Takeoff, one of the three members of the hip hop group, Migos, sadly passed away on November 1 at the young age of 28. According to Mark Savage, BBC Music Correspondent, “The 28-year-old, Grammy-nominated musician died on Tuesday in a shooting at a bowling alley in Houston, Texas” (Savage). Takeoff, legally known as Kirshnik Khari Ball, was killed at 2:30 am on a balcony outside the 810 Billiards and Bowling Alley. Prior to the time of his uneventful death, Takeoff had been having a jolly time playing dice with his uncle, Quavo, who is also one of the members of the Migos.
Takeoff’s record company stated that the charismatic rapper was murdered by a ‘stray bullet’. A stray bullet is a bullet that hits an unintended target after being fired from a gun. Even though this is very likely to be the case, there is not much evidence and information supporting it. According to BBC, “Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said he did not want to speculate on whether Takeoff was the target” (Savage). Troy Finner, the police chief of the Texan city Houston, stated the following: “Based on what people say about him, he's well respected, non-violent. I would not expect him to be involved but I do want to wait on the investigation - but we have no reason to believe that he was involved in anything criminal at the time, just as people describe him as very peaceful, loving, a great entertainer” (Savage). The police department of Houston have been thoroughly investigating the death of the beloved rapper in order to search for information about his unexpected and shocking death. The Houston Police Department said that around 40 to 50 guests were at the private party. When they arrived, the Texan police officers said they found another dead man with a gunshot wound on his head and neck. The police also found a 24-year-old man and 23-year-old woman who were severely injured. The injured victims were immediately driven to the hospital in private vehicles. Houston Police Chief Finner said, “at least two firearms were involved in the incident” and that there were “at least two individuals pulling triggers around here” (Savage). Despite this, no arrests have been made and the perpetrator has not been captured.
The contemporary hip hop group, Migos, is one of the most popular and famous music trios in the history of modern hip pop; the band contains Takeoff, Offset and Quavo. All the three are related to each other by blood: Offset is Takeoff’s cousin and Quavo is Takeoff’s uncle. They all were raised together in Lawrenceville, Georgia, USA. Over the last decade, the members of Migos have achieved huge success and revolutionized music. They are known for innovating the “Migos flow”: a style of modern rapping in choppy, slurry, staccato triplets. Tia Hill, a freelance journalist in Los Angeles, stated the following: “His death signals the end of an era for rap” (Savage). Fans and musicians all over the world have well deservingly paid tribute to Takeoff. All we can do now is pray for his family and all of his friends who are in deep solemnity and emotional heartache from his sudden death.
By Frederick