EXCLUSIVE: Was rapper Takeoff killed by friendly fire? New video shows Migos bandmate Quavos and members of their posse in car with gun shortly before 26-year-old was shot dead outside Houston bowling alley
- Takeoff was killed when he was shot twice on Tuesday morning. No arrests have yet been made
- His Migos bandmate Quavo was caught on video riding in a car with a handgun sitting on the center console
- Given the chaos and the presence of guns among his own entourage, the clip raises the possibility that Takeoff was cut down in so-called friendly fire
- On the video, an unidentified person can be heard saying: ‘Don’t think we playing, don’t think we playing man’
- Rumors were rife that Migos was on the verge of splitting as Quavo and Takeoff had released a track without the third member of the band, Offset
Migos rapper Quavo was spotted sitting with a gun in video footage taken hours before bandmate Takeoff was killed in a chaotic late night shootout outside a Houston bowling alley, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
The short clip posted to social media shows Quavo, Takeoff’s uncle, sitting in the front passenger seat of a red drop top with the weapon resting on the bench-style seat between him and the driver.
It’s not clear whether the firearm – which resembles a Sig Sauer pistol – is real or which of the men it belongs to, but a voice off-camera warns: ‘Don’t think we playing, don’t think we playing man.’
Takeoff, 28, is seen standing nearby and chatting casually with friends in the video posted to Instagram by Mike ‘Idothis’ Prince, who describes himself as CEO of Freakalot Entertainment and has not replied to requests for comment.
The video shows Quavos in the front passenger seat of a car with a gun on the center console
Takeoff appears in the video posted on Mike Prince’s Instagram, chatting casually with friends
Quavo, bandmate and uncle of Takeoff, looked distraught as he knelt over his nephew moments after Tuesday’s early morning shooting
Horrifying footage shows the desperate last moments that Migos rapper Quavo desperately tried to help his nephew Takeoff after he was shot in the ‘head or neck’
‘Hey man we got a little bit of straightenin’ going on,’ Prince says to the Grammy-nominated hip-hop star from Atlanta, Georgia, who responds with a nod and a friendly hand gesture.
Straightenin is the name of a hit single released by Migos in 2021 and the group has said the term refers to resolving, or straightening out, a dispute.
The group of friends appeared to be kicking back and enjoying themselves but their night turned to horror when Takeoff – real name Kirshnik Khari Ball – was blasted in the head and torso during a gunfight outside a private party at 810 Billiards & Bowling.
It’s not clear that Takeoff was the intended target of the shooting which erupted early Tuesday morning and his record label, Quality Control Music, has suggested in a statement that he was hit by a ‘stray bullet.’
Multiple videos of the melee appeared to show Takeoff looking on but not getting involved as Quavo, 31 – real name Quavious Keyate Marshall – argued with revelers outside the venue, reportedly during a game of dice.
An unidentified member of the crowd is heard saying: ‘Now listen, man – ain’t got to be disrespectful like that.’
Quavo replies: ‘Y’all seen me play basketball. Don’t play like that.’
The crowd begins to disperse but suddenly gunshots ring out – as many as 10 and seemingly from different directions.
Takeoff was pronounced dead at the scene and two more people aged 23 and 24 suffered non-fatal injuries, cops said.
Video from a different angle of the shooting published Wednesday by TMZ shows what the website describes as a ‘person of interest’ holding a gun and firing off shots in the midst of the 2:34am melee.
It’s not clear that Takeoff was the intended target of the shooting which erupted early Tuesday morning and his record label, Quality Control Music, has suggested in a statement that he was hit by a ‘stray bullet’
Takeoff, Offset and Quavo appeared at the 2019 Kids’ Choice Awards at the Galen Center in Los Angeles
The Houston Police Department has refused to discuss the individual pictured but DailyMail.com has learnt that he is a member of the Migos entourage and a close pal of Quavo.
He was one of several men arrested for weapons and drug offenses alongside Takeoff, Quavo and Offset – the third member of Migos – when cops searched the band’s van during a 2015 concert at Georgia Southern University.
In TMZ’s footage the unnamed pal appears to be retaliating in defense of Quavo, who ducks behind him as the beef turns ugly.
Given the chaotic nature of the shootout and the presence of guns among his own entourage, the clip raises the possibility that Takeoff was cut down in so-called ‘friendly fire’.
Police have declined to comment on the theory, however, telling DailyMail.com the probe is ‘ongoing’.
Quavo was distraught as he knelt over his nephew moments after the shooting and could be heard screaming for help. There is no suggestion that he shot at anyone or was in possession of a gun at the time.
