A fitting send-off. Migos rapper Takeoff was honored with an elaborate funeral 10 days after his death.
The “Bad and Boujee” artist — who was shot and killed at age 28 during a shooting in Houston on November 1 — was remembered at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, which has a capacity of 20,000, on Friday, November 11. Takeoff was raised in Lawrenceville, Georgia, a suburb of the southern state’s capital.
The “Walk It Talk It” rapper was honored by family, fans and famous friends at the arena on Friday. Per multiple reports, performers included Justin Bieber and Chloe Bailey, while Drake and the two remaining members of Migos — Quavo and Offset — made speeches.
Quavo, 31 — Takeoff’s uncle and the Migos member who was with the rapper when he was shot and killed — recalled their childhood memories together, reminiscing about their love for the WWE and wanting to be wrestling teammates, per a fan-recorded video that circulated on social media.
Offset, 30, for his part, remembered Takeoff’s signature sound. “You changed the culture of music forever. You did that, Take. You changed that flow. That flow came from Take, the originator,” Offset stated in his emotional speech. “It changed the music business.”
Though phones were not allowed inside the venue, rapper Da Brat snapped a video outside of the arena, which featured a large screen emblazoned with a picture of the late hip-hop icon.
“#RIPTAKEOFF We #SALUTE YOU. Thank you for [your] contribution to the culture,” the “Give It 2 U” rapper, 48, captioned the clip. “Yawl changed the game. Your flow was da illest. You WILL be MISSED. 🙏🏽.”
Takeoff, whose real name was Kirshnik Khari Ball, died after being shot in the head and torso at a bowling alley, where he and Quavo, 31, were playing dice around 2:30 a.m. (Offset appeared to be celebrating Halloween with wife Cardi B based on their social media posts at the time.)
The “Motorsport” artist’s death was ruled a homicide by the Harris County Medical Examiner, according to documents obtained by Us Weekly on November 2.
Per the examiner, Takeoff’s death was caused by “penetrating gunshot wounds of head and torso into arm.”
The rapper’s death stunned the hip-hop community and the entertainment world at large.
Cardi B, 30, paid tribute to Takeoff via Instagram on November 1, sharing a video of the Georgia native discussing the importance of family in an interview. “My dudes gave me this ring,” Takeoff said in the clip about the piece of jewelry in the clip, which featured a photo of him and his mother. “It’s always going to stay with me, too. I ain’t never going to take it off.” Offset, also 30, changed his profile picture to an image of his late cousin.
“I had the honor of being on migos first mixtape back in like 09’…crazy what they’ve done since,” Machine Gun Kelly tweeted. “I was so proud of that album cho and takeoff just dropped, the bars and production were so mean, i’m just glad he got to experience SOME of his flowers while he was here. RIP Take 🕊.”
In a poignant follow-up, MGK, 32, added: “I tell my brothers i love em everytime i get off the phone because of s—t like this 😞😞.”
Several of the Kardashian-Jenners also mourned Takeoff’s death. ”So many prayers. God cover this family,” Kylie Jenner wrote via her Instagram Story, which featured a clip of the Grammy nominee. “Heartbreaking. Gone too soon. Devastating.”
Her sister Khloé Kardashian shared a similar sentiment via Twitter. “This is so sad. Wow! 💔💔 over what?? May God cover everyone who is in pain. These senseless acts have got to end. So so sad.”
