Murdered rapper Pop Smoke cancelled a performance just three days before he was shot dead inside a California home over concerns there would be gang members present.
Pop Smoke, real name Bashar Barakah Jackson, was scheduled to play a show at the Kings Theater in Brooklyn, New York, last Sunday when he announced on Instagram it would be axed.
He initially cast blame of the cancelled show on the New York Police Department, but a law enforcement source told TMZ that Pop Smoke made the decision to pull the plug.
TMZ reports that rapper Pop Smoke (pictured) cancelled a performance just three days before he was killed over concerns that gang members would be present
‘I apologize to all my fans that when to Kings Theater today to see me,’ the 20-year-old artist wrote.
‘Unfortunately, NYPD wouldn’t let me perform once again, but don’t worry [I’m going to] make it up to you.’
Pop Smoke was out on bail in a federal car theft case where he was accused of illegally transporting a 2019 Rolls-Royce Wraith from California.
He was ordered by a judge to stay away from gang members and gang affiliates, so sources say cancelling the show was done for protection.
![Pop Smoke, 20, apologized to fans in an Instagram post about cancelling a show and blamed the NYPD for sudden change](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/23/02/25074924-8033817-image-m-22_1582425922615.jpg)
Pop Smoke, 20, apologized to fans in an Instagram post about cancelling a show and blamed the NYPD for sudden change
It’s been reported that Pop Smoke has ties to the Crips gang in New York City and mentioned being a member during a song released on February 7, 2020.
‘Everybody know I’m Crip,’ he rapped in Armed N Dangerous.
Authorities say Pop Smoke was killed around 4.13am on February 19 in a suspected gang-related attack after it was reported he was the victim of a home invasion gone wrong.
The murder came several hours after Pop Smoke shared several social media posts showing off high-value items inside a home he was renting from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Teddi Mellencamp and her husband.
Teddi Mellencamp, 38, confirmed that a shooting had taken place at one of the couple’s rental properties in an Instagram post.
‘Foremost, we would like to extend our prayers and condolences to the family and loved ones affected by this tragic loss of life,’ she wrote in the caption.
‘We aren’t aware of any of the details beyond what we’ve been told or seen reported on the news and at this time we would like to refrain from commenting further as we wish for the focus to remain on the law enforcement officers who are diligently doing their jobs.’
![The house is owned by actor and producer Edwin Arroyave, the husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Teddi Mellencamp (pictured together in February 2019)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/21/09/24936352-8024249-The_house_is_owned_by_actor_and_producer_Edwin_Arroyave_the_husb-a-12_1582276321583.jpg)
The house is owned by actor and producer Edwin Arroyave, the husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Teddi Mellencamp (pictured together in February 2019)
![Teddi Mellencamp, 38, confirmed that a shooting had taken place at one of the couple's rental properties in an Instagram post (pictured)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/23/02/24940294-8033817-Teddi_Mellencamp_38_confirmed_that_a_shooting_had_taken_place_at-a-1_1582424838847.jpg)
Teddi Mellencamp, 38, confirmed that a shooting had taken place at one of the couple’s rental properties in an Instagram post (pictured)
Devastated relatives of murdered rapper Pop Smoke are in ‘full investigation mode’ to try and find out who shot him dead in Los Angeles.
Family sources say they have personally questioned friends and witnesses who were at the $2.5million Hollywood Hills mansion before the shooting and have demanded to see security footage.
A source told TMZ that ‘nothing makes sense’ as it would be unlikely for an East Coast hitman to travel all the way to L.A. when the rapper spends so much of his time in New York.
The source said Smoke was in L.A. to promoting his new album and to ‘relax a bit’ before going on tour in March.
![The apparent home invasion unfolded at about 4.30am at 2033 Hercules Drive (pictured). Pop Smoke was reportedly renting from Real Housewives star Teddi Mellencamp and her husband](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/21/09/24939306-8024249-The_apparent_home_invasion_unfolded_at_about_4_30am_at_2033_Herc-a-2_1582276320875.jpg)
The apparent home invasion unfolded at about 4.30am at 2033 Hercules Drive (pictured). Pop Smoke was reportedly renting from Real Housewives star Teddi Mellencamp and her husband
Insiders who have seen CCTV footage told TMZ four men can be seen approaching the $2.5million home on Hercules Drive roughly ten minutes after people inside deadbolted the front door.
One of the suspects apparently walked to the back of the house, where there were no cameras, and entered before multiple shots were fired.
That suspect, who TMZ said is presumed to be the shooter, then fled through the front door with nothing in his hands.
He and his alleged accomplices are still on the run as of Thursday morning.
Police arrived at the home within minutes of receiving a call about the gunfire.
