Pop Smoke

Bashar Barakah Jackson (July 20, 1999 – February 19, 2020), known professionally as Pop Smoke, was an American rapper and singer.

Bashar Barakah Jackson was born on July 20, 1999, in Brooklyn, New York City, to a Jamaican mother, Audrey Jackson, and a Panamanian 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.

He spent two years under 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, and Jackson eventually turned to street life.

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 first attempted rapping during a 2018 visit to a Brooklyn recording studio with Jay Gwuapo.

In late 2018, he was rapping over a beat from 808Melo's YouTube channel, Jackson recorded a track titled "MPR (Panic Part 3 Remix)" during the session.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, USA, he 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 American drill artists from Chicago, reintroducing the sound as Brooklyn drill.

Following his rise to fame, record producer 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.

On January 28, 2019, he released "Flexin'".

Meanwhile, Jackson befriended producer Rico Beats, who was acquainted with record executive Steven Victor.

The three set up an interview, and in April 2019, Jackson signed to Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records.

On April 23, 2019, Jackson released his breakout single, "Welcome to the Party", that was produced by 808Melo.

Many remixes of the song were later recorded, with the commercially released versions featuring Nicki Minaj and the other featuring Skepta.

Jackson released his debut mixtape Meet the Woo on July 26, 2019.

From October to December 2019, Jackson released multiple singles, including "War" with Lil Tjay, and "100k on a Coupe" with Calboy.

On December 27, 2019, Jackson 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 Jackson his first and only Hot 100 appearance before his death.

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.

Twelve days after the mixtape's release, Pop Smoke was murdered during a home invasion in Los Angeles.

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 were 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".

A year later, Republic Records released Pop Smoke's second studio album, Faith, on July 16, 2021.

On January 16, 2020, Jackson released "Christopher Walking".

On February 7, 2020, twelve days before his death, Jackson 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 Jackson 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.

Jackson 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.

"Dior", the second single off Meet the Woo, became Jackson's first posthumous solo hit, peaking at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 33 on the UK Singles Chart.