Gangsta "culture" claims yet another black rap artist. Some people can't have a simple disagreement without pulling out a gun.
I woke up on November 1st to a jarring text from my younger cousin. The headline read “Migos Rapper Takeoff Dead at 28, Shot in Houston.” I was in disbelief at first but reality hit quickly. Takeoff was tragically killed in the early morning of November 1st after a foolish argument broke out between Quavo and some other people at a bowling alley. Takeoff wasn't directly involved in the altercation. But he was there. Various outlets are reporting that he was fatally struck by crossfire during the exchange of bullets that took place after someone pulled out a gun. Regardless of what the specific details are, it's a ridiculous way to die. I'm certain that he would have never predicted that this would be his fate. But death is always around the corner when you hang out with thugs and street guys. They have absolutely no self-control. They have no regard or respect for human life and they are extremely trigger happy. Sometimes you have to come to terms with the fact that you are too rich and successful to be participating in hood activities like dice games and hanging out with certain kinds of lower class people.
I'm really a Day 1 fan of the Migos. I started listening to the Migos before a lot of people. From the very first time that I heard them, I knew that they had something intriguing and hypnotic to offer the rap game. The first song that I heard by the Migos was “Bando,” which dropped back in 2012 when Offset was still in jail. Real fans know about that. After that, I believe I watched the video for “Holmes,” a song that they did with Gucci Mane and Young Scooter. I knew back then that I had stumbled upon something special. I vividly remember thinking, these Migos guys sound incredible. Plus they’re really funny! They didn’t sound like anybody else did. They were totally unique. I recall showing my younger cousin (the same one I mentioned above) some of those early Migos videos on Youtube and we’d watch them together and bond over the music. It felt cool because nobody else knew about the Migos. They were truly rare and underground. Later in 2012/2013, my younger cousin discovered the video for “50 Chicks” with Skippa Da Flippa on his own and told me about it. I heard it and instantly liked it.
So I was already hip to the Migos by the time that they burst onto the national scene with the smash hit “Versace” with Drake, which came out in 2013. I’ve followed their rise to fame and prosperity and it’s been a great ride for them. They peaked when “Bad and Boujee” with Lil Uzi came out. That's when they became globally recognized as titans in the rap industry. I never personally had a favorite Migo. I slightly preferred Offset the most, followed by Takeoff, and finally Quavo, but there was never a huge gap in my rankings.
It’s too bad that Takeoff’s life was taken in this way. It’s a shocking and horrific end to what was definitely a fairy tale story for him. Nonetheless, this is yet another warning for black people who make it out of the "trenches." Other black people are not your friends. Black people from the hood don’t look out for each other. As much as some race activists and "black power" people try to pretend that black solidarity exists among all black people, it simply doesn't. Hood black culture is toxic. Black people kill each other at higher rates than other racial groups. And often times it's over petty arguments. Ironically, and perhaps chillingly, the Migos had an album titled “Culture.” At the time of that album’s release, the Migos collectively believed that they were true representations of black urban culture. But here's the problem: urban/hood black culture is deadly.
The universe behaves in mysterious ways. The Migos embraced the culture, but the culture is a murderous one. The culture ended up killing one of their own, so it was a deadly embrace. The universe has a strange symmetry. Rest in peace, Takeoff!
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