Jimmy Wopo

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

Jimmy Wopo
Jimmy Wopo in 2016
Background information
Birth nameTravon DaShn Frank Smart
Also known asJimmy Wopo
Born(1997-01-13)January 13, 1997
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died(2018-06-18)June 18, 2018 (aged 21)
Hill District, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
GenresHip hop
Occupation(s)Rapper
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2016-2018
Labels
  • Taylor Gang / 018 Muney Lane Records
Associated acts

Wopo was an affiliate of fellow Pittsburgh-based rapper Wiz Khalifa and his Taylor Gang imprint. He made his first high-profile appearance with his 2016 breakout single, "Elm Street", produced by Stevie B, which Complex included in the "'Bout to Blow: 10 Dope New Songs You Should Be Hearing Everywhere Soon" list.[1] Following that success, he collaborated with several prominent rappers including Wiz Khalifa, Sonny Digital, 21 Savage and more.[2] After receiving a co-sign from Mike Will Made It, rap duo Rae Sremmurd brought Jimmy out to perform during their set at the Pittsburgh stop of the SremmLife 2 Tour.[3] Wopo was murdered in a drive-by shooting on June 18, 2018, in the Hill District of Pittsburgh.

Career

In January 2015, Wopo began uploading original tracks to his SoundCloud account. Taylor Maglin, the owner of the Pittsburgh-based blog The 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.[4] Joining the wave of Wopo's viral success, urban hip hop blog WorldStarHipHop exclusively debuted five of his music videos in 2016.[5] On July 24, 2016, he premiered his debut project, Woponese, on Daily Loud.[6] This 8-track mixtape included the single "Back Door", which features Sonny Digital.[7] In October 2016, Riff Raff tapped Wopo for a feature on the track "Stay Away from You" on his Balloween mixtape.[8] On November 25, 2016, he released a joint album with his fellow Pittsburgh-based rapper Hardo. This nine-track project featured ShadyHigler, 21 Savage and Wiz Khalifa.[9]

As many as fifty completed, unreleased songs will be released posthumously, according to Wopo's manager.[10]

On February 7, 2016, Wopo was arrested during a traffic stop in Washington County, Pennsylvania. 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 underage 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.[11]

Death

In the late afternoon of June 18, 2018, a gunman opened fire on Wopo's vehicle in Pittsburgh's Hill District neighborhood, hitting Wopo and a male passenger.[12] The passenger survived his wounds, but Wopo later died after being rushed to a local hospital. He was 21 years old. He left behind three children, Aubree, Tru'Love, and Travon Jr.[13]

Discography
  • Woponese (2016)
  • Trapnese (2016) (with Hardo)
  • Jordan Kobe (2017)
  • Back Against the Wall (2017)

See also

References
  1. "Bout to Blow: 10 Dope New Songs You Should Be Hearing Everywhere Soon". Complex. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  2. "Hardo-Todays A Good Day Featuring Wiz Khalifa and Jimmy Wopo". Hot New Hip Hop. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  3. "Mike Will Made It Co-Signs Jimmy Wopo". Twitter. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  4. "#BangerAlert: Jimmy Wopo Says "Oh My"". Hip Hop DX. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  5. "Jimmy Wopo videos". WorldStarHipHop. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  6. "Jimmy Wopo Woponese mixtape". Daily Loud. Archived from the original on 25 January 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  7. "Jimmy Wopo "Woponese" Mixtape". Live Mixtapes. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  8. "Stream Riff Raff's New 'Balloween' Mixtape". Hypebeast. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  9. "Trapnese by Hardo and Jimmy Wopo". iTunes. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  10. "Slain Pittsburgh rapper Jimmy Wopo left behind more than 50 unreleased songs". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  11. Warco, Kathie (February 8, 2016). "Eight arrested on drug charges in Washington County over weekend". Observer-Reporter.
  12. "R.I.P. Jimmy Wopo". The Fader. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
  13. Respers France, Lisa (June 19, 2018). "Rapper Jimmy Wopo gunned down in Pittsburgh". CNN. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
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