The suspect was a teenager at the time of the crime
One suspect in the killing of Pop Smoke has admitted to letting of the fatal shot that hit the late Brooklyn rapper, according Fox 11 Los Angeles. The suspect was 15 at the time of the 2020 shooting and will be detained at a state juvenile facility until he’s 25 when he’ll be released.
“You have no right to take somebody’s life. You have no right to take somebody’s property,” L.A. Superior Court Judge J. Christopher Smith told the suspect along with his 19-old-old co-defendant.
Pop’s manager claims he wouldn’t have approved previous posthumous releases if he was alive
Since Pop Smoke died in 2020, his estate has put out a significant amount of music, including two albums and several features. According to the late rapper’s manager Rico Beats, however, Pop’s team doesn’t have any unreleased music remaining.
A screenshot of a text exchange between a fan and Rico surface online where the former asks the latter if there will be anymore posthumous releases from Pop’s team, to which Rico replied, “who said he has music left.”
He added, “What else ya want Pop died 3 years ago how much more music ya think he did in one year,” before continuing in another text, “y’all gotta be real.”
When the fan insisted by asking about previously previewed music including a collab between Pop and Gwaupo and another with Mike Dee, Rico responded, “all the records they used chip so many ways his vocals.” He then added, “if Pop was a live he would not approved 99% of the stuff they put out.”
Pop’s estate hasreleased two posthumous albums since he passed away: Aim Ro The Moon, Shoot For The Stars and Faith.
One suspect sentenced to four years in prison for Pop’s killing
One of the four suspects in Pop Smoke’s killing has pleaded guilty, according to the Los Angeles Times. The suspect admitted to storming Pop’s home in LA while he was a teenager for a robbery that resulted in the New York rapper’s death.
Judge J. Christopher Smith sentenced the now 20-year-old to four years and two months in the Secure Youth Treatment Facility. However, the judge said the suspect might remain in a juvenile custody until he’s 25. His sentence will not include the two years and eight months he has alredy spent in jail since his arrest.
Tyga recently had a chat on Hotboxing With Mike Tyson where he recounted locking in with the late Pop Smoke. At first, he explained how an unnamed artist had him removed from a song he did with Pop because he was on it too. He then explained how he ended up on “West Coast Shit” and revealed that he missed on “Enjoy Yourself” because Pop died before they could finish the record.
“We had did two records before he passed and then one of them – it was a conflict on it so I was like, ‘It’s cool, take me off of it. I ain’t tripping.’ Somebody else didn’t want me on the song right … another artist,” Tyga explained. “So I was like, ‘It’s cool. I ain’t tripping. Whatever, let’s just do something else.’ And he was cool like that.”
He added, “And we did another song and then we finished it, but we didn’t finish the final song because he had passed right before the album came out. But he had text me, like, ‘Yo I wanna put a Latin artist on, a female artist. Who do you think?’ And I was like that we should put Karol G on it, because at the time I was like, ‘Karol G’s poppin. Let’s put her on it!’ So we end up putting her on it for that album.
“And then I did another song with him and Quavo that they did that I hopped on later,” he continued, “And then the record ‘Sunshine’ was a song that he did. My boy used to do all his A&R stuff, so he did a record for him and then he had the verse and we just put him on there and it just made sense.”
Pop Smoke’s killing explained by woman who witnessed it
It’s been over two years since Pop Smoke lost his life to a violent robbery in a Los Angeles home he rented. Amelia Rose, who was with Pop during the unfortunate night, appeared on one of WE TV’s Hip Hop Homicides episodes this month where she recounted the tragic incident for the first time.
“Pop said he was going upstairs. I’m sitting on the bed and I’m starting to take off my clothes, and he said: ‘OK, I’ll come back,’” Rose explained to host Van Lathan. “He was going to the restroom and so these were his last words.”
“This moment, it was like a couple seconds and I hear the noise,” she added. “The guy was in the mask and his gun was like… ‘Look at me,’ you know? His eyes made me so scared. They run to the restroom. Pop screamed, ‘What?!’”
The teenager allegedly confessed to shooting Pop Smoke in an interview with an informant in 2020
One of the suspects and the alleged triggerman in the armed robbery that left Pop Smoke dead in 2020 appears online, apparently enjoying pizza.
