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Billboard Music Awards 2021: Pop Smoke's mom remembers her 'young warrior' in emotional acceptance speech
Late rapper, Pop Smoke's mother accepted his posthumous honours at Billboard Music Awards and paid an emotional tribute to her son in the acceptance speech.
Billboard Music Awards 2021 were held at the Microsoft Arena in California on Sunday, May 24. The star-studded evening saw who's who of the music industry attending one of the major in-person events in the pandemic times. With Taylor Swift, The Weeknd taking home some major honours, it was also an evening of honouring artists who aren't amongst us anymore and it included late rapper Pop Smoke who bagged 5 posthumous awards.
Pop Smoke, whose real name was Bashar Barakah Jackson, took home the Top New Artist, Top Rap Artist, Top Rap Male Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album and Top Rap Album for Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon. The posthumous honours were accepted by his mother Audrey Jackson, who took to the stage to make an emotional acceptance speech.
Remembering her late son, Pop Smoke's mother said, "Thank you to the fans for honouring the life and spirit of my son, so much that he continues to manifest as if he were still here in flesh. He created music for the kid who has to sleep four in a room, the kid who has to figure out how to get to school each day so he can graduate and make his mom proud. He did this so that 14-year-olds would not have to kill to prove they are somebody. That is the irony in this."
Further referring to her son as her "young warrior", Jackson thanked the Billboard jury for celebrating Pop Smoke's talent and said, "So thank you to the Billboard Awards leadership for honouring my young warrior Bashar Barakah Jackson, we call your name."
Pop Smoke was tragically shot and passed away during a home invasion robbery in February 2020.
