Image: yrntakeoff/Instagram
Takeoff, the third rapper in the group Migos, along with Quavo and Offset, has passed away, according to TMZ. Takeoff, real name Kirshnik Khari Ball, was shot to death at 2.30 a.m. in Houston at a bowling alley where he and Quavo were playing dice. Takeoff was pronounced dead at the scene. Two further visitors were shot on the property and sent to the hospital. Quavo dodged injury.
On Twitter, friends and admirers paid tribute to the late rapper. “I remember Takeoff being a very down to earth, cool dude,” wrote boxer Chris Eubank Jr. “Can’t believe I’m having to say this again about another young black star being killed for no reason, something really has to change in the industry.”
In 1994, Takeoff was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia. In 2008, he started rapping alongside Quavo and Offset, who were his uncle and cousin, as the group Polo Club. The group’s debut mixtape as Migos, Juug Season, was released in 2011.
Versace, the group Migos’ first widely popular track, was released in 2013. The song was important for popularizing the triplet flow, which is Migos’ trademark rapid-fire cadence, inside current rap. Drake, a Toronto rapper, later remixed the song, and the three members of the trio would go on to work together frequently.