Tragically killed during a home robbery on February 19, 2020, Bashar Barakah Jackson, aka rapper Pop Smoke, now has a top 100 Billboard hit with the song “Dior”. Pop Smoke was relatively new to the rapping scene, having started a professional career sometime in 2018. “Dior”, which has been streamed more than 12 million times by the rapper’s fans since last week, has rocketed up the Billboard RnB/Hip-Hop charts to #22, and it sat at #31 on the all-genre streaming chart.
GET MEET THE WOO 2 BEFORE ANYBODY 💫💫💫https://t.co/QQRSNosTJW
— POP SMOKE 💫💫 (@POPSMOKE10) January 22, 2020
Bashar Barakah Jackson was born on July 20, 1999. He hailed from Brooklyn, New York. Like a lot of kids in a bad situation, Bashar started dealing drugs and getting into trouble, and at one time had to serve a two-year house arrest sentence. After discovering rap music, Bashar was always hanging around different recording artists and learned how to make mixtapes and experimented with sampling and beats. Mixing songs in 2018 motivated him to want to start his own music career.
Time to meet the woo 💫
Stream @POPSMOKE10's new mixtape right now https://t.co/Jv872tEhPJ pic.twitter.com/WkPn7Zvlji— Spotify (@Spotify) February 7, 2020
One of Pop Smoke’s best-known hits includes the song “Welcome To The Party”. The song debuted in 2019 to much success, and the rapper also gained the attention of Nicki Minaj, who featured on a remix of the song, along with the rapper Skepta. “Welcome To The Party” kicked off as the lead single for Pop Smoke’s album called “Meet The Woo”. With his album debut, things seemed to be on the rise for the twenty-year-old. More collaborations and another album quickly followed.
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) February 7, 2020
Pop Smoke’s last official album before his death is called “Meet The Woo 2″. The album was recently released on February 7, 2020. The album peaked at #7 on the US Mixtape Charts. There is also a deluxe album out with additional music and materials that peaked at #33 on the charts. The rapper has also previously worked with artists such as Travis Scott (“Gatti”) and with an array of performers such as Quavo, Jackboys, Chris Brown and many others.
Sub ZERO pic.twitter.com/2Sbe7PvB8N
— Chris Brown (@chrisbrown) February 26, 2020
That depends on if the rapper has left behind any material planned for future albums. Pop Smoke’s death came fast and sudden. Hopefully, his killers will be brought to justice soon. Right now, his family is trying to grieve as well as handle the media, fans, and help out authorities any way they can. Later, if they wish, they might be willing to contribute something else such as future music or projects, but at the moment it’s too difficult to say.
