Tell the Vision
The version features a tweaked beat that includes a piano loop, accompanying the vocals that are solely performed by Pop Smoke.
[2] He had previously recorded a verse for Pop Smoke's track "Paranoia" that was not released on his debut posthumous studio album Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon (2020) because of a glitch, though it leaked in July 2020.
[3][4] The song was included on the deluxe edition of the album, to which Pusha T responded by "demand[ing]" Victor for the removal of his verse "to avoid any confusion that may take away from this amazing body of work!
[6] West later unveiled a collaboration with Pop Smoke for Donda during the album's second listening party at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on August 6, 2021, which excited the crowd.
[12] The song uses a synth-pop production that features the use of drill drums,[12] lurching synths, choral flourishes, and interspersed spoken testimonials.
[14][15] The intro then features a sample of Power 105.1 host Angie Martinez delivering an ode to Pop Smoke, which aired the day after he died.
[14] The song's alternate version is a drill interlude with no drums and features a tweaked beat from West that is reliant on a piano loop,[9][17][18] accompanied by quick, fragmented hi-hats.
[9][19] Throughout "Tell the Vision", Pop Smoke raps about his early life in Brooklyn, New York,[13] the struggles he faced at the time,[11] and his favorite name-brand designers.
[20] The rapper also references having gone from the bottom to the top: "Look, I remember the days, same 'fit for a week straight/I used to eat 50-cent cake, now, it's Philippe's/It's Philippe's for the steak and hella thots up in the Wraith.
[28] In Rolling Stone, Mosi Reeves hypothesized that the line "I see the platinum in the clouds" is about Faith potentially having "the same commercial heights" as Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon.
[30] Alex Zidel, for HotNewHipHop, stated that even though listening to "Tell the Vision" seems "bittersweet", Pop Smoke's team "did a great job putting [it] together".
[17] In a review of Donda for The New York Times, Jon Caramanica saw the song as a "recycled" collaboration between West and Pop Smoke, perceiving it to be "purely decorative".
[9] Mano Sundaresan from NPR felt assured that the track is "one of the worst pieces of posthumous rap" he has ever listened to, citing "its plodding piano instrumental" and the lack of drums.
