The Pop Smoke phenomenon: How the late rapper became a superstar in death
The IndependentSign up to Roisin O’Connor’s free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Get our Now Hear This email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Posthumous single “What You Know Bout Love” reached the top spot on the US rhythmic radio chart last month – the chart based on radio stations whose playlists include mostly hit-driven R&B/hip-hop/rhythmic pop – while his song “For The Night” is now a staple among the top five played songs on urban radio stations. “People don’t get tired of his songs,” said Paris Nicole, programme director at Philadelphian hip-hop station WPHI/103.9, stating the obvious when asked by Billboard why Pop Smoke’s music was so popular. Yet rather than present his community as a tragic place, Pop Smoke enjoyed showing the perseverance of its residents – “I don’t care if you’re losing/ still fight back!” was his war cry – and he immortalised their defiant spirit in his catchy hood anthems. open image in gallery At Rolling Loud SoCal in December 2019 Pop Smoke’s untimely death, however, is representative of a tragic wider issue within the youthful hip-hop world.
History of this topic
Pop Smoke’s posthumous album: A chart-topping debut and a frustrating farewell
LA Times
Label: Rapper Pop Smoke slain in Hollywood Hills shooting
Associated Press
Pop Smoke shot dead: 20-year-old rapper ‘killed in home robbery in California’
The Independent
In a too-brief life, Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke had already recast the sound, and center, of hip-hop
LA Times
Rap world mourns Pop Smoke: ‘The streets don’t love you when you make it’
LA Times
Rapper Pop Smoke gunned down in Hollywood Hills home
LA TimesDiscover Related
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