Shortly after Popcaan’s debut album, Where We Come From, was released in 2014, Drake tapped him to sing on “Controlla,” the Beenie Man-sampling smash from Views that marked a new era for dancehall-pop crossovers. On Forever, the Jamaican artist presents a spiritually minded follow-up that draws on the moody warmth of contemporary hip-hop and R&B. Full of twinkling, buoyant synths (“Deserve It All”) and cheerful lyricism (“Happy Now,” “Strong Woman”), the album is a triumphant view-from-the-top meditation on fame, power, and perseverance—concepts he captures most colorfully on “Superstar.” “Where I grew up…it was rough on that side, you know?” he told Beats 1 host Ebro Darden. “But I always knew that I was a star. That’s why I sing that song, because it’s from the hungry days to proper living.”
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