Smoke Dawg killed in Toronto shooting: Who was the slain rapper?
Up-and-coming rapper Smoke Dawg died on Saturday after being shot in Toronto. News of the 21-year-old artist’s passing brought an outpouring of high-profile responses on social media — but, still, he wasn’t necessarily a household name.
By now we all know the rapper — real name Jahvante Smart — had connections to superstar Drake, as evidenced by the moving post the latter shared on his Instagram Stories Sunday.
Drake via his IG story. RIP Smoke Dawg 💔 pic.twitter.com/xRnKVZzncX
— Drake Direct (@DrakeDirect_) July 1, 2018
But where did it all begin, and where was Smoke headed to on his curtailed climb to international fame?
As it turns out, the rapper had a vibrant presence in his hometown of Toronto, where he was born and grew up in a large family. Developing an interest in music and his city’s music scene at an early age, he found another family in the form of local collective Halal Gang — a group of black Muslim artists (Smoke, Puffy L’z, Safe, and Mo-G) who quickly made waves in the area with their innovative hip-hop.
The group insisted they weren’t a literal “gang” and despite being local to a notoriously violent area, weren’t about violence. In a 2017 interview with Fader, member Puffy L’z said the bonds went way deeper than that: “These are my brothers.”
Regardless of the personal depth of their relationship, the quartet attracted a tremendous amount of attention in the Toronto music scene — including that of its most successful product, Drake.
The superstar was an early fan, posting a snippet of their song “Still” in 2015, in which Mo-G introduced the signature left-handed “Ginobili dance.” (Incidentally, this would lead to Mo-G dropping disgruntled criticism such as “culture vulture” Drake’s way, as well as accusing him of jacking certain ideas without giving proper compensation.)
Despite his bandmate’s ire, Smoke appeared to have nothing but a positive connection with Drake. Both he and Puffy L’z opened for the European leg of Drake’s Boy Meets World Tour early last year.
In addition to his work with Drake, Smoke was known outside the Toronto scene for collaborations with well-known names such as French Montana and grime icon Skepta — the latter of whom welcomed Drake on stage in London during a 2017 set with Smoke.
Smoke’s solo efforts were moving briskly along directly before his passing: the single “Fountain Freestyle” was released earlier this week, while more music was being hinted at for later in the summer, and a full album, Struggle Before Glory, was set to drop later this year.
Still, it’s hard to deny that Smoke’s local Toronto fame composed the centerpiece of his legacy — a fact that, as his bandmate explained, restricted their collective’s growth but gave their music an indescribably unique tone.
“We’re popular, but personally I don’t think we’re where we should be. We deserve more than what we have,” Puffy L’z observed to Fader. “If Halal Gang was from New York or Atlanta or L.A., best believe, we would’ve blown up.
“Toronto is just a hateful city,” he added, not knowing at the time it would also be the city that would take his “brother” away.
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