By Dymond McElrath
November 1, 2022, looked differently for many of us. While it was game day for some people, others were still trying to come down from their Halloween candy high from the night before. In the music industry, however, it was one of the saddest days in history.
Kirsnick Khari Ball, better known as “Takeoff” from the hip-hop music group, Migos, was tragically gunned down and killed at a Billiards & Bowling location in Houston, Texas. He and approximately forty other people were gathered outside of the bowling alley just shortly after a party had ended around 1:00 a.m.
Gun violence has been an issue across the world for awhile now, especially in the music industry. Every time we look up, someone’s precious life is taken away for absolutely no reason. Although we have lost many rappers to gun violence, Takeoff’s death impacted Gen-Z and the millennial generation a little differently.
If you are in between the ages of twenty and thirty right now, and you listen to hip-hop/rap music, Takeoff’s death took a toll on you one way or another. We grew up listening to the Culture albums. The “Bad and Boujee, walk it like I talk it” era was a time in which you just had to be there. The Migos had us doing the Dab and piping up everywhere we went throughout high school.
When celebrities die, there are always those negative people who comment, “How are you sad over someone who doesn’t know you,” or “They wouldn’t be sad if I died.” Whether we know these artists personally or not, we grew up listening to those artists. We watched them transform from Soundcloud artists to mainstream, radio artists in a matter of years. We supported each album or music video they put out. Not to mention, some artists’ music pulls individuals out of dark places.
The Migos and music overall will never be same. Although Takeoff lived a short life, he accomplished so much and impacted music tremendously. Migos was the first rap group to really emphasize adlibs and apply dances with rap songs. Takeoff will forever be missed, but his legacy will live on forever.
