Over the weekend, it was reported that the late rapper Pop Smoke’s grave at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, N.Y. had been vandalized.
Breaking the story, TMZ revealed that the gravesite was covered with discernible scrape marks, which led to the belief that the vandals actually attempted to drag the casket outside of the crypt.
Claudio Lavenia/Getty Images
The disturbing news was met with shock and disgust from Pop Smoke’s considerable fanbase, with many sending thoughts and prayers to his family. Yesterday, September 13th, Pop Smoke’s mother Audrey Jackson shared an update on her Instagram page, revealing that she had spent time at the gravesite cleaning up some of the lingering remnants of the vandalism.
“We cleaned up,” she captions, alongside a few heartbreaking pictures. “We sat and talked to each other and to him.” It’s truly sad to see a mother driven to such unfortunate circumstances, and we can only imagine the pain she must have been feeling upon first hearing that her son’s gravesite had been desecrated. We at HNHH hope that she and her family are able to heal in the face of this considerable hardship.
Pop Smoke’s brother and mother. Photo by Claudio Lavenia/Getty Images
Prior to Pop Smoke’s death at the age of twenty, the rapper seemed on the verge of genuine superstardom, a status he’d go on to obtain posthumously. To this day, his album Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon continues to be a mainstay on the Billboard charts, to the point where it’s starting to feel like a generation-defining body of work.
Rest in peace to Pop Smoke. Please be sure to send your thoughts and prayers to Audrey Jackson and her family.