Pop Smoke and friend put his address on social media hours before murder

Rapper Pop Smoke was shot and killed in his Hollywood Hills, Calif. home on Feb. 19, 2020; the rising star was 20. Pop Smoke, whose real name is Bashar Barakah Jackson, rose to fame in 2019 following the success of his song “Welcome to the Party.” Jackson was killed during an early morning home invasion by multiple masked men. Stars including Nicki Minaj and Kehlani mourned the loss of Jackson on social media.

As the hip-hop world continues to mourn the death of Pop Smoke, who was shot to death after a home invasion Wednesday morning, fans are wondering if social media posts that the 20-year-old rapper made just hours before his death might have led to the break-in and killing.

Smoke — real name Bashar Jackson — was at a house owned by Teddi Mellencamp in Hollywood Hills, Calif., on Tuesday night, which would have been clear to anyone watching his Facebook Story. In addition to posting large amounts of cash, Smoke also filmed himself opening gift bags that showed the address where he was staying.

Damn RIP Pop Smoke. You can’t live your life on the Internet. This is his IG story before being murdered. Dude put his address out there smh. RIP SMOKE pic.twitter.com/Y6Oxsk9i5E

— J Oh (@FinesseDaFlex) February 19, 2020

Additionally, Smoke’s friend Mike Dee posted a photo of the two outside the house, with the numbers of the address clearly visible.

Though police have not spoken publicly about a specific motive for the killing, or if there’s any connection between Smoke and his killers, it wouldn’t be unheard of for an eagle-eyed and opportunistic social media user to take information shared online by a celebrity and use it to commit a crime. When Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in Paris in 2016, she decided to stop posting about her real-time actions, because she realized there could be unintended negative consequences.