TMZ named one of the surviving victims Thursday as Joshua ‘Wash’ Washington, 23. His injuries were described as ‘non-life threatening.’
Migos gigs have been rocked by violence down the years. Six people were with stabbed at a concert in Albany, New York, in 2015.
The previous year the band’s van was left riddled with bullets after an ‘exchange of bullets’ in Miami which left one of their security guards in the hospital, according to the city’s Local 10 News.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner told a media briefing however that, despite his gritty street rap sound, Takeoff was known as a good guy who eschewed violence.
‘There were at least 40 people in that private party. Someone knows who the actual shooter or shooters are,’ Finner told a press conference Tuesday.
Takeoff’s cousin and bandmate Offset is married to Cardi B, but the rapper and his uncle, Quavo released a track without the third member – sparking questions over their future
Takeoff was shot and killed outside this Houston bowling alley early on Tuesday
Within days of Takeoff’s death a mural honoring him, painted by Armondo Monoletti, had appeared in Dowtown Atlanta
‘Anyone with that information should provide that information to us, and let us solve this situation, and bring justice to this family.
‘It doesn’t matter how famous you are, anybody who loses his or her life is a life lost … he’s well respected, non-violent. I would not expect him to be involved.
‘People need to stop just pulling the damn trigger, think and calm down a little bit, the bottom line is, and mark my words, we will find who is responsible.’
Migos was founded by Takeoff in 2008 with Quavo and his cousin Offset and the trio went on to become one of the biggest acts in hip hop.
They had their first break in 2013 with Versace, a track that was remixed by Drake, propelling their first full-length album Y.R.N into the spotlight a few years later.
The group’s 2016 album Culture and 2018 follow up Culture II both topped the US Billboard 200 albums chart.
Despite a string of hits including Bad and Boujee, Stir Fry, and Walk It Talk It, Offset was rumored to have left the group and he was celebrating Halloween with his wife Cardi B and their children when the shooting went down.
Takeoff had posted a picture of himself smoking at the bowling alley four hours before his death. Quavo had also posted an Instagram story of himself driving around Houston with Jas Prince, who was celebrating his birthday.
As news of the slaying emerged friends and fans slammed the ‘senseless violence’, with tributes pouring in from across the globe and NBA legend LeBron James switching out his Instagram profile photo for a picture of Takeoff.
Bella Hadid, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Drake were among those honoring the slain star. ‘I got the best memories of all of us seeing the world together and bringing light to every city we touch,’ Drake wrote. ‘That’s what I’ll focus on for now.’
Jemele Hill said you ‘barely have time to recover’ before someone else is killed and Jake Paul called for ‘senseless killings’ to stop. Singer and actress Keri Hilson wrote: ‘Rest In Peace, @1YoungTakeoff. Healing love to your brothers, family, & friends. #gonetoosoon’.
While there had been whispers of Migos splitting up for good, there had been no official announcement of their disbandment. Earlier this month, Takeoff and Quavo joined forces in their debut as a duo with their album ‘Only Built for Infinity Links’.
Most recently, Quavo and Takeoff had released a project as the duo, ‘Unc & Phew’ and released their latest music video, ‘Messy,’ on Monday – hours before the killing.
Quality Control Music said in a statement posted to Instagram: ‘It is with broken hearts and deep sadness that we confirm the loss of our beloved brother Kirsnick (sic) Khari Ball, known to the world as Takeoff.
‘Senseless violence and a stray bullet has taken another life from this world and we are devastated.’
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How hip hop artist Takeoff grew up in the same house as his uncle Quavo and cousin Offset before the trio decided to form rap group Migos helping him build a $26million fortune
By Tom Brown
His last desperate last moments came after an incredible family story where the three Migos, who grew up together in the mid 2000s, would go from dropping out of Berkmar High School to building a $26million fortune.
Takeoff, born Kirshnik Khari Ball on the 18th of June 1994, never knew his father, who walked out when he was just a kid. His earliest memories are of his uncle Quavo, born Quavious Keyate Marshall, and his cousin Offset, or Kiari Kendrell Cephus.
Before the rapping trio were making records together, they were a family, with the three members growing up under one roof in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
The family moved across Georgia from Athens to Gwinett when Takeoff was in elementary school and Quavo, who is three year’s older than his nephew and a year older than his cousin, was in middle school.
After the move, all three began living under the roof of Quavo’s mother, Latabia Woodward, who worked as a hairdresser to look after the three boys.
