As the investigation into Pop Smoke's death continues, there have been many theories of why he was murdered in the Hollywood Hills. The 20-year-old rapper's recent mixtape Meet The Woo 2 just debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart the day before his death. With so much to look forward to in his career, gossip about the circumstances surrounding Pop Smoke's death have flooded social media.
TMZ recently reported that Pop Smoke's East Coast family have made their way to Los Angeles to immerse themselves into the investigation. The publication returned on Saturday (February 22) morning to share more speculation into the rapper's slaying by reporting that Pop Smoke was concerned for his safety days before he was murdered on Wednesday (February 19).
According to TMZ, last Sunday (February 16), Pop Smoke was set to perform at the Kings Theatre in his hometown of Brooklyn. However, the rapper reportedly shared on his Instagram Story that the show had been canceled because he claimed the "NYPD wouldn't let me perform." TMZ states that they've spoken with the New York Police Department and it wasn't their call to shut down the show—Pop Smoke allegedly made the decision to back away "out of concern there were gang members in the audience."
The outlet continued, "The rapper was out on bail in a federal car theft case and was ordered to stay away from gang members, so cops say canceling the show was really self-preservation... There's been a buzz in L.A. among Pop's circle that gang members might be behind his murder. The fact that Pop himself had concerns about gang members was something that has not escaped the attention of police."