Drake has paid homage to longtime friend TakeOff, offering his condolences to his “brothers” Offset and Quavo in an emotional tribute.
Drizzy opened the latest episode of his Table For One show on SiriusXM with his thoughts about the tragic loss, revisiting the origins of his relationship with the Migos.
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“I’d just like to send our deepest condolences from the family to the entire QC, to our brother Quavo, to our brother Offset, to the friends and loved ones of the legendary, unprecedented TakeOff—a guy that I knew for a long, long time,” Drake stated. “I’m sure people know how we started, of course, with ‘Versace.’ And from there, you know, we formed a brotherhood. I always talk about the fact that this was one family. My friends in the music industry are not friends, they’re family. So, our deepest condolences—tragic loss for all of us and, you know, a dark cloud over this business that we love so much.”
He went on to offer words of encouragement for all those listening.
“I just encourage everybody to lock into that mindset, no matter where you are, you know?” Drake added. “It’s just really…it’s a life that’s worth living, and everybody deserves that chance. It’s unfortunate that one of our dear, dear brothers had to leave us this week.”
Listen to Drake’s full tribute to Offset below.
Tributes have been pouring from across the Hip Hop community since the world woke to the news of TakeOff’s death on Tuesday (November 1). Authorities say they were notified around 2:30 a.m. of an altercation at the 810 Billiards and Bowling in downtown Houston.
TakeOff, whose real name was Kirshnik Khari Ball, was among a group of people — which also included his uncle and Migos groupmate Quavo — watching a dice game when an altercation broke out and shots were fired.
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The 28-year-old died of gunshot wounds to the head and torso, the Houston Coroner’s Office concluded in its autopsy report. Two other individuals were injured and transported to an area hospital, including Quavo’s assistant Joshua “Wash” Washington.
Quality Control Music co-founder Coach K shared his own emotional tribute to TakeOff on Thursday (November 3), revealing that he and his QC protégé shared a close personal bond and a love of art.
“I’m so sad that this young brother didn’t get a chance to grow old,” Coach K wrote. “TakeOff and I had similar characteristics: very quiet, shy but very outspoken with charisma and knowledgeable of everything going on. I had a real connection with him like everybody that he came in contact with.”
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On the same day, Houston Hip Hop pioneer J. Prince broke his silence about TakeOff’s after it was reported that his son, Jas Prince, was with Quavo and the 28-year-old in the hours leading to the shooting.
The music executive shared his thoughts on the shooting in a lengthy Instagram post and proclaimed that the triggerman will be found.
“The Prince family would like to send our condolences to the family and friends of a beautiful soul @yrntakeoff,” Prince began. “To Houstonians and families around the world, this one breaks my heart because Takeoff was a brother, a son, a role model, and a God loving human being.”
Quavo has yet to publicly comment on the loss of his nephew, with whom he recently released Only Built For Infinity Links, their debut project as the duo Unc & Phew. They had just released a video for their single “Messy” the night before TakeOff was killed.
Offset, who had been at odds with his cousins and Migos groupmates over the past few months, reacted to the shocking news by changing his social media profile pic to a photo of TakeOff.