On Friday (October 7), DJ Akademiks shared two photos of the teenager. In one pic, the teen holds a box of pizza and uses a phone besides a bed with two boxes of pizza on top in another.
The suspect was arrested with a group of others in 2020 for killing Pop Smoke in a Los Angeles home invasion that year. The suspected gunman reportedly confessed to killing Pop in an interview with an informant cell mate.
LAPD Detective Carlos Camacho said the suspect “admitted that he shot the victim three times with a Baretta 9 (mm.).” Camacho added that the teen “admitted they asked for the jewelry” before “a confrontation” erupted that led to Pop’s killing.
“They got into a fight, and he shot him three times,” the detective said. “He said he shot him on the back.”
One of the suspects in Pop Smoke’s 2020 murder gets a trial date. According to My News LA, 21-year old Corey Walker, who was the sole adult among the suspects, is set to appear in court on October 15.
Walker was still a teenager at the time of the crime but will be tried as an adult. The other four suspects will be tried in juvenile court.
Pop Smoke was shot to death in February 2020 after Walker and co. attacked the New York rapper in his Los Angeles Airbnb with a motive to rob him off his jewelry and cash. The gang shot Pop during the process.
Virgil Abloh lent his creativity to a variety of Hip-Hop covers
Virgil Abloh, mostly known as the visionary creator of the Off-White brand and the head of Louis Vuitton men’s wear, tragically passed away in November 2021 at the age of 41 from a two-year fight with a rare and aggressive form of cancer.
Virgil’s influence on the world of music and hip-hop culture cannot be overlooked. Over the past decade, Virgil managed to design album covers for several high-profile hip-hop projects, including iconic album covers for Kanye West, Lil Uzi Vert, A$AP Rocky, Pop Smoke, Kid Cudi, and more.
Kanye West‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ 2010
Virgil was the art director for West’s album, MBDTF’s artwork would become a key aspect of what is considered one of the greatest albums of the 21st century.
The creative relationship of Kanye West and Virgil Abloh has always been one of Popularity. Both being Chicago natives, Virgil started working with West at the age of 22 in 2002 as a creative consultant. Since then Virgil’s work with Kanye ranged from designing merch to album art to set designs. In fact, Virgil has worked in Kanye’s creative output since before The College Dropout. Kanye has described Virgil as “one of the smartest, fastest, most innovative people I’ve created with.”
In this in depth article by nicekicks.com, it highlights Virgil’s Life and Legacy in Fashion, Music, and Footwear, along with highlighting his professional creative relationship with Kanye West
Kanye West‘808s & Heartbreak’ 2008
Virigl is credited as co-designer the famous, 808s & Heartbreak. Eventually getting KAWS in the fold for 808‘s deluxe edition artwork. They created a cover that is not only memorable for its music, but just as well, the art direction.
Kanye West ‘Yeezus’ 2013
Abloh would be credited and involved in album artwork for Kanye West’s following three projects with creatives from the art and fashion world collaborating on covers.
Virgil’s detailed golden art direction for Jay and Kanye’s collab project established the mystique of the two artists as the kings of hip hop at the turn of the decade.
Virgil was the creative director for Uzi’s debut studio album. The original cover art did not feature the ‘Off-White’ TAPE X’d over. However, Uzi has always been famous for rocking fashionable, trendy, and expensive brands, including Virgil’s Louis Vuitton. So it would make sense that he would give Virgil the benefit of the doubt of being the creative director.
For an in-depth article about Uzi and Virgil’s creative professional relationship, including the story behind the ‘Luv is Rage 2’ artwork, click here for an article from TheFader.
Virgil was also the creative director for Rocky’s debut studio album. Virgil’s talent clearly rubbed off onto Rocky, who has since become a fashion icon in his own right.
Gunn’s album was titled ‘Pray for Paris’ shortly after Gunn attended Virgil Abloh’s Off-White Paris fashion show in January 2020. The cover was created by Virgil using Caravaggio’s David with the Head of Goliath while adding Gunn’s personal frequently worn chains, making it one of the most striking picturesque covers of the year.
Rest in Peace Virgil Abloh, a leading driver for the 21st-century connections between fashion, music, and art. May we forever remember this work and dedication.
“I told them Black and gold, that’s been a theme,” 2 Chainz told VIBE. “I had the album cover done by Kanye’s new creative team, Donda.” In 2011, West hired Abloh to become the creative director of his creative agency, DONDA.
