small)
17. Popcaan ::: Love You
18. Leven Kali ::: Do U Wrong (feat. Syd)
19. Kojey Radical ::: Cashmere Tears
20. Brent Faiyaz ::: Been Away
21. The Heatmakerz, Joell Ortiz & Fred the Godson ::: OUTSTANDING