Popcaan Mourns The Loss Of His Friend Pop Smoke On Instagram
Dancehall artiste Popcaan took to Instagram to express his shock at the loss of his friend, 20-year-old Pop Smoke (Bashar Barakah Jackson) who according to TMZ, was shot and killed by at least 4 masked men during a home invasion, in California around 4.30am yesterday (February 19).
Popcaan posted: “RIP bro my condolence to the family 🤦🏿♂️🤦🏿♂️streets cold inside and outside.. #popsmoke #restupfam.” The Instagram post featured two photos, one of Pop Smoke and the other seems to be a screenshot of direct messages between the two singers. The messages show how close the pair were with Popcaan giving the rapper some big brotherly advice.
“Stay out of trouble bro, your future bright!!! Make sure you on rd when I touch New York this year,” the messages state.
Pop Smoke, was also a songwriter. He was signed to Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records. He rose to fame after he released “Welcome to the Party” a song which was featured on his debut mixtape Meet the Woo, which was released in July 2019. The song was well received and got two remixes featuring Nicki Minaj and Skepta in August 2019.
He was also known to be a huge fan of Dancehall and usually attended Dancehall clubs in New York. Nikki Minaj posted on Instagram: “The Bible tells us that jealousy is as cruel as the grave. Unbelievable. Rest In Peace, Pop.”
Kranium also shared his shock at the loss on Instagram.
He said: ““We met shortly and chop it up Huge dancehall Fan went as far as playing dancehall during your set and f**k the place up my prayers goes out to your family sleep in peace bro.”
Vybz Kartel sent his condolences to Smoke’s family even though the two artistes never met. “Jah know youth mi feel away condolences to your family. We never met but you fully Gaza n we fully smoke!,” he said in an Instagram post.
Smoke’s second album, Meet The Woo 2, has been enjoying a strong debut and helped to push him further into the spotlight. His second album was released on February 7th, 2020.