Blockstar, one of the people convicted in connection with Pop Smoke’s 2020 killing, says he owes the late rapper’s mother an apology he never got to give in person.
The convicted participant, who was 17 at the time of the fatal Hollywood Hills home invasion, addressed the case during an interview with XVTV published Tuesday, October 13. Reflecting on the loss, he acknowledged that an apology could never reverse what happened.
“I’ll say an apology I never got to give was to Pop Smoke’s mom,” Blockstar said.
“I’ll say I never really got to apologize to her,” he continued. “And you know, an apology not gonna change nothing.”
Blockstar also recognized that the rapper’s mother might not accept his apology. He maintained that the incident was not intended to become personal, describing the events as a robbery that escalated into deadly violence.
“I always say the situation was never supposed to go like that. He’s not my enemy,” he said.
“I don’t really know that man from a can of paint,” Blockstar added, explaining that he did not have a personal relationship with Pop Smoke.
“What happened, what occurred was not personal,” he continued. “It was just on some young ni**as getting money.”
He acknowledged that the situation ended in tragedy but stopped short of using that explanation as an excuse.
“Things happen, things go bad. It’s not an excuse but things go bad,” he said.
Pop Smoke, whose real name was Bashar Barakah Jackson, was 20 when he died on February 19, 2020. The Brooklyn rapper was killed during a robbery at a rented residence in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles.
His death cut short the career of an artist who had emerged as a prominent figure in Brooklyn drill, with music that had attracted attention beyond New York.
Blockstar pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and home invasion burglary. He received a juvenile detention sentence of four years and two months and was released in 2023 after receiving credit for time served.
Other people involved in the case received different sentences. Corey Walker, who was 19 at the time of the killing, was sentenced to 29 years in prison in 2025.
Deijae Jester, who was 15 during the shooting, later received a four-year county jail sentence in a separate case involving fentanyl smuggling at a juvenile detention facility. According to investigators, Jester admitted firing three shots into Pop Smoke’s back.
Blockstar’s comments offer a rare public acknowledgment of the killing from someone convicted in the case. His words also recognize a reality that no apology can change: Pop Smoke’s family continues to live with the loss, regardless of how those responsible reflect on the events years later.
