With any posthumous release, who stands to profit? If the art is good, fans benefit the most, and the artist’s legacy moves forward. When the object is purely commercial, no service is rendered, and the ugly crass beast rears its head: they did it for the money.
Such is the case with the Enjoy Yourself EP, a five-pack of Pop Smoke songs, in name if nothing else. My main objection: all of these songs have already been commercially released. “Enjoy Yourself” made the cut for Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, and is offered as the justification for this preposterous EP. “Yea Yea” is also present on the album, while “Backseat,” “Tsunami,” and “She Feelin’ Nice” are all on the album’s deluxe edition. There’s nothing new here whatsoever; it’s a desperate attempt to rack up streams, built on the most hollow of foundations.
Yes, that’s the second thing: these songs are empty. “Enjoy Yourself,” admittedly, feels the closest to a completed tune, but the others are little more than studio sketches. Most of the songs are dominated by featured artists; when Pop Smoke does chime in, it feels very much cut-and-paste. There’s no energy, much less chemistry. The bottom of the well was reached long before the label cooked up these prefab productions.
Typically I’d include a link to stream this release, but, on principle, I refuse. Honor Pop Smoke’s memory by rejecting the exploitation of his image and music. Stay woo.
Opinion of the Court 