Something Special (song)

"Something Special" is a song by American rapper Pop Smoke, released on July 3, 2020, as the fourteenth track off his posthumous debut studio album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon. The track prominently samples and interpolates Fabolous and Tamia's 2003 hit song "Into You". It is one of two songs from Pop Smoke's album that interpolates a 2003 song; he reworked his mentor 50 Cent's "Many Men (Wish Death)" on "Got It on Me". Critics noted Pop Smoke's versatility as a singer on the song, while some criticized the song as "dreary" and "corny".

"Something Special"
Song by Pop Smoke
from the album Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon
ReleasedJuly 3, 2020
GenreR&B-bounce
Length2:38
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Kdi

Background

Pop Smoke was eager to showcase his hidden talents to his label bosses. He was a new signee to the record label Victor Victor Worldwide at the time he first played the song for his label bosses. Shivam Pandya, director of artist management at Victor Victor, recalled his first listen: "When I heard that song, I was just like, 'Who is this? I want to hear that song again'. Hearing his raw, gruffy voice on that beautiful instrumental was amazing. That's just my favorite type of music: people who can't really sing that well, but they have a voice that's nontraditional and it works".[1]

Composition

Fabolous and Tamia's "So Into You" itself is a recorded version of Tamia's 1998 single "So Into You", produced by Tim & Bob, which in turn sampled the Commodores's song "Say Yeah". As such, all the writers from the songs are credited on "Something Special", which also takes its title from a line on "So Into You".[2] "Something Special" is a '90s R&B-bounce love song,[3] with Pop Smoke delivering lustful lines.[4] The first part of the chorus is inspired by Tamia's intro on "So Into You", where she sings "I think you're truly something special". The rest of the chorus is similar to Tamia's original, although Pop Smoke "flips"[3][2] the line "I really like What you've, done to me" to "You are (You are) something special (My girl) I'll take you on a shopping spree".[2]

Critical reception

Pitchfork's Alphonse Pierre said some of Pop's risks on the album pay off, referencing "Something Special", which Pierre described as "the type of macho love song that hasn't been done this well since 50 Cent's '21 Questions'".[3] The New Yorker's Carrie Battan wrote that Pop Smoke could sing unsually well, "for someone whose rapping voice was a low growl". Battan said although the song seems "at times crassly commercial, the record can seem like a betrayal of Pop Smoke's signature sound. But, more likely, it is the sincere project of a young man exploring all his possibilities".[5] Eddie Fu of Genius named "Something Special" as an example of how "Pop Smoke shows range beyond his Brooklyn drill roots on his posthumous debut album".[2] Paper magazine's Bianca Gracie called the song part of its parent album's "adorably sensitive side".[6] Conversely, August Brown of the Los Angeles Times opined that Pop Smoke's range "doesn't always work", and said the song is "not a good fit", although stating "it's admirable that, before his death, Pop Smoke was already figuring out both his lineage in the New York canon and where to take it from here".[7] Variety's A.D. Amorosi said the song is so romantic, it makes it "corny, but in a genuinely touching fashion".[8] Slant's Charles Lyons-Burt said the song, along with the Ginuwine-sampling "What You Know Bout Love", marks the farthest Pop Smoke "has strayed from his patented drill and trap origins, but they're dreary and tepid rather than exciting sonic departures".[9]

Charts
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[10] 60
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[11] 33
New Zealand (RMNZ)[12] 40
US Billboard Hot 100[13] 41
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[14] 21
US Rolling Stone Top 100[15] 15
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"Something Special" Audio on YouTube

References
  1. Skelton, Eric; Setaro, Shawn; McKinney, Jessica. "Cover Story: The Making of Pop Smoke's 'Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon'". Complex. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  2. Fu, Eddie; (Genius Staff Writer) (July 6, 2020). "Pop Smoke Flips A 2003 Fabolous Hit On "Something Special"". Genius. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  3. Pierre, Alphonse (July 7, 2020). "Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  4. O'Connor, Roisin (July 3, 2020). "Pop Smoke – Shoot For the Stars Aim For the Moon review: Late rapper's album is brilliant and bittersweet". The Independent. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  5. Battan, Carrie (July 27, 2020). "The Rallying Cry in Pop Smoke's Posthumous Album". The New Yorker. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  6. Gracie, Gracie (July 3, 2020). "Pop Smoke's Debut Album Solidifies His Legacy". Paper. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  7. Brown, August (July 5, 2020). "Pop Smoke's posthumous album: A chart-topping debut and a frustrating farewell". LA Times. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  8. Amorosi, A.D. (July 2020). "Pop Smoke's 'Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon': Album Review". Variety. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  9. Lyons-Burt, Charles (July 8, 2020). "Review: Pop Smoke's Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon Is a Half-Baked Epitaph". Slant. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  10. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  11. "Pop Smoke Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  12. "NZ Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. August 17, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  13. "Pop Smoke Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  14. "Pop Smoke Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  15. "Top 100 Songs, July 3, 2020 - July 9, 2020". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
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