By Jack Glassman— Sports Editor

Kirshnik Khari Ball, also known as Takeoff of the famous rap group The Migos was shot dead on November 1, when an altercation broke out after a game of dice in Houston. Takeoff’s most famous solo song, Casper is certified gold. He also has multi certified platinum songs with The Migos, consisting of his uncle, Quavo, his cousin, Offset, and himself.

A few weeks before his death, Takeoff and Quavo released an album called Only Built For Infinity Links. The album reached as high as the number seven spot on the United States’ charts.

The Houston Police Chief Troy Finner told The Rolling Stone that he has no information that would lead him to believe that Takeoff was involved in or caused the argument. “I would not expect him to be involved… We have no reason to believe he was involved in anything criminal at the time,” said Finner.

This news broke fans hearts even more. Teen Vogue Interim Managing Editor Jewel Wicker says Takeoff’s talent will be missed. “Takeoff was the undisputed best rapper in Migos (his uncle [Quavo] told me so himself just a few months ago). What a loss,” said Wicker.

Takeoff’s career was cut too short, but his impact on the rap game in his time was colossal. “He elevated the rap culture during his much too short career and it’s sad to see how he and his uncle Quavo were so close and now they’re separated forever,” said junior Ryan Brown.

Even though he was the youngest member of Migos, Takeoff’s distinctive tone in his voice made him irreplaceable. Senior Aaron Stafford says Migos is not the same without Takeoff. “Takeoff’s voice made him an iconic member of the Migos, there’s no Migos without Takeoff,” said Stafford.

“His flow was revolutionary, we’ll never get anything like it in music ever again,” added senior Cam Birnbaum. 

After releasing their album, Culture III, in 2021, The Migos have been holding off from releasing music as a group. The three artists continued to release music themselves while also collaborating with other artists. 

This recent death could cause Quavo and Offset to come back together and make music together. “Offset was already out, so it was just Takeoff and Quavo. And now, Takeoff’s gone, so maybe Offset and Quavo will come back together and produce more music,” said Birnbaum. 

Some say it would be disrespectful to Takeoff if Offset and Quavo ever bring The Migos back. “It would be disrespectful for Quavo and Takeoff to continue on with the migos without Takeoff,” said sophomore Aidan McAuliffe.

On the other hand, there are people saying that The Migos should find someone to replace Takeoff. “The Migo’s need to find a new Takeoff,” said Brown.

With several rappers dying due to violence in the past few years, it is clear that something must change in the average artist’s lifestyle. “We need rappers to be smarter in how they move and who they’re around,” said Stafford. 

“We can’t be so quick to pull out guns, there has to be better ways to solve problems,” added Birnbaum.