Bashar Barakah Jackson † (July 20, 1999 - February 19, 2020 [aged 20]) better known professionally as POP SMOKE, was an American rapper and songwriter, who performed the genres of rap, hip hop, drill, and Brooklyn drill.
Personal Life[]
Bashar was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, on July 20, 1999 to a Panamanian mother, Audrey Jackson, and a Jamaican father, Greg Jackson. Bashar has an older brother named Obasi. During his childhood he attended a total of nine schools while growing up in Canarsie, Brooklyn. He played drums and sung in church as child. During 8th grade Bashar was expelled for bringing a handgun to school and served two years on house arrest. He relocated to Philadelphia to enroll in Rocktop Academy, during his time at Rocktop he started playing basketball as a point guard. He was later forced to leave after being diagnosed with a heart murmur. Jackson later turned to street life.
Music Career[]
During his career, which lasted from 2018-2020, he released a total of one studio album, which was Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, (2020), three extended plays, including Mood Swings, (2020), Enjoy Yourself, (2020), and For the Night, (2020), and two mixtapes, which included Meet the Woo, (2019), and Meet the Woo, (2020).
Death[]
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, broke into the house and shot him twice in the chest. 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.