![The murder of 20-year-old rapper Pop Smoke is being investigated as a gang-related attack, police sources say](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/23/02/24935144-8033817-The_murder_of_20_year_old_rapper_Pop_Smoke_is_being_investigated-a-25_1582426500699.jpg)
![The murder of 20-year-old rapper Pop Smoke is being investigated as a gang-related attack, police sources say](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/23/02/25074908-8033817-image-a-24_1582426500699.jpg)
The murder of 20-year-old rapper Pop Smoke is being investigated as a gang-related attack, police sources say
![LAPD officials say they are still searching for the assailants, who fled the scene on foot](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/20/11/24944172-8024249-LAPD_officials_say_they_are_still_searching_for_the_assailants_w-a-17_1582196822953.jpg)
LAPD officials say they are still searching for the assailants, who fled the scene on foot
First responders with the Los Angeles Fire Department were filmed rolling Pop Smoke out of the home on a stretcher.
He was transported by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in West Hollywood, where he was pronounced dead.
Detectives questioned the witnesses inside the house and determined none of them were involved in the shooting.
At a press conference Wednesday morning, LAPD Captain Steve Lurie said authorities were searching for between two and six suspects.
Lurie did not disclose the name of the victim but multiple law enforcement sources and Pop Smoke’s record label, Republic Records, confirmed it was the rapper, whose real name is Bashar Barakah Jackson.
Lurie said the motive for the shooting has not been determined and investigators were not ready to say if it was targeted or random.
Detectives suspect the assailants are probably gang members, but they have not determined if the slaying was motivated by gang rivalry, the outlet reported.
![Pop Smoke shared a video on his Facebook Story hours before the shooting which featured the exact address of the home where it took place](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/20/11/24940292-8024249-Pop_Smoke_shared_a_video_on_his_Facebook_Story_hours_before_the_-a-11_1582196821197.jpg)
Pop Smoke shared a video on his Facebook Story hours before the shooting which featured the exact address of the home where it took place
![Hours before he was killed Pop Smoke shared three photos of himself outside the home](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/21/09/24938480-8024249-Hours_before_he_was_killed_Pop_Smoke_shared_three_photos_of_hims-a-7_1582276321123.jpg)
![In two of the photos the tracksuit-clad rapper is seen posing with Louis Vuitton luggage next to the same white Range Rover that was parked in the driveway when medics arrived](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/23/02/24938482-8033817-In_two_of_the_photos_the_tracksuit_clad_rapper_is_seen_posing_wi-a-2_1582424850061.jpg)
Hours before he was killed Pop Smoke shared three photos of himself outside the home on Instagram. In two of the photos (above) the rapper is seen posing with Louis Vuitton luggage next to the same white Range Rover that was parked in the driveway when medics arrived
‘There is a lot of information available,’ LAPD Captain Jonathan Tippet said. ‘We have some work to do.’
Pop Smoke shared three photos of himself outside the home on Instagram the day before he was killed.
In two of the photos the tracksuit-clad rapper is seen posing with Louis Vuitton luggage next to the same white Range Rover that was parked in the driveway when medics arrived.
In the third photo, Pop Smoke is sitting in the driver’s seat of the SUV next to his friend Mike Dee, who is holding a massive stack of cash.
The caption read: ‘GET STRAIGHT PASSION – ZIP HIM UP BAG EM – LOUIS V LOUIS V LOUIS V.’
He also shared a video on his Facebook Story showing off pricey gifts he’d been sent.
One of the gift bags clearly featured the address of the home – sparking speculation that the attackers learned where to find him via the post.
Pop Smoke, who hails from Brooklyn, rose to fame last summer with the release of his debut mixtape Meet the Woo.
The lead single on that album, Welcome to the Party, reached number five on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart and was remixed by Nicki Minaj.
The rapper released his second mixtape, Meet the Woo V.2, earlier this month. The album was met with rave reviews and reached number seven on the Billboard 200 Albums chart.
He rapper was set to go on tour in March, with 24 shows across the US and the UK. Ten of those shows were sold out within two weeks of when the tour was announced.
Pop Smoke was also slated to perform at the famed Rolling Loud hip-hop festival in Miami in May.
Last September the Times published an interview with Pop Smoke and noted that he’d recently been required to wear an ankle monitor as part of a diversion program connected to a weapon charge, which was later dismissed.
The rapper told the newspaper that he wanted to make music for young people who ‘got to carry their guns to school because it ain’t safe, but they still got to make sure they get they diploma ’cause they mom could be happy. I do it for them.’
In other interviews he described how he was expelled from middle school because he brought a firearm to campus.
In October, Pop Smoke was removed from the lineup for Rolling Loud’s festival in Queens after the NYPD sent a letter to organizers raising concerns that he and four other artists posed a public safety risk because they were ‘affiliated with recent acts of violence citywide’.
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