Nov. 1 marked the one-year anniversary of the beloved rapper Takeoff‘s death, officially putting a permanent end to the Migos, the most popular rap group of the 2010s. Takeoff, born Kirsnick Khari Ball, was 28 when he was shot and killed during an alleged argument outside of a Houston bowling alley. At his memorial service, less than a month later at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, political and religious leaders alike, pleaded with Black youth to end gun violence, especially against each other. Quavo, who is also Takeoff’s uncle, vivited the White House and sat for a conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris to further discuss gun violence in the country.
Quavo spoke with Kamala Harris and congress to advocate against gun violence in honor of Takeoff:
“I don't want this to happen to the next person. I want to knock down these percentages… We need to do better with the control of guns” pic.twitter.com/6r66IEDKOq
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) September 21, 2023
Young Dro said Takeoff’s senseless killing was his final straw and began hosting anti-gun town halls around the city of Atlanta.
Even Lil Baby, who had public disputes with the Migos near the end of the trios’ run, posted a tribute to Takeoff months before he spoke out about gun violence at a funeral for Mays High School 16-year-old student Bre’Asia Powell.
“We’ve got to change,” Baby said at the service. “I’m a male, but I’m speaking for the males and the females … because the young boys maybe doing this and that to prove it to the young girls that they’re cool and all of it in the end is not cool. The same girl that’s been with you is going to be with the oops when you go to jail … I’m here to come up with a plan.”
Lil Baby's message at the funeral for 16y/o Bre'Asia who was shot and killed while celebrating at a graduation party in the Mays High School parking lot last week.pic.twitter.com/GlRvwjfwO6
— Everything Georgia (@GAFollowers) June 5, 2023
While the conversations outside of the music have often changed, thought leader 19Keys argued little-to-nothing has changed within the actual music, he recently told rolling out.
One year after Takeoff’s passing, what have in you seen in the community as a response to that?
I’ve seen nothing in the community change as a response to it.
The hip-hop community ain’t changed, music ain’t changed, nothing has changed. Rappers still rap the same, murder is still glamorized, and drill music is still glamorized the same. Environments that created that situation continue to be sustained. The industry continues to push rappers who talk about nothing, so they continue to distract the minds of our culture instead of us tapping into that God energy, that light. They got them on demon time, pushing that look devil music and they got them sucks bending over for a check, even when they know that the s— ain’t right.
Ain’t nothing going to change because them n—– don’t care because they live on a death frequency. They don’t care about life. They can put out a RIP post and then go make the same exact music that talks about killing rappers. Ain’t nothing changed at all, but what’s going to change is some more of that God-body energy. The only thing the industry is missing right now is more than God-body-energy music. We want to hear somebody talk that God talk. How we’re slapping our enemies up, not our brothers.
I don’t want to hear you talking about going out there, you about to kill a n— or some broad out there talking about all the a– she bout to shake, all the d— she bout to suck. Nobody cares about that s—.
