According to local media, the rapper Takeoff, a part of the well-known hip-hop group Migos, was tragically shot on Tuesday at a bowling alley in Houston, Texas. Age-wise, he was 28.
According to Houston police, they responded to a gunshot overnight that resulted in one fatality. Takeoff and colleague Migo Quavo were at the site, the police confirmed to a local television station.
Before disclosing specifics of the case, a police spokesperson told AFP that they were seeking official confirmation from the medical examiner’s office and assurance that the victim’s family had been informed.
According to authorities, two other victims of the shooting were driven to nearby hospitals in private automobiles.
Born Kirshnik Khari Ball, Takeoff was playing dice with fellow Migos member Quavo at around 2:30 in the morning when, according to TMZ, “an altercation broke out and that’s when someone opened fire.”
TMZ reports that Quavo was unharmed.
Takeoff had published a selfie from what seemed to be the bowling alley a few hours before the shooting.
Tuesday would be a closed day, according to the facility, 810 Billiards & Bowling.
As word of the passing of a member of one of the biggest modern rap acts spread on social media, tributes began to pour in.
According to Congressman Jamaal Bowman’s tweet, “Sending love to Takeoff’s loved ones.” I’m sick of witnessing young Black men perish.
“I’ll never forget takeoff. His legacy will last for years to come, from the music he created with the Migos to his own solo effort. RIP,” Tidal, a streaming service, tweeted.
‘Bad and Boujee’
Born in Lawrenceville, Georgia on June 18, 1994, Takeoff was best known for his membership in Migos along with Quavo, his uncle, and Offset, his cousin who is married to fellow rapper Cardi B.
“Growing up, I was trying to make it in music. I was grinding, which is just what I loved doing,” Takeoff said in a 2017 interview with The Fader. “Just making something and creating for me.”
“I was getting my own pleasure out of it, because it’s what I liked doing. I’d wait for Quavo to get back from football practice and I’d play my songs for him.”
The Atlanta-based Migos soared to prominence off their viral 2013 song “Versace,” which Drake remixed.
The trio later recorded “Walk It Talk It” with the Canadian superstar rapper.
It was 2016’s hit “Bad and Boujee” that first saw them hit number one, a song emblematic of their signature flow, a unique cadence of staccato lyrical bursts in triplet rhythm.
The smash has been streamed 1.5 billion times in the United States alone.
The trio, managed by hip-hop powerhouse Coach K, is considered widely influential in bringing contemporary Southern trap, a popular rap sub-genre, to the mainstream.
Following their debut album “Yung Rich Nation” in 2015, they debuted atop the Billboard top albums chart with their sophomore album “Culture.”
After inking a deal with Motown and Capitol Records in 2017, they followed up with “Culture II,” once again hitting the chart’s top spot.
In 2021, they completed the trilogy with “Culture III.”
The trio also played fictionalized versions of themselves on the hit Donald Glover show “Atlanta.”
Quavo and Takeoff, who have been performing as a duo, had recently released a new music video for the track “Messy.”
After playing some concerts in Europe, Takeoff returned impressed by the reception of their show abroad as the rappers’ stars continued to rise.
“They don’t speak no English, but they know every verse, every word. They spit lyric for lyric, bar for bar,” Takeoff told Rolling Stone. “I went over there, we were doing ‘Versace.’ I held up the Paris flag and the whole building went crazy, like they scored a goal, like it was a soccer game.”
“It felt real good.”
Takeoff was considered the most reserved member of the group, but his fellow rappers routinely heralded him as a singular talent.
“My thing was rapping. I knew I was gonna be who I was,” Takeoff told the music magazine. “You couldn’t tell me I wasn’t going to be who I was.”
“I knew I was going to be here.”
