Travon DaShawn Frank Smart (January 13, 1997 – June 18, 2018), better known by his stage name Jimmy Wopo, was an American rapper from

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Wopo was an affiliate of fellow Pittsburgh-based rapper

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 200 ...

and his Taylor Gang imprint. He made his first high-profile appearance with his 2016 breakout single, "Elm Street", produced by Stvii B, which ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' included in the "'Bout to Blow: 10 Dope New Songs You Should Be Hearing Everywhere Soon" list. Following that success, he collaborated with several prominent rappers including Wiz Khalifa,

Sonny Digital Sonny Corey Uwaezuoke (born March 5, 1991), better known by his stage name Sonny Digital, is an American record producer, rapper, and DJ.

21 Savage Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is a rapper based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Born in London, he moved to Atlanta with his mother at age seven. He became known after releasing two m ...

and more. After receiving a co-sign from Mike Will Made It rap duo

Rae Sremmurd Rae Sremmurd ( ; "Drummers Ear" spelled backwards) is an American hip hop duo originating from Tupelo, Mississippi, formed by two brothers, Slim Jxmmi and Swae Lee. In 2013, they signed a record deal with Mike Will Made It's EarDrummers impri ...

brought Jimmy out to perform during their set at the Pittsburgh stop of the SremmLife 2 Tour. Wopo was murdered in a

drive-by shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...

on June 18, 2018.

Career

In January 2015, Wopo began uploading original tracks to his SoundCloud account. Taylor Maglin, the owner of the Pittsburgh-based blog ''Daily Loud'', partnered with him and began to publicize his music. This additional push helped him to accumulate millions of views on his music videos on his YouTube channel. Joining the wave of Wopo's viral success, urban hip hop blog

WorldStarHipHop WorldStarHipHop is a content-aggregating video blog. Zurawik, David.Worldstarhiphop.com makes a name for itself with shocking viral videos". ''The Baltimore Sun''. March 23, 2012. Retrieved on April 22, 2012Alternate link to the same article fro ...

exclusively debuted five of his music videos in 2016. On July 24, 2016, he premiered his debut project, ''Woponese'', on Daily Loud. This 8-track mixtape included the single "Back Door", which features

Sonny Digital Sonny Corey Uwaezuoke (born March 5, 1991), better known by his stage name Sonny Digital, is an American record producer, rapper, and DJ.

. In October 2016,

Riff Raff Riff Raff, Riffraff, or Riff-Raff, a term for the common people but with negative connotations, may refer to: In music * Riff Raff (rapper), from Texas * Riff Raff (band), a UK progressive rock band * Riff Raff, a band formed by Billy Bragg * ...

tapped Wopo for a feature on the track "Stay Away from You" on his ''Balloween'' mixtape. On November 25, 2016, he released a joint album with his fellow Pittsburgh-based rapper Hardo. This nine-track project featured ShadyHigler,

and

. As many as fifty completed, unreleased songs will be released posthumously, according to Wopo's manager.

Legal issues

On February 7, 2016, Wopo was arrested during a traffic stop in

Washington County, Pennsylvania Washington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 209,349. Its county seat is Washington. Washington County is part of the Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county i ...

. Police arrested Wopo and two others after finding two stamp bags of suspected heroin and a small amount of marijuana. He was arraigned on drug charges and drinking charges and placed in jail with a $25,000 bond. Later, while out, Wopo, landed in jail because of probation violation. Wopo failed to inform officials of his trip to New York State, where he was caught and imprisoned on such charges. While in jail, he wrote an album, ''Back Against the Wall'', which he recorded the first day he got out of jail.

Death

At 4:22 PM EDT on June 18, 2018, Smart and a male passenger were shot in Pittsburgh's

Hill District The Hill District is a grouping of historically African American neighborhoods in the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Beginning in the years leading up to World War I, "the Hill" was the cultural center of black life in the city and a major cent ...

neighborhood. The passenger survived, but Smart, who was shot in the head, died after being rushed to the

UPMC Presbyterian UPMC Presbyterian (often referred to locally as Presby) is a 900-bed non-profit research and academic hospital located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, providing tertiary care for the Western Pennsylvania region and beyo ...

at 5:56 PM. He was 21 years old, and left behind three children.

Discography

*''Woponese'' (2016) *''Trapnese'' (2016) (with Hardo) *''Jordan Kobe'' (2017) *''Back Against the Wall'' (2017)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wopo, Jimmy 1997 births 2018 deaths 2018 murders in the United States Deaths by firearm in Pennsylvania East Coast hip hop musicians People murdered in Pennsylvania Rappers from Pittsburgh Songwriters from Pennsylvania 21st-century American rappers Bloods American murder victims