The death of Pop Smoke marked yet another talented young soul taken from us too soon. He was just on the cusp of becoming an international superstar. Meet The Woo 2 just came out and fans had anticipated his major breakout moment for some time. He had plans for his debut album that Steven Victor and 50 Cent were left to carry out in Pop’s honor. Eddie Huang seemingly got the only glimpse we’ve ever seen of Pop Smoke in the acting world.
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A new clip from the movie has emerged, giving us an even more in-depth look into Pop Smoke’s acting debut. TheShadeRoom got an exclusive look into Pop Smoke’s role in the film where he acts across Taylor Takahashi as the antagonist. The rapper shows promising signs of his acting skills and how they would’ve developed, even in this small glimpse.
During a recent interview with High Snobiety, Eddie Huang revealed that the role was actually meant for Dave East whose threesome debacle resulted in a recast. Pop’s natural skillset at basketball made him a promising candidate to fill the role. Eddie explained that Pop showed up at his place where they ran through a few drills ahead of the audition.
“We just became fast friends. And when it came time for the audition, Pop knew his line, but I could tell he got nervous for one second. It’s the only time I’ve ever seen him nervous, he kept holding his phone real tight. He kept looking down at it and putting it in his pocket and taking it out again. And I said to him ‘Yo, just put it in your pocket, bro. Don’t worry about it. You know these lines.’ And he was like, ‘Are you sure?; I was like, ‘You know these lines, bro. Just be the character. It’s not about the work. It’s about being the person.’ And he’s like, ‘Oh, I got you.’
And from that moment, Pop figured out acting. He’s really that good. We had a lot of first-time actors, but Pop just had it. And what is special about him that’s different from a lot of actors, is that Pop has no fear. He’s been through a lot in his life. Zero fear. You never get the same take with Pop, but you get something spicier and something different. On days that he was there, I would tell everybody, ‘Just get ready. It’s showtime. Catch this lightning in a bottle. I don’t care if he’s not on his mark. I don’t care if we’ve got to throw three cameras at it. But he’s going to do stuff.'”
Are you excited to see Pop Smoke’s posthumous acting debut in Boogie? Check the clip out below and let us know what you think in the comment section.