Pop Smoke

Bashar Barakah Jackson (July 20, 1999 – February 19, 2020), known professionally as Pop Smoke, was an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Canarsie, Brooklyn, Pop Smoke began his musical career in 2018. By collaborating with UK drill artists and producers, who often employed more minimal and aggressive instrumentation than its Chicago counterpart, he quickly gained fame after he released his breakout single "Welcome to the Party" in April 2019.

Pop Smoke then signed a recording contract with Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records, and released his debut mixtape Meet the Woo (2019). The mixtape's second single, "Dior", reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. His second mixtape, Meet the Woo 2 (2020), debuted at number 7 on the Billboard 200. It was released just under two weeks prior to Pop Smoke being fatally shot during a home invasion in Los Angeles. His debut studio album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, was posthumously released in July 2020 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with all 19 tracks from the album charting on the Billboard Hot 100. He posthumously guest starred on the 47th season premiere of The Bad Life of Daniel as Westley, with the episode being dedicated to his memory.

Early life
Bashar Barakah Jackson was born on July 20, 1999, in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jamaican mother and a Panamanian father. He spent his childhood in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn. Pop Smoke was expelled from eighth grade for bringing a gun to school, and spent two years in house arrest after being charged with weapons possession. When he was 15, he won a basketball scholarship to Rocktop Academy, a Philadelphia prep school, but only stayed a short time, instead choosing to sell drugs.

Career
He began his music career in 2018 while hanging around other recording artists like Jay Gwuapo during their studio sessions, initially remixing popular songs within the New York City drill music scene, before embarking on creating original music. In a Genius interview, he stated that his artist name of Pop Smoke is a combination of Poppa (a nickname given to him by his Panamanian grandmother) and Smoke (part of a nickname given to him by childhood friends).

In early 2019, Pop Smoke released his debut single, “NPR”. This gained him buzz in the Brooklyn area. In January of 2019, he released “Flexing”, which received 100,000 views on YouTube within a day. Meanwhile, Pop Smoke befriended producer Rico Beats, who was acquainted with record executive Steven Victor. The three set up an interview and Pop Smoke revealed that he signed to Victor Victor Worldwide, a subsidiary of Universal Music, in April 2019. In the same month, Pop Smoke released his breakout single, "Welcome to the Party", the lead single of his debut mixtape, Meet the Woo (2019). The song was later remixed two times, one featuring Nicki Minaj and the other featuring Skepta in August 2019. The song was noted for its usage of UK drill production, later commonly seen throughout his discography. This was due to frequent collaborations with British drill producer 808Melo. Other well-known songs of his include: "Mpr", "Flexin'" and "Dior". Following the rise to popularity of "Welcome to the Party", he collaborated with other popular artists on singles such as: "War" featuring Lil Tjay and "100k on a Coupe" featuring Calboy. In December 2019, he collaborated on "Gatti" with JackBoys and Travis Scott, which is the last track on the JackBoys (2019) album by Scott and his Cactus Jack members.

In February 2020, Pop Smoke released his second mixtape Meet the Woo 2 with features from Quavo, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Fivio Foreign and Lil Tjay. In five days of its release, a deluxe edition was released with three new songs: "Wolves" featuring Nav, "Dior (Remix)" featuring Gunna, and "Like Me" featuring PnB Rock. Pop Smoke's manager Steven Victor announced on May 14, 2020, that Smoke's posthumous debut album will be released on June 12, 2020. American rapper 50 Cent gave praise to the deceased rapper and expressed interest in finishing the album, with possible features from Roddy Ricch, Drake and Chris Brown, while also promising to get Pop Smoke's mother to an awards show. In April, a documentary on Pop Smoke's life was announced to be in the works. Pop Smoke's posthumous debut album Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon was originally set for release on June 12, 2020, but was released on July 3, 2020, to commercial success, reaching number one in several countries, including on the US Billboard 200, with the entire album also charting on the Billboard Hot 100, led by the tracks "For the Night" and "The Woo". On July 20, 2020, on what would have been Pop Smoke's 21st birthday, a deluxe edition of the album was released.

In August 2020, XXL revealed that Pop Smoke was chosen as the first artist for their 2020 Freshman Class, which he accepted. Although he was not eventually listed in the class, the magazine included a January 2020 interview with Pop and said despite his death, he is still part of the class.

Legal issues
On January 17, 2020 after returning from Paris Fashion Week, Pop Smoke was arrested by federal authorities at John F. Kennedy International Airport and charged with transporting a stolen vehicle across state lines. The vehicle was a Rolls-Royce Wraith, valued at $375,000, whose owner had reported it stolen after Smoke had reportedly borrowed it in California for a music video shoot on the condition it would be returned the next day. Investigators believed he arranged for the car to be transported on a flatbed truck to New York. He posted a photo of himself in front of the stolen car on Instagram and on Facebook. The car was recovered by authorities at Smoke's mother's house, in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn, and sported Alabama license plates and tinted windows. Smoke pleaded not guilty, and was released on $250,000 bail on the same day.

Death
Pop Smoke died on February 19, 2020, after being shot twice during a home invasion in Hollywood Hills, California. According to authorities, four hooded men entered the home at about 4:30 AM on February 19; one of them wore a ski mask and carried a handgun. Police 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 taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. 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.

Pop Smoke was interred at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. On July 10, five men were arrested in connection with his murder. Four were charged with his murder: Corey Walker, 19, Keandre Rodgers, 18, and two teens ages 17 and 15. Since the crime was committed during a robbery, the adults are eligible for the death penalty. A fifth person, 21-year-old Jaquan Murphy was charged with attempted murder.

Legacy
A notable expatriate of the UK drill sound, Pop Smoke's popularity in New York was such that his songs were played more than some Billboard number 1 hits throughout 2019. The way he blended the defining harsh sounds of drill with lyrics pertaining to leading a luxuriously hedonistic lifestyle, similar to those popularized within the American trap sound, led many to believe he represented his city better than his contemporaries; "he conquered New York rap and gave the city the kind of readymade and potentially defining star it hadn't seen in years", said Danny Schwartz of The Ringer.

His work ethic was widely praised by his peers in the music industry. Executive producer of his posthumous album 50 Cent revealed he was always "writing what [he] 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 his strong desire to leave his old lifestyle, he motivated young people of his neighborhood to get away from the streets. Producer Rico Beats explained he 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 which aims at helping and inspiring 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. His funeral was attended by a massive crowd estimated to over a thousand people. Although his lyrics do not contend with police brutality or racism, his songs have been popularly used during the George Floyd protests in New York City as a symbol of resistance.