Pop Smoke: Brooklyn Drill Rapper Dies at 20

Pop Smoke was an American rapper, singer and songwriter who helped bring Brooklyn drill music to a global audience. Born Bashar Barakah Jackson on July 20, 1999, in Brooklyn, New York City, he was raised in Canarsie by a Jamaican mother and a Panamanian father.

He broke out in 2019 with "Welcome to the Party" and "Dior," and signed with Republic Records that year. His mixtape Meet the Woo 2 debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 in February 2020. After his death, his debut studio album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon (2020), executive produced by 50 Cent, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Pop Smoke was shot and killed during a home invasion in the Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, on February 19, 2020, at age 20. A second posthumous album, Faith (2021), also debuted at No. 1. He won a BET Hip Hop Award for Best New Artist in 2020. He is buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

Achievements: "Welcome to the Party" and "Dior" (2019), Meet the Woo 2 debuted at No. 7, two posthumous No. 1 albums, BET Hip Hop Award (2020).

Birth: July 20, 1999 - Brooklyn, New York City.

Profession: Rapper, singer and songwriter.

Interesting Facts: A guilty plea for manslaughter and home invasion was entered in the case years later. His song "Dior" received a Grammy nomination.