{"id":24886,"date":"2025-12-21T15:22:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T15:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=24886"},"modified":"2025-12-21T15:22:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T15:22:17","slug":"he-didnt-take-a-single-penny-steven-victor-reveals-50-cent-exec-produced-pop-smokes-posthumous-album-for-0-personally-calling-roddy-ricch-and-quavo-to-f","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=24886","title":{"rendered":"\u201cHe didn\u2019t take a single penny\u201d \u2014 Steven Victor reveals 50 Cent exec-produced Pop Smoke\u2019s posthumous album for $0, personally calling Roddy Ricch and Quavo to finish it."},"content":{"rendered":"

In the competitive world of the music industry, where royalty splits and contract negotiations usually take center stage, a rare story of altruism emerged following the tragic passing of Brooklyn drill star Pop Smoke. In a revealing interview, music executive Steven Victor shared the emotional depth behind the production of Pop Smoke\u2019s debut posthumous album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon<\/i>. He revealed that hip-hop icon 50 Cent stepped in to executive produce the project entirely for free, driven by a singular, heartbreaking goal: fulfilling a “dead kid’s dream.” Following Pop Smoke\u2019s murder in February 2020, 50 Cent saw it as his personal mission to ensure his prot\u00e9g\u00e9\u2019s legacy was cemented globally.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Mentor\u2019s Promise: Fulfilling the Vision of a “Younger Brother”<\/b> When 20-year-old Bashar Barakah Jackson, known as Pop Smoke, was killed during a home invasion, the hip-hop community lost one of its most promising voices. Pop Smoke had long viewed 50 Cent as a mentor, with many drawing parallels between the two rappers’ magnetic presence and gravelly vocal delivery. Following the tragedy, 50 Cent didn’t just offer condolences; he took full control of the unfinished project. Steven Victor emphasized that 50 Cent refused any executive producer fee or payment for his months of labor. “He didn\u2019t take a penny; he just wanted to fulfill his dream,” Victor stated, noting that 50 Cent viewed the young artist as a younger brother rather than a business asset.<\/span><\/p>\n

Organizing the Stars: The Personal Calls to Roddy Ricch and Quavo<\/b> 50 Cent\u2019s involvement went far beyond a mere title; he acted as the primary recruiter for the album\u2019s star-studded guest list. To ensure the production matched the immense hype surrounding the rapper\u2019s career, 50 Cent personally called top-tier artists to secure their participation. He famously used his own social media and personal connections to reach out to Roddy Ricch for the hit “The Woo” and coordinated with Quavo for multiple tracks, including “Aim for the Moon.” By leveraging his legendary status, 50 Cent ensured that the industry\u2019s “heaviest hitters” were involved, transforming the unfinished demos into a cohesive, high-quality body of work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Data and Impact: A Global Phenomenon Built on Loyalty<\/b> The emotional sacrifice and hard work paid off in record-breaking fashion. Released on July 3, 2020, the album became a global commercial juggernaut. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and spent a staggering 19 weeks at the top of the Billboard Top R&B\/Hip-Hop Albums chart\u2014the longest run for a posthumous project since 1990. Every single track from the original 19-song release charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in its first week. Within a year, the album was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA, proving that 50 Cent\u2019s intuition about Pop Smoke’s “megastar” potential was correct.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Chrome Rose: A Legacy Preserved in Detail<\/b> Beyond the music, 50 Cent\u2019s commitment extended to the visual legacy of the rapper. He famously intervened when fans criticized the original album artwork designed by Virgil Abloh, pushing for a redesign that better honored Pop Smoke\u2019s image. This led to the now-iconic chrome rose design that graced the final release. This selfless act by 50 Cent remains one of the most significant moments of “paying it forward” in rap history. It turned a potential tragedy into a worldwide celebration of talent, proving that in a cutthroat industry, true loyalty can transcend life itself.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the competitive world of the music industry, where royalty splits and contract negotiations usually take center stage, a rare story of altruism emerged following the tragic passing of Brooklyn drill star Pop Smoke. In a revealing interview, music executive Steven Victor shared the emotional depth behind the production of Pop Smoke\u2019s debut posthumous album,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24886\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}