Dior rapper Pop Smoke has been shot and killed at the age of 20 in a suspected home invasion.
As reported by TMZ, the rapper – real name Bashar Barakah Jackson – was in a home in Hollywood Hills at around 4.30am today, February 19, when two men wearing hoodies and masks broke in.
Law enforcement officials told the outlet that the two assailants fired multiple shots, which struck and critically wounded Pop Smoke (the men reportedly fled the scene soon after).
After the incident, the rapper was reportedly rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in West Hollywood, where he was later pronounced dead.
The suspects have not yet been caught, and police haven’t released any details regarding their identities (it’s also unclear whether Pop Smoke knew the shooters).
Pop Smoke, from Brooklyn, New York City, first crept onto the music scene in 2019 with his lead single Welcome to the Party, heading up his debut mixtape Meet the Woo. His first single was remixed later that year, featuring Nicki Minaj and Skepta. He went on to produce other hit songs, including Mpr, Flexin and Dior.
Off the back of the popularity of Welcome to the Party, he also went on to collaborate with a number of other popular artists on tracks, including War featuring Lil Tjay, and 100k on a Coupe featuring Calboy.
Just in December last year, the rapper featured on Gatti with JackBoys and Travis Scott, which featured on the JackBoys album.
Earlier this month, Pop Smoke released his second mixtape Meet the Woo 2, which featured guest slots from Quavo, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Fivio Foreign and Lil Tjay. In the week after its release, a deluxe edition also dropped featuring three new songs: Wolves with Nav, Dior (Remix) with Gunna and Like Me with PnB Rock.
US hip-hop artist Big Freedia tweeted after the news broke: ‘Rip Pop Smoke ppl don’t value life bruh they take so much for granted, hope they catch them, prayers to his family and friends and fans this is crazy [sic].’
BBC Radio 1Xtra presenter Yasmin Evans also tweeted: ‘I am feeling quite emotionally drained and so for everyone really FEELING right now, I am with you. I also send love out to those who are feeling heaviness in their heart from the passing of the talented Bashar Barakah Jackson aka Pop Smoke.’
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.