Pop Smoke and Dua Lipa Create the Ultimate Summer Hit With ‘Demeanor’
Dua Lipa #DuaLipa
The modern remix era has made some odd pairings, but have faith, Pop Smoke and Dua Lipa did what needed to be done. On “Demeanor,” Brooklyn’s king of grime is right at home with Brit pop queen Dua Lipa, rapping over groovy bass on the late rapper’s new album. It’s last summer’s hits combined — part “Dior” and part “Don’t Start Now.” “You can’t say pop without smoke, so fill up your lungs / But diamonds’ll make you choke / You like the way I move / My demeanor is meaner than yours, so clap for the encore,” Dua Lipa delivers. (While his star was still on the rise, Smoke posted a viral video of himself dancing and vibing in the car to Calvin Harris’s 2018 single “One Kiss” featuring Lipa. Consider “Demeanor” their full circle moment.)
Pop Smoke’s second posthumous album, Faith, arrives just a year after his debut, Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It was followed up by a deluxe album with an extra 15 tracks, as well as a single, “AP” from Pop Smoke’s film debut, Boogie. Faith has features from rap legends like Kanye West, Pusha T, Rick Ross, Pharrell, and Kid Cudi. The list of rap royalty goes on with The-Dream 42 Dugg, 21 Savage, Takeoff, Future, Swae Lee, Quavo, Kodak Black, Rah Swish, TRAVI, and Lil Tjay. Pop Smoke’s team works hard, but we don’t even wanna know what Dua Lipa’s had to do. Listen to “Demeanor” and pay your respects with Faith.