﻿

*Bashar Jackson (AKA Pop Smoke) was recently killed in his Hollywood mansion, but the question on everyone’s mind is who killed Pop Smoke? His fans are eager to search someone online but there a lot of elements of the story to consider. One big clue is a photo which surfaced online of a hooded man standing in front of the mansion where Pop Smoke died.

The Brooklyn-based rapper had recently released a massive hit with his idol Travis Scott. The song GATTI which featured Smoke made it onto the Billboard Hot 100, the young rapper’s first big hit. Other stars such as 50 Cent, Nicki Minaj, and Meek Mill also recognized that Pop Smoke had a big future in rap.

“Big Papi,” as some friends called him, even had a hit record coming with social media stars, the Gonzalez twins (video on Reddit: r/PopularHipHop). His streams jumped 392% after his death, and it’s difficult to search someone online with that kind of instant popularity. “You’re nobody until somebody kills you,” once rapped fellow Brooklyn rap legend, Notorious BIG. It still rings true until today. This along with Jadakiss’ lyric, “You know dead rappers get better promotion.”

Though Pop Smoke’s posthumous sales didn’t reach the levels of Nipsey Hussle, one can only wonder why fans are drawn to talents post-tragedy.

Who Killed Pop Smoke?

We may not know exactly who killed Smoke yet, but we have the facts. Surveillance footage from his home reveals 4 masked men walking up to his front door and then deciding to go in through the back. The entry took place at 4:30 a.m., and while there were other people in the house, Pop Smoke was alone when the men found him. According to authorities, only two shots were fired inside the house, and both of them landed on Smoke.

Some details from the events may reveal that the death was, in fact, gang-related, and not a simple burglary. When the masked men exited the house through the front, there was nothing in their hands. Jackson had also recently posted pictures of himself holding large sums of money. This sparked comments that the murder may have had to do with jealousy. However, several of Jackson’s posts also reveal his address, giving away his location to his enemies.

Friend or Foe?

While LAPD commented that there was no indication of a rival East Coast gang involved in the murder, fans are looking to his friends. Many have commented that Mike Dee, the rapper’s close friend, may be who killed Pop Smoke. But Dee quickly went to social media to dispel the rumors:

“Can’t nothing express the pain I’m feeling …I just lost my fucking brother, my heart my dawgz. [Love] you guys have no type of sense or sympathy! Y’all don’t know what’s going on, y’all come on here playing investigator and bashing me on the internet, I would never in my life set my brother up, we at together, broke bread together. This really my mother child, I don’t gotta explain nothing to nobody that don’t know me but for the ones who know me know when you saw me you saw pop. We live in such a fucked up society y’all gotta wake up, just know I got you forever brother the truth will come to light until then sleep in peace…”

Looking for Answers

A lot of people have questions about the image of a Gangster Disciple standing in front of Pop Smoke’s rented Hollywood Hills mansion, before his being murdered. No names have surfaced of who the man is but it’s making many looking for details and answers. As soon as a name is found of the man, Redditors and on-line Hip-Hop fans will move to use a criminal record search online. People want to figure out if his ties to the gang, which Pop Smoke was allegedly enemies of, are real.

The news of Pop Smoke’s death comes during a difficult time for rap music. Many young, talented rappers have passed away through gang violence or drug addiction, the most recent of which was Juice Wrld. The news of who killed Pop Smoke will eventually come to light, but for now, we can only hope the violence stops.