Pop Smoke

Pop Smoke rose to prominence as the leading figure in Brooklyn's expanding drill movement, blending his gravelly vocals with unpredictable beats on the breakout single "Welcome to the Party." Less than a year after his first release, the rapper reached the Top Ten on the Billboard 200 with his second mixtape, Meet the Woo, Vol. 2, before being fatally shot during a home invasion on February 19, 2020.

Born Bashar Jackson and raised in Brooklyn, New York, the artist entered music almost inadvertently in 2018 when he began laying down his own vocals during sessions with local associates. Rooted in Brooklyn's drill sound, he fused his deep, smoky delivery with the styles of Chicago and U.K. drill to craft hard-hitting street anthems. His debut single "MPR" reworked Sheff G's "Panic, Pt. 3," and the follow-up "Welcome to the Party," produced by U.K. drill beatmaker 808Melo, quickly amassed millions of streams. The track drew remixes from Skepta and Nicki Minaj, elevating the regional subgenre worldwide. Capitalizing on the momentum, Smoke dropped his debut project Meet the Woo in July 2019, again produced solely by 808Melo; the set yielded the follow-up hit "Dior" and led to a featured appearance on Travis Scott's chart-topping Cactus Jack compilation JackBoys.

Early in 2020 he returned with Meet the Woo, Vol. 2, which featured Quavo and A Boogie wit da Hoodie among others. The mixtape honored U.K. drill roots via a Charlie Sloth freestyle while broadening the melodic side of Brooklyn's scene, climbing to number seven on the Billboard 200 and registering across European charts. Weeks afterward, the 20-year-old rapper was killed in the February 19 shooting.

Victor Victor and Republic released his first posthumous album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, in July 2020. Executive-produced by 50 Cent, the project explored multiple styles with an array of guests and reached the top of the Billboard 200; a more drill-focused deluxe edition followed shortly after. In 2021 the same labels issued Faith, a second posthumous number-one set that adopted a broader, radio-oriented rap direction.