Takeoff, a rapper in the influential Atlanta hip-hop trio Migos, was shot and killed in Houston in the early hours of Tuesday morning (November 1), Rolling Stone and TMZ report. He and Quavo had been playing dice in a bowling alley when an altercation broke out and a man opened fire, according to TMZ and local media. Takeoff was 28 years old.
Born Kirsnick Khari Ball, Takeoff grew up with Quavo and Offset in the Georgia suburb of Lawrenceville. They formed a rap trio in 2008, amassing fans around the city including Gucci Mane, whose patronage helped elevate the group, eventually known as Migos, while its singles and mixtapes gained steam in the early 2010s.
They broke out in 2013 with “Versace,” which exemplified the triplet-heavy “Migos flow,” and a Drake remix raised the song’s international profile. The same year, they signed to upstart Atlanta label Quality Control. The label, and Migos, became synonymous with a new wave of Atlanta rap. Quality Control co-released the trio’s official debut album, 2015’s Yung Rich Nation, as well as the landmark 2017 album Culture. That year, Migos won the BET Award for Best Group and picked up a pair of Grammy nominations including Best Rap Album. Sequels Culture II and III followed in 2018 and 2021, respectively.
In 2020, a woman sued Takeoff for sexual assault, alleging that he had raped her at a house party. The following year, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office declined to launch a criminal prosecution due to insufficient evidence. The civil lawsuit had been due to proceed in 2023. Takeoff’s lawyer strongly denied the allegations in an email to Pitchfork this morning.
Though Takeoff kept a lower public profile than his bandmates, he released a solo album, The Last Rocket, in 2018; last month, with Migos on an indefinite hiatus, he released a collaborative album with Quavo. Their latest video, “Messy,” came out yesterday.
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