Single Review: Pop Smoke & Rowdy Rebel – ‘Make It Rain’

This week we got our first glance at what Pop Smoke’s posthumous solo career might look like with the new track “Make It Rain” featuring Rowdy Rebel. 

The track has all the attributes of a Pop Smoke record, a catchy beat, fantastic flows, and infectious lyrics; in shorter terms, it’s a smash-hit. It’s almost scary how in-tune his music is with the musical climate of today, seeing as though this record was made months ago. “Make It Rain” has the soul of what Pop Smoke’s music was before his tragic passing in February, and is a further testament to how even after death Pop Smoke’s music will rule the summer airwaves. 

If this track is an example of what is coming for Pop Smoke’s posthumous record that is dropping on July 3rd, then fans should be beyond excited. Sometimes posthumous releases can feel robotic and stale, due to them missing the creative touch of the artists themselves, but this track felt natural and organic. “Make It Rain” doesn’t feel like a money-grab, or a label trying to revive the image of a deceased artist, it’s merely a testament to the pure talent and ambition Pop Smoke exhibited before his passing. 

Another aspect that makes this record even more notable is the contribution from the Brooklyn legend, Rowdy Rebel. He is currently incarcerated and his verse was recorded over a jail phone, and yet it fits seamlessly with the record. Fans have been wondering what the return of Rowdy Rebel and Bobby Shmurda will have on the region’s music scene, and this was somewhat a preview of what’s to come in December 2020. 

This should have been the summer of Pop Smoke. He was on the cutting edge of musicality, and a force that’s trajectory only was aiming upwards. Though he may have been taken from us, “Make It Rain” is a further indication that Pop Smoke’s influence on hip-hop will not soon be forgotten, and that there is a lot more still to come from him.