Meet the Woo 2 (alternatively titled Meet the Woo, Vol. 2) is the second mixtape by AmericanrapperPop Smoke. It was released by Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records on February 7, 2020. The deluxe edition of the mixtape was released on February 12, 2020. Guest appearances on the mixtape include Quavo, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Fivio Foreign, Lil Tjay, Nav, Gunna, and PnB Rock. It is the final recording released before Pop Smoke was murdered during a home invasion.
Background and release
In January 2020, Pop Smoke said when his mixtape Meet the Woo 2 would come out.[1][2] In that month, Pop Smoke announced his first tour, called Meet the Woo Tour.[3][4] Pop Smoke had planned to start his tour in the United States in March 2020 and end it in the United Kingdom the following month.[4][5] A few weeks after, Meet the Woo 2 was released on February 7, 2020.[6][7] The deluxe version of Meet the Woo 2 was released on February 12, 2020.[8][9]
Songs
Meet the Woo 2 is a drill, hip hop, and electronic mixtape.[10][11] In the first song of his mixtape, "Invincible," Pop Smoke says he knows what it's like to live in the streets.[12] The next song is a drill song called "Shake the Room" featuring Quavo.[13]The music in it has soft bass sounds and instruments made of wood that make a calm sound. It also has voices singing together in a way that sounds good.[14] The hip hop song "Get Back" has music that includes a sound like a horn and strings, a smooth melody played on a piano, a beat played by a bass, and also sounds like police sirens.[15] The words that Pop Smoke sings in the song are him saying to his enemies that they should not come near him.[15] In the drill[16][17] track "Christopher Walking", Pop Smoke talks about how he's like the character Frank White played by Christopher Walken. He also says that he likes expensive Dior clothes, flashy jewelry, and shooting his enemies on the street.[18] The song includes parts of the lyrics from 50 Cent's 2005 song called "Window Shopper."
[19][20] According to Kyann-Sian Williams, who wrote for NME, the song "Sweetheart," which is drill song and features Fivio Foreign, was about more than just the words that were rapped.[21]
In the song "Element," Pop Smoke sings words that are mean and scary over music that sounds creepy.[22] Back in November 2019, Pop Smoke went to the United Kingdom to make a song with Charlie Sloth called "Fire in the Booth, Pt. 1." Later, the song was released again as a single called "Armed N Dangerous (Charlie Sloth Freestyle)".[23] In the lyrics, Pop Smoke talks about being part of the Crips gang through his family or friends.[24] The song "Mannequin," that features Lil Tjay, uses lyrics from Ariana Grande's song "7 Rings".[25] Pop Smoke and Lil Tjay rap a tribute to fortune in this pop and trap song.[12][26] The song "Dreaming" doesn't have a clear sound and mostly sounds quiet and low.[10] The song "She's Got a Thing" has vocals in the background, and the lyrics are about sex.[12][27] The bonus track "Dior" is a single that belongs to the drill and hip hop genre, and its lyrics are about dating women and shopping for the latest clothing.[28][29][30][31] The final bonus track is a drill and hip hop song named "War" that features Lil Tjay.[32]
Singles
A few days before to the release of "Christopher Walking", the mixtape's lead single, Pop Smoke shared a preview of it on Instagram.[18] In the preview, Pop Smoke called out fellow Brooklyn rappers Casanova and Smoove L, referring to them as "Trashanova" and "Scary L".[33][34] "Christopher Walking" was later released on January 16, 2020.[35] On the same day that the song was released, Brennan Rowe-directed music video for "Christopher Walking" was also made available.[36] As Pop Smoke drives through New York, he shows his style of clothing and accessories and talks with fans along the way.[18] In a later scene, old clips of Malcolm X, Blank Panther demonstrations, and other significant Black Americans are mixed together.[18][37]
On March 28, 2020, "Shake the Room" was made available as the second single from the mixtape.[38] On the same day that the song's single was released, a music video for it was as well.[39][40] It was created by Virgil Abloh in January 2020 in Paris during Paris Fashion Week.[41][42] It was Pop Smoke's first music video released following his death.[39][40] In the video, Pop Smoke and Quavo can be seen enjoying around a variety of activities in Paris, such as driving in a red Ferrari.[43][44] The song reached its positions at number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 76 on the UK Singles Chart.[45][46]
Other songs