‘I don’t look at [Quavo] as my uncle, but more as my brother. But we always have clowned on each other,’ Takeoff explained in an interview with The Fader in 2013. ‘He is my uncle, so I gotta clown on him. You gotta be funny.’
Starting from seventh grade, Takeoff was the one who wanted to start taking rapping seriously. He approached his uncle in 2009 about forming the group that would go on to become Migos.
The trio of rhymers formed as the Polo Club and dropped their first mixtape, Juung Season, in 2011, when Quavo was in 10th grade. They would later rebrand as Migos.
Described as monotone in interviews, Takeoff’s voice came to life in the studio booth — a memory of him that remains the sharpest after his death on November 1.
Takeoff, pictured, the youngest of the trio, was shot and killed on November 1
Offset, who Quavo described as ‘the most different one’, was never one for growing out his dreadlocks like the other two, cutting them off whenever they got too long.
‘Offset is fam. He’s been around us every since 6th grade,’ said Quavo. ‘We got him to rap in high school.’
At the time of his death, Takeoff had been growing his dreads out for years. His mom — Quavo’s older sister — was always his hairdresser.
‘He likes to work and mind his business,’ his mother said about her son when fans tracked down her Twitter account in 2018, according to Sandra Rose. ‘He doesn’t like to be involved in a lot of things, he just likes to make good music for the people.’
But it was Atlanta where the group sowed the seeds that grew their fame. They described back-to-back nights with DJs, consistently having songs on rotation so that their music and faces became recognized.
The trio would go through around seven songs per day in a relentless schedule, even leaving homework for each other before starting a session.
By the time he was in middle school he was living under the same roof as his uncle Quavo, three years his senior. The two are pictured together attending the 2nd Annual Black Ball at Fox Theater on June 1 in Atlanta
‘You gotta have fun with a song, make somebody laugh,’ said Takeoff. ‘You gotta have character. A hard punchline can make you laugh, but you gotta know how to say it.’
Takeoff was known as the most silent member of the band, are rarely gave interviews.
He’s kept any potential love interests a secret, apart from the time that stripper London Dallaz posted a picture of the two of them in bed together.
Migos have a fifteen minute rule, stopping the performance then and there before playing it back to see how it sounds.
‘When you drop a song and wake up in the morning and hear the song you dropped last night, that’s the best feeling. The song will tell you then,’ said Quavo.
Offset, Quavo and Takeoff of Migos arrive at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala (Met Gala) in 2018
They had their first break in 2013 with Versace, a track that went on to be remixed by Drake, propelling their first full-length album Y.R.N into the spotlight a few years later.
Justin Bieber posted a short video of himself rapping along, sending their popularity soaring.
The group became steady regulars on the hip hop scene since, working alongside high-profile artists like Drake, Katy Perry, and Cardi B — who Offset went on to marry.
But the group never forgot family. In 2017, Takeoff and Quavo bought a house for Quavo’s mom Edna Marshall, according to XXL Mag.
‘ME and Take Jus Bought Mama A House!!! Tha Big Way!!!’ Quavo Tweeted at the time.
In 2017, Takeoff and Quavo bought a house for Quavo’s mom Edna Marshall
But Migos wasn’t without its issues. Offset was locked up in Georgia’s DeKalb County Jail for violating his probation received due to prior felony convictions for burglary and theft in 2013.
A series of legal issues plagued the trio as time went on. Offset was arrested for driving with a suspended license in Atlanta in 2016, whereas Takeoff was asked to leave a flight from Atlanta to Des Moines a year later, and the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany sued the group for allegedly inciting a riot at a performance where six people were stabbed.
Around this time, Takeoff began working on his own solo projects, according to his mother. The three Migos were finally drifting apart.
Rumors of a breakup were sparked when Takeoff was absent from an AMAs award for Favorite Duo/Group in the Pop/Rock category in 2018.
In the same year, Takeoff’s launched his first solo project called The Last Rocket.
Takeoff and Quavo of Migos perform onstage during the 2022 ONE MusicFest at Central Park on October 08
As the years went on, Quavo seemed most likely to spark a solo career when he was featured on DJ Khaled’s ‘No Brainer’.
In May 2022, Offset and Cardi B unfollowed the other members of the group on Instagram.
Offset was preparing to drop his sophomore studio record on November 11, when news of Takeoffs death broke headlines on November 1.
Despite the rumors, the group kept stayed close even when working on their own projects.
‘We always family, that ain’t gonna change,’ Takeoff told the Big Facts Podcast a month before the shooting.
The last Migos album, Culture III, was released in June 2021. It will be their last as a trio.
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