Pop Smoke was reportedly on edge about gang members just days before his death.
The world reacted with shock last week when news of the young rapper’s passing broke. Bashar Jackson, better known as Pop Smoke, was killed in a home invasion early on Wednesday morning when four individuals entered his Hollywood Hills home. Shots were fired in what police believe was an attempted robbery, and the “Welcome to the Party” rapper was transported to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he died as a result of the human shot wound to his chest.
It seems, now, that Pop Smoke had a feeling that something was coming… The 20-year-old was scheduled to perform in Brooklyn the weekend before his death but canceled the concert at the last minute.
“Unfortunately NYPD wouldn’t let me perform,” he wrote on Instagram, but TMZ is now claiming that is not true. The media outlet says that the cops had no involvement in the decision, and that Pop made the call because he feared there were gang members in the audience. The concern becomes even more real when you consider that the artist’s murder appears to have been a hit.
In the weeks leading up to Pop Smoke’s death, he had been arrested for allegedly stealing a Rolls-Royce and taking it across state lines. The luxury car had been lent to the rapper by the owner whom he met at a recording studio. The pair reportedly agreed that Pop could use the car for his music video, and in return, the owner would be treated like a VIP at one of Pop’s performances.
Months went by, and the artist went AWOL, leading to the Rolls owner reporting the vehicle missing when it wasn’t returned to his possession. When police caught up with Pop, they arrested and charged him, with him facing a possibility of a decade behind bars. He was ultimately released on bail of $250,000 after putting down his mom’s Brooklyn home as collateral.
