Pop Smoke, 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 with his debut single “Mpr (Panic Part 3 Remix)”. Pop Smoke rose to fame with the release of his breakout singles “Welcome to the Party” and “Dior” in 2019. He often collaborated with UK drill artists and producers, who employed more minimal and aggressive instrumentation than drill artists from Chicago.
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, and debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200, becoming the rapper’s first top-10 project in the United States.
Less than two weeks after the release of the mixtape, Pop Smoke was murdered during a home invasion in Los Angeles. Fellow New York rapper 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 and 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” (featuring DaBaby and Lil Baby) and “What You Know Bout Love”.
Early Life
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.
Music Career
In a Genius interview, he stated that his artist name of Pop Smoke is a combination of Poppa, a name given to him by his Panamanian grandmother, and Smocco Guwop, a nickname from childhood friends. He began his music career in 2018 when visiting a Brooklyn recording studio with fellow rapper Jay Gwuapo. After Gwuapo got high on drugs, he fell asleep. Pop Smoke went into the booth to try rapping for the first time, just to see if he could do it. He used a beat he got from 808Melo’s YouTube channel and recorded his track titled “Mpr (Panic Part 3 Remix)”. On January 28, 2019, he released “Flexin'”. Meanwhile, Pop Smoke befriended producer Rico Beats, who was acquainted with record executive Steven Victor.
The three set up an interview, and in April 2019, Pop Smoke signed to Victor Victor Worldwide, a subsidiary of Universal Music. On April 23, 2019, Pop Smoke released his breakout single, “Welcome to the Party”, that was produced by 808Melo. Two remixes of the song were later recorded, with one featuring Nicki Minaj and the other featuring Skepta. Pop Smoke released his debut mixtape Meet the Woo on July 26, 2019. From October to December 2019, Pop Smoke would release a plethora of singles, including “War” with Lil Tjay, and “100k on a Coupe” with Calboy. On December 27, 2019, Pop Smoke appeared on Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack Records compilation album JackBoys on the song “Gatti” which was also accompanied by a music video. “Gatti” debuted and peaked at number 69 on the US Billboard Hot 100, giving Pop Smoke his first Hot 100 appearance. On January 16, 2020, Pop Smoke released “Christopher Walking”. On February 7, 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.
The mixtape debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200, earning Pop Smoke his first top-10 hit in the United States. Five days after its release, a deluxe edition was released with three new songs, each featuring a guest appearance, consisting of Nav, Gunna, and PnB Rock. Pop Smoke teased to social media his debut headlining concert tour Meet the Woo Tour to promote both his mixtapes. The tour was planned to begin in the US in March, and end in the UK in April.