Pop Smoke was an American rapper. He was fatally shot during a home invasion on February 19th, 2020.
Let’s dive into some trivia and facts about his life and career.
- His full name was Bashar Barakah Jackson
- He was born on July 20, 1999
- He was shot fatally on February 19, 2020)
- He was known professionally as Pop Smoke
- He was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter
- He was considered by many to be the face of Brooklyn drill
- Born and raised in Canarsie, Brooklyn
- Pop Smoke began his musical career in late 2018 after releasing his debut single titled “Mpr (Panic Part 3 Remix)”
- He often collaborated with UK drill artists and producers
- These artists and producers employed more minimal and aggressive instrumentation than drill artists from Chicago
- Pop Smoke rose to fame with the release of his breakout singles “Welcome to the Party” and “Dior” in 2019
- Following his rise to fame, Rico Beats introduced Pop Smoke to Steven Victor in April 2019
- Victor would later have Pop Smoke sign a recording contract with Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records
- He released his debut mixtape Meet the Woo in July 2019
- His second mixtape, Meet the Woo 2, was released on February 7, 2020
- The mixtape debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200
- Becoming the rapper’s first top-10 hit in the United States
- Less than two weeks after the release of the mixtape, Pop Smoke was fatally shot during a home invasion in Los Angeles
- 50 Cent was the executive-producer of his posthumous debut studio album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, released on July 3, 2020
- The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200
- All 19 tracks from the album charted on the Billboard Hot 100
- The album also spawned a string of international top-10 singles
- Including “For the Night” and “What You Know Bout Love”
- Bashar Barakah Jackson was born on July 20, 1999, in Brooklyn, New York, to a Panamanian mother, Audrey Jackson, and a Jamaican father, Greg Jackson
- He had an older brother named Obasi
- Jackson attended nine different schools while growing up in Canarsie, Brooklyn
- He played the African drums in his local church as a child
- Jackson was expelled from eighth grade for bringing a gun to school and spent two years on house arrest after being charged with possessing a weapon
- Jackson started playing basketball as a point and shooting guard
- He relocated to Philadelphia to enroll in Rocktop Academy
- He was later forced to leave after being diagnosed with a heart murmur.
- Jackson later turned to street life
- On February 19, 2020, Pop Smoke was renting a house owned by The Real Housewives star Teddi Mellencamp and her husband, Edwin Arroyave, in Hollywood Hills, California
- At around 4:30 a.m., four hooded men, including one wearing a ski mask and carrying a handgun
- The LAPD had received news of the home invasion from a call from the East Coast
- Police arrived at the home six minutes later and found Pop Smoke with multiple gunshot wounds
- He was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where doctors performed a thoracotomy on the left side of his chest
- A few hours later, he was pronounced dead at the age of 20 years old
- On February 21, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner revealed that the cause of Pop Smoke’s death was a gunshot wound to the torso
- Investigators believed that the house was a target for home invasions following a string of robberies that took place at homes rented by musicians
- The LAPD at first considered that Pop Smoke’s death was gang-related as he was tied to the Crips
- They also suspected that his killers may have been gang-affiliated
- The LAPD later believed his death was the consequence of a home robbery gone wrong
- The day before his murder, Pop Smoke and friend Mike Dee had posted several images on social media, including one in which Mellencamp’s home address can be seen in the background
- The rapper also posted a story on Instagram and Facebook of gifts he had received
- One showed the house’s full address on the packaging, giving out its location
- Pop Smoke’s body was originally planned to be buried at the Cypress Hills Cemetery but was later changed to Green-Wood Cemetery
- Family, friends, and fans of Pop Smoke gathered in his hometown of Canarsie, Brooklyn, to show their respects
- His casket was pulled in a horse-drawn carriage and was surrounded by glass windows and white curtains
- On July 9, 2020, three adult men and two minors were arrested for the murder of the rapper
- Pop Smoke’s suspected killers were identified as Corey Walker, 19; Keandre D. Rodgers, 18; Jaquan Murphy, 21, and two unnamed juveniles who were ages 15 and 17 at the time of the killing
- Walker and Rodgers were each charged with murder with a special circumstance that alleged the killing was committed “during the commission of a robbery and a burglary”
- A judge later determined that Rodgers was still a minor at the time of Pop Smoke’s murder
- Walker is being defended by defense attorney Christopher Darden, a former prosecutor from the O. J. Simpson murder case
- After Walker refused any more delays in his case, witnesses were due to testify at a preliminary hearing in March 2021
- Walker is eligible for the death penalty or life without parole if convicted on the murder charge
- The two juveniles had also been charged with murder and robbery in juvenile court
- Murphy was later charged with attempted murder
- In May 2021, new details emerged that Pop Smoke was taking a shower at an Airbnb when masked men forced themselves through the curtains of a second-story balcony
- A woman who was staying with Pop Smoke at the time in the house had a gun held to her head
- One of the intruders threatened to kill her: “Shut the fuck up. Do you want to die?”
- The woman heard Pop Smoke struggle in the shower and then heard him screaming
- Pop Smoke ran out of the bathroom and then the woman heard a loud bang and heard Pop Smoke fall to the ground
- Two other intruders began to kick him
- Pop Smoke was able to get up and run downstairs, but not before the woman heard him get shot two more times
- She followed Pop Smoke to sees him on the ground and screams for Michael Durodola to call 911
- It was believed the intruders stole Pop Smoke’s gold watch and other jewelry before running away from the house
- In May 2020, the 15-year-old, the youngest of the four intruders, allegedly admitted killing Pop Smoke over a diamond-studded Rolex during a recorded interview with a cellmate at a juvenile detention center
- The 15-year-old told the cellmate that Pop Smoke at first complied with them but then tried to fight them and a confrontation broke out in which Pop Smoke was pistol-whipped and shot in the chest three times with a Beretta M9
- The intruders allegedly wanted Pop Smoke’s gold watch but only made off with his Rolex, which they sold for only $2,000
- Pop Smoke’s parents, Audrey and Greg Jackson shared memories of their son before saying how gun violence took him away from them
- A notable overseas exponent of the UK drill sound, Pop Smoke’s popularity in New York was such that his songs were played more than some Billboard number one hits throughout 2019
- Danny Schwartz wrote in The Ringer that “[Pop Smoke] conquered New York rap and gave the city the kind of readymade and potentially defining star it hadn’t seen in years”
- Pop Smoke’s work ethic was widely praised by his peers in the music industry
- Executive producer of his posthumous album 50 Cent revealed Smoke was always “writing what said down” on his telephone, while Quavo added he “felt like [he] was talking to somebody that had been in the game for three years already”
- Because of Smoke’s strong desire to leave his old lifestyle, he motivated young people of his neighborhood to get away from the streets
- Producer Rico Beats explained Smoke started “telling kids, don’t go the gang route”, wanting to “be a better person”
- A few months after his death, his family announced the creation of Shoot for the Stars, a foundation launched by Pop Smoke which aims to help and inspire inner-city youth with a platform that helps to achieve goals amidst living and growing up in difficult circumstances
- After his death, several murals of him were created in Canarsie
- Although his lyrics do not generally contend with police brutality or racism, his songs, particularly “Dior”, were popularly used during the George Floyd protests in New York City as a symbol of resistance
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