King Combs and Pop Smoke’s budding relationship came to an end shortly after its inception. The two were fortunately able to share some stories and record the hit single “Diana,” but not before Pop’s tragic killing put an end to their plans to make more music, and turned their studio session into memories Combs will cherish forever.
During an interview with HipHopDX, the “How You Want It?” rapper reflected on his final moments with “The Woo” hitmaker.
According to Combs, he and the Brooklyn emcee were up late in the studio with a few other people as he laid his verse on “Diana” and Pop recorded “Iced Out Audemars” among some other songs.
“That was my second time in the studio with him, but we’d been around each other a lot,” he said. “Any time we were around each other, it’s a lot of energy where you’re just dancing and having fun. Never any negative vibes, and it was the same thing this night.”
The collaborators laughed and shared a few personal stories with each other, and he left with the intention of meeting with Pop Smoke after the session. Unfortunately, he got pulled over by LAPD, noticed how late it was and decided to make his way home. He learned of the tragic news moments later.
“My pops busts into my room and he’s like, ‘Yo, Pop Smoke,’ and I’m like, ‘Yo, I was just with him like an hour ago.’ It was crazy,” Combs said. “Wow. Rest in peace Pop Smoke. That wasn’t even supposed to happen. He was supposed to be the biggest right now, man. But his legacy is living on, and I’m always going to honor Pop Smoke.”
Pop Smoke was shot and killed on Feb. 19 during a home invasion in California. During his last encounter with Combs, he shared a few motivational words that have “stuck” with the “Love You Better” rapper to this day.
“He was like, ‘Yo, you got to keep doing what you’re doing. You’re doing your thing. I see you, I like you. You’re hard,’” Combs recalled. “That’s just something that stuck with me because he didn’t even have to say that. He didn’t have to say anything, and he just made it known he rocked with me and what I was doing. It’s just like for somebody to go out and say that, to show love out the way, I feel like that just, that stuck with me for sure.”