Three adult and two minor, all males, have been taken into police custody over rapper Pop Smoke's death. Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department have made the arrest, according to the department's Twitter on Thursday, July 9.
The official Twitter account for the LAPD post about the arrest of "three adult males & two juvenile males related to the Feb 19th murder of Bashar Jackson, a New York based rapper known as Pop Smoke." The police department added that they will provide details once available.
LAPD Detectives have arrested three adult males & two juvenile males related to the Feb 19th murder of Bashar Jackson, a New York based rapper known as Pop Smoke. We will provide further details as they become available. — LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) July 9, 2020
Pop Smoke's death
Pop Smoke, a Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records artist, was killed on February 19. Multiple people reportedly broke into the rapper's Hollywood Hills home, one of them fatally shooting Smoke. The "Welcome to the Party" rapper was only 20 years old.
Local police were informed of the incident at around 5 AM on the same day. LAPD Captain Steve Lorie of the Hollywood area said that the call was from the East Coast. "Someone back East" reported that the rapper's home was broken into, getting the information from someone in the house. The LAPD caller also mentioned that one of the intruders was armed with a handgun.
As the police arrived, they found a man who was shot and sent him to Cedars- Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The shooting victim was pronounced dead after a few hours.
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A fourteen-month stardom
Just a week before his death, Pop Smoke has just released his follow-up to his successful debut mixtape. "Meet the Woo 2" was released on February 7 on all streaming services, with its "Deluxe Edition" following five days later on February 12.
Born Bashar Barakah Jackson, Pop Smoke hailed from Canarsie in Brooklyn to a Panamanian father and a Jamaican mother. He started his career back in April 2019 with his breakout single "Welcome to the Party." Writing for Complex magazine, Jessica McKinney described "Welcome to the Party" as being "distinctly Brooklyn," citing Pop Smoke's accent and the South Chicago "drill" beat produced by 808 Melo.
His hip-hop and drill track was later remixed by Pusha T, Meek Mill, Kiing Shooter, Dave East, and more. An official remix, featuring Nicki Minaj, was released on August 15, 2019.
Shortly after his death, Danny Schwartz praised the late rapper in a February 20 article for The Ringer. It noted that Pop Smoke's career only lasted for fourteen months. "Despite his relative inexperience, he had already established his musical identity as a champion of Brooklyn drill," Schwartz wrote. Pop Smoke's songs, while virtually sounding the same, all "promised immediate, visceral thrills. The Ringer article also noted that "Welcome to the Party" was one of the best rap songs of the last decade.
During an interview for the Apple Music podcast series "Rap Life," Smoke's manager Steven Victor shared updates about the work of the late rapper. Victor told the podcast host Ebro Darden that 50 Cent pushed for the release of Smoke's posthumous debut album, "Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon." The 50 Cent executive produced album was released last July 3.
In a New York Times interview, 50 Cent praised Smoke's work ethics. The rapper-producer revealed that the late talent was always "writing what [he] said down" on his phone.
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