Takeoff was a member of the rap group Migos. His representative told the Associated Press that he was shot and killed in Houston early on Tuesday morning.
Before notifying the victim’s family and having his identity confirmed by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, Houston police stated they would not release the victim’s name. The victim, according to police, was a Black man in his twenties. Click2Houston, a Houston-based news organization, said that the incident occurred at a bowling alley around 2:40 a.m.
A spokeswoman for the Houston police department said that they “were informed” that Takeoff, 28, and Quavo, both members of the hip hop duo Migos, were there at the scene, as reported by a Fox 26 in Houston reporter. If Offset, the group’s third member, was there at the intimate get-together remains unknown. Takeoff, whose true name is Kirshnik Khari Ball, is the nephew of Quavo, who was born Quavious Keyate Marshall, making the trio of Migos all related. Offset is the cousin of Quavo and his name is Kiari Kendrell Cephus.
According to a tweet from the Houston Police Department, officers responded to a shooting call in the city’s central business district and located one deceased person. Two more people were “brought in private automobiles to hospitals,” it was subsequently reported.
Early on Tuesday, a representative or publicist for Migos could not be reached for comment.
Their first single, “Versace,” released in 2013, was hailed as “the true song of the summer” by Washington Post reviewer Chris Richards (despite the charts suggesting otherwise).
Rappers like Drake, Meek Mill, and Soulja Boy quickly caught on to “Versace”s infectious hook and recorded their own versions of the song. “Some type of playground,” as Richards put it.
It’s clear that this three-syllable phrase, with its addictive blend of fricative consonants, is unexpectedly pleasurable to repeat out loud, again and over and over again, after hearing these guys enunciate the name of the Italian fashion business 158 times in 3 minutes and 7 seconds, as he wrote.
Following the 2015 release of their self-titled debut album, Migos saw another boom in popularity in 2016 with the release of the track “Bad and Boujee,” which includes Lil Uzi Vert and earned them a Grammy nomination.
Donald Glover, better known by his stage as Childish Gambino, complimented Migos “not for being in the show, but for producing ‘Bad and Boujee’ – that’s the finest song ever” when winning a Golden Globe for his series “Atlanta.”
