Pop Smoke 1999 – 2020

Biography

Bashar Barakah Jackson burst onto the rap scene from Canarsie, Brooklyn, with a voice that cut through the noise—deep, menacing, unforgettable. The artist known as Pop Smoke brought a gritty Brooklyn edge to hip-hop, crafting a sonic identity that felt both vintage and urgently contemporary. His rapid ascent marked him as one of rap’s most promising young voices, commanding attention with tracks that paired his distinctive baritone with hard-hitting production.

On February 19, 2020, Pop Smoke was killed by gunshot wound in Hollywood Hills at just twenty years old. The loss devastated the music community and his rapidly expanding fanbase, cutting short a career that had barely begun to reach its potential. His recordings and live performances, though limited in number, captured something raw and magnetic that resonated deeply with listeners hungry for authentic rap innovation.

Buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in his native Brooklyn, Pop Smoke’s legacy endures through the body of work he left behind—a reminder of his outsized cultural impact and the tragedy of a talent extinguished far too soon.