Pop Smoke facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pop Smoke
Pop Smoke in 2020
Born	Bashar Barakah Jackson (1999-07-20)July 20, 1999 New York City, U.S.
Died	February 19, 2020(2020-02-19) (aged 20) Los Angeles, California
Resting place	Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Rapper singer songwriter actor
Years active	2018–2020
Musical career
Genres	Hip hop Brooklyn drill R&B trap
Labels	Victor Victor Republic

Bashar Barakah Jackson (born July 20, 1999 – died February 19, 2020), known professionally as Pop Smoke, was an American rapper and actor. He was born and grew up in Canarsie, Brooklyn. Pop Smoke started his music journey in late 2018 with his first song, "MPR (Panic Part 3 Remix)". He became very famous with his hit songs "Welcome to the Party" and "Dior" in 2019.

Pop Smoke often worked with artists and producers from the UK drill music scene. They used a more simple and strong sound than American drill artists. This helped create a new style called Brooklyn drill. After he became famous, Pop Smoke signed a record deal with Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records. He released his first mixtape, Meet the Woo, in July 2019. His second mixtape, Meet the Woo 2, came out on February 7, 2020. It reached number seven on the Billboard 200 chart. This was his first project to make it into the top 10 in the United States.

Sadly, less than two weeks after his second mixtape was released, Pop Smoke passed away during an incident at a home in Los Angeles. New York rapper 50 Cent helped produce his first album released after his death, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon. This album came out on July 3, 2020. It went straight to number one on the Billboard 200 chart. All 19 songs from the album also appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album also had many international top-10 songs, like "For the Night" and "What You Know Bout Love". A year later, his second album released after his death, Faith, came out on July 16, 2021.

Early Life and Beginnings

Bashar Barakah Jackson was born on July 20, 1999, in Brooklyn, New York City. His mother, Audrey Jackson, was from Jamaica, and his father, Greg Jackson, was from Panama. He had an older brother named Obasi. Bashar went to nine different schools while growing up in Canarsie, Brooklyn. As a child, he played the African drums in his local church.

Bashar faced challenges during his school years. He later started playing basketball as a point and shooting guard. He moved to Philadelphia to join Rocktop Academy. However, he had to leave after being diagnosed with a heart murmur.

Music Career and Rise to Fame

Pop Smoke shared in an interview that his artist name came from two parts. "Poppa" was a name his Panamanian grandmother gave him. "Smocco Guwop" was a nickname from his childhood friends and his old Instagram name. He first tried rapping in 2018 during a visit to a recording studio in Brooklyn. He recorded a song called "MPR (Panic Part 3 Remix)" using a beat from 808Melo's YouTube channel. On January 28, 2019, he released "Flexin'".

In April 2019, Pop Smoke signed with Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records. On April 23, 2019, he released his breakthrough song, "Welcome to the Party". This song was produced by 808Melo. Many artists later made their own versions of the song. Famous versions featured Nicki Minaj and Skepta. Pop Smoke released his first mixtape, Meet the Woo, on July 26, 2019. From October to December 2019, he released more songs, including "War" with Lil Tjay.

On December 27, 2019, Pop Smoke was featured on Travis Scott's album JackBoys on the song "Gatti". This song also had a music video. "Gatti" reached number 69 on the US Billboard Hot 100. This was Pop Smoke's first time on that chart. On January 16, 2020, he released "Christopher Walking". On February 7, 2020, he released his second mixtape Meet the Woo 2. It featured artists like Quavo and A Boogie wit da Hoodie.

The mixtape reached number seven on the US Billboard 200 chart. This was Pop Smoke's first top-10 hit in the United States. A few days later, a special deluxe edition was released with three new songs. Pop Smoke also announced his first concert tour, the Meet the Woo Tour. This tour was planned to promote both of his mixtapes. The tour was set to begin in the US in March and end in the UK in April.

Music After His Passing

"Dior", a song from Meet the Woo, became Pop Smoke's first solo hit after his passing. It reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. In March 2020, rapper 50 Cent announced he would help produce Pop Smoke's first studio album. 50 Cent invited artists like Roddy Ricch and Drake to be on the album. Pop Smoke had wanted to take his mother to an awards show. 50 Cent promised to take her when the album was finished.

On May 14, 2020, it was announced that Pop Smoke's first album would be released on June 12, 2020. The album's first artwork was created by Virgil Abloh. However, fans did not like it and called it "lazy" and "disrespectful". A petition was started to change it. Ryder Ripps created the final cover art, which showed a chrome rose against a black background. Pop Smoke's mother chose this final album cover just hours before the album was released.

The album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, was officially released on July 3, 2020. It was a huge success, reaching number one in many countries, including on the Billboard 200. All 19 songs on the album appeared on the Billboard Hot 100. "For the Night", featuring Lil Baby and DaBaby, reached number six. This was Pop Smoke's first top-10 hit in the US. On July 20, 2020, which would have been his 21st birthday, a deluxe version of the album was released with 15 new songs.

The album's fifth song, "What You Know Bout Love", reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. This gave Pop Smoke his second top-10 hit in the US. On February 26, 2021, "AP" was released for the Boogie movie soundtrack. Pop Smoke also had a small acting role as Monk in the movie Boogie.

A second album released after his passing, titled Faith, came out on July 16, 2021. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. This made Pop Smoke the first artist to have his first two albums released after his death debut at the top of the chart. A deluxe version with more songs was released on July 20, 2021, which would have been his 22nd birthday.

His Passing

On February 19, 2020, Pop Smoke passed away during an incident at a home he was renting in Hollywood Hills, California. Police arrived at the home and found him injured. He was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, but sadly, he was pronounced dead a few hours later. He was 20 years old.

Pop Smoke's body was later buried at the Green-Wood Cemetery. His family, friends, and fans gathered in his hometown of Canarsie, Brooklyn, to pay their respects. His casket was carried in a horse-drawn carriage.

Meet the Woo Tour

Meet the Woo Tour

Tour by Pop Smoke
Poster for the tour
Associated album	Meet the Woo and Meet the Woo 2
Start date	March 2, 2020
End date	April 16, 2020
No. of shows	25

The Meet the Woo Tour was planned to be Pop Smoke's first major concert tour. It was meant to support his two mixtapes, Meet the Woo (2019) and Meet the Woo 2 (2020). The tour was going to have concerts in North America and the United Kingdom. The tour dates were announced in January 2020. Pop Smoke later added more UK tour dates because many fans wanted to see him. Sadly, the tour was canceled after Pop Smoke's passing.

Tour dates for North America were released first, and dates for the United Kingdom came out in February. Due to high demand, more UK tour dates were added on February 13, 2020. Pop Smoke shared a poster for the tour on social media. Pop Smoke and his team were planning to finish his first studio album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, in early March 2020.

Pop Smoke's DJ, Jeffrey Archer, talked about the tour in an interview. He said they were very excited for their first big tour. They planned to visit many new places where fans had been asking them to come. He also mentioned that Pop Smoke had a lot more music coming out with many other artists.

Canceled shows

Discography

• Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon (2020)
• Faith (2021)

Awards and Nominations

Pop Smoke received several awards and nominations for his music.

Filmography

Images for kids

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  Pop Smoke in 2020

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  Logo for Pop Smoke

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  Poster for the Meet the Woo Tour

See also

In Spanish: Pop Smoke para niños