LOS ANGELES — Even by today’s get-famous-quick standards, Pop Smoke became hot at microwave speed.
He released his first album, “Meet the Woo,” last July, and in the months to follow, he collaborated with Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott and others. His second album opened this month at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart.
He had moved on from his family’s duplex in a middle-class section of Brooklyn, and, at 20 years old, was living in a rented four-bedroom home owned by one of the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” with a backyard pool featuring expansive views of the Hollywood Hills.
Before dawn on Wednesday, several people broke into that home, at least one holding a gun and at least one masked, according to the Los Angeles police. Someone staying there contacted a friend on the East Coast, who then called 911. Within minutes, the call was relayed to Los Angeles and the police were at the home, but it was too late; the intruders had fled and a person inside had been fatally shot. Pop Smoke’s record label, Republic, confirmed that he was the victim.
There were no arrests Wednesday, and the police said they were still investigating a motive.
A number of celebrities in Los Angeles have been victims of home invasions in recent years, and fans of Pop Smoke, whose real name was Bashar Jackson, wondered whether he had unwittingly provided bait to thieves by posting photos of cash, and his address, on social media.
The loss of another rising star hit the hip-hop universe hard on Wednesday, with many artists posting their condolences. Several others have died by shootings or overdoses in the last couple of years, a dark cloud over the industry coinciding with its rising fortunes thanks to new, freely available platforms including SoundCloud and TikTok.
Pop Smoke emerged last year as the first breakout star of Brooklyn’s growing drill rap scene with the hits “Dior” and “Welcome to the Party,” which became the ubiquitous hip-hop song of the summer. A gravel-voiced rapper with a barklike delivery, he quickly honed a signature approach that recalled the rougher New York rap of the 1990s.
He was scheduled to go on tour in March following the release of his second album, “Meet the Woo, Vol. 2.” Just last week, he returned from a trip to London, where he sat for a series of radio and magazine interviews.
He had come far from Canarsie, Brooklyn, where he grew up the child of Panamanian and Jamaican parents. A stream of mourners on Wednesday paid a visit to his family home, one half of a two-story brick-and-siding duplex on East 105th Street.
In an interview with the music website Genius last year, he said he created his stage name from two childhood nicknames: Papa, given to him by his Panamanian grandmother, and Smoke, part of a name his friends had given him.
A next-door neighbor, Jessica Lowe, 25, said that the rapper often carried her groceries up the steps when she was returning home from shopping, and was friendly with her entire family.
She said she was “more than shocked” at news of his death. “I thought it was a joke,” she said.
“Obviously in this world it seems possible, but it’s just like, ‘Why now?’ “ Ms. Lowe said.
Pop Smoke is one of several notable rappers to have died in the last couple of years. Accidental drug overdoses have claimed the lives of established rappers including Mac Miller and up-and-comers like Juice WRLD and Lil Peep. Shootings have killed Nipsey Hussle, XXXTentacion and a host of rappers well known in their local scenes.
Pop Smoke had had legal problems: He was arrested last month on charges of transporting a stolen $375,000 Rolls-Royce to New York from California (he needed the judge’s permission to travel to London) and previously had to wear an ankle monitor as part of a court diversion program connected to a weapon charge, which was eventually dismissed. “I was literally wilding for respect,” he told The New York Times last year.
Even as he was on the path to becoming the biggest New York rap success story in recent memory, the New York Police Department prevented him from performing at the Rolling Loud festival in Queens last October, citing safety concerns.
In Los Angeles, he was living in a home owned by Teddi Mellencamp, a “Real Housewives” star, and her husband, Edwin Arroyave.
Josh Adams, 35, who lives a few blocks away, came by on Wednesday, looking on as the police blocked the roadway and helicopters circled overhead.
“Where he comes from, what he represented, I can relate to a lot of the stories he talks about in his music,” said Mr. Adams, a video editor who grew up in South Los Angeles.
But Pop Smoke was also musically unique, he said. “He just had this real muffled, deep voice, and you kind of almost end up talking like him after a record of hearing him.”
Pop Smoke’s lyrics were unabashedly profane, but original, Mr. Adams said. He pointed out that the rapper inverted the meaning of “thot,” a derogatory term for a sexually active woman, by proudly identifying as a “thot” himself.
Mr. Adams started chanting the hook of “Welcome to the Party.”
“The vibe, the way he sung the song, it was one of those records and one of the artists and one of those sounds that the world could resonate with,” he said.
Fanny Jooste, who lives across the street, said she had no idea a famous rapper had been living there, adding that the people in the home were usually quiet.
She said she was surprised that the security vans that patrol the neighborhood at night hadn’t happened upon the crew in the act.
Many of the homes on the road have multiple security cameras pointing at the street, though most, including the one where Pop Smoke lived, do not have gates. Many fans online noted that the day before he was shot, the rapper had posted photos on Instagram showing a stack of cash and a gift bag label with his Los Angeles address.
In recent years, the homes of actors, musicians and athletes have become popular targets for burglars. Rihanna, Ms. Minaj, Emmy Rossum, David Spade and the baseball player Yasiel Puig have all been victims, according to ABC News.
In October 2018, the Los Angeles Police Department said that the homes of stars were targeted for specific reasons.
“Initially, it was believed that these homes were being burglarized at random,” Capt. Lillian Carranza said at a news conference. “The victims’ homes have been selected based on social media postings and touring or travel schedules of the owners.”
Neighborhood residents and fans continued arriving on Wednesday, staying only briefly once they realized the police were not letting anyone near the house. From time to time a car would drive up to the police tape, a Pop Smoke track thumping from the speaker, and turn around after its passengers snapped a few photos.
Mr. Adams would not let his 11-year-old daughter come by, however.
She had discovered Pop Smoke on TikTok. “That’s my daughter’s favorite rapper,” Mr. Adams said.
“She’s not taking it well,” he said. “The first thing, she’s like, ‘All the rappers are dying.’”
Louis Keene reported from Los Angeles and Derrick Bryson Taylor from New York. Reporting was contributed by Jon Caramanica, Elizabeth A. Harris, and Sean Piccoli from New York. Susan C. Beachy contributed research.
Source: Music - nytimes.com