The single "War" was released on October 4, 2019.[47] On October 28, 2019, a music video made by JLShotThat for the song was released.[48][49] The music video, shot in black-and-white, features footage of Pop Smoke and Lil Tjay in a big mansion, riding motorcycles, performing live, and ending a show.[32][48] After Pop Smoke was killed, "War" entered the Canadian Hot 100 chart, reaching its highest spot at number 100 and staying on the chart for one week, as reported in the March 6, 2020, chart.[50] "Element" also reached its highest spot on the Canadian Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 90.[50]
On July 26, 2019, "Dior" was first released as the sixth track on Pop Smoke's first mixtape Meet the Woo.[51] On February 11, 2020, "Dior" was released as the third and final single from "Meet the Woo" on American rhythmic contemporary radio.[52] JLShotThat made the music video for the song, which was released on September 3, 2019.[53] In the music video, Pop Smoke is seen with a group of men and women dancing to the song in a strip club next to a parking lot.[53][54] After Pop Smoke died, "Dior" became his first hit as a solo artist after his death. The song reached number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[55] When Pop Smoke's first album released after his death, called Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon (2020), "Dior" reached number 22 on the Hot 100 chart.[56] In November 2020, "Dior" was nominated for Best Rap Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.[57][58]
Live performances
Pop Smoke performed "Dior" live in October 2019 on MTV's Total Request Live spinoff program Fresh Out Friday.[59] He performed "Dior" for VevoDSCVR a month later, a platform highlighting up-and-coming young musicians.[60] He performed "Dior" and "War" live at a Rolling Loud event in Los Angeles, California, later in December of that year.[61][62] A hologram of Pop Smoke performing "Dior" on stage had its debut at the Yard Club in Paris, France, in February of the following year, not long after he died.[63]
HipHopDX writer Bernadette Giacomazzo stated with upbeat sounds on Meet the Woo 2, Pop Smoke's "raw growling" was shocking and loud, but thought it was also effective.[65] Erin Lowers for Exclaim! said that even though the sound of Pop Smoke's voice was already unique to set him apart from other musicians from New York, he said the record "feels timely," and there is "energy" felt in his songs that keep the listener hooked. He declared that Meet the Woo 2 would allow people to remember his personality forever.[12] Fred Thomas of AllMusic mentioned it has "unrelentingly raw energy" that makes it one Pop Smoke's best mixtapes. He claimed that each song on the mixtape is filled with pleasure and disaster and is loaded with the "same tension that fills the room right before a fight breaks out. " He says in his conclusion that Pop Smoke made something that is "exhilaratingly bleak" and "always ready to explode".[26]
In a less positive review, Steve "Flash" Juon of RapReviews mentioned that the mixtape "regretfully" did not meet his expectations. He said that as a lyricist, Pop Smoke was "'just there' – not terrible, not brilliant, just okay." He did, however, say that Meet the Woo 2 showed that Pop Smoke had future potential.[66] Writing for NME, Kyann-Sian William said the mixtape features "slightly lackluster" songs, commenting that when A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie raps on "Foreigner", he gives a "sloppy delivery" and thought the song should not be on the mixtape. Although, she said the mixtape was for "the mosh-pitting party-goers".[27] Reed Jackson of Pitchfork said while Meet the Woo 2 is "all sort of sounds like 'Party'", it did not get the same attention as his first mixtape Meet the Woo because of its production and sound.[10]
Commercial performance
With sales of 36,000 album-equivalent units, including 5,000 pure album sales in its first week, Meet the Woo 2 debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 dated February 22, 2020,[67] giving Pop Smoke his first top-10 hit in the United States.[68][69] The mixtape also peaked at number five on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for having sold more than 500,000 album-equivalent units in the United States.[70][71]
On the February 14, 2020, edition of the UK Albums Chart, Meet the Woo 2 debuted at number 22.[72] The mixtape received attention following Pop Smoke's murder and reached number 16 on the chart for the week ending February 28, 2020, giving the rapper his first top-20 success in the United Kingdom.[73] For sales of 100,000 album-equivalent units in the United Kingdom, the British Phonographic Industrycertified the mixtape silver.[74]Meet the Woo 2 further peaked within the top-30 of charts in Australia,[75] Canada,[76] Denmark,[77] the Netherlands,[78] Finland,[79] New Zealand,[80] Norway,[81] Sweden,[82] Switzerland,[83] and on the Belgium Flanders chart.[84]
