Biography

Takeoff was the youngest member of trap trendsetters Migos, whose songs "Versace" and "Bad and Boujee" became major streaming hits, and whose 2017 sophomore album, Culture, topped the pop charts in both the U.S. and Canada. Along with his contributions to Migos, Takeoff released his solo full-length debut, The Last Rocket, in 2018, along with singles like the 2022 Rich the Kid collaboration "Crypto." Also in 2022, he released a full album with fellow Migos member Quavo titled Only Built for Infinity Links. He was shot and killed on November 1, 2022. Born Kirshnik Khari Ball on June 18, 1994, in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Takeoff started Migos in 2009 with family members Quavo and Offset in a bid to escape the cycle of poverty and crime. Their breakthrough single, "Versace," came out in 2013, the album Yung Rich Nation followed in 2015, and Culture came two years later. Takeoff's non-appearance on the album's 2016 lead single, "Bad and Boujee," caused a minor Internet controversy; he brushed it off, claiming he was simply unavailable for the recording session. In May 2017, he released his first solo track, "Intruder." Takeoff occasionally appeared solo as a featured performer on tracks by other artists, including Jose Guapo, Chill Will, and, most notably, Calvin Harris, on the song "Holiday" from the Scottish producer's 2017 album Funk Wav Bounces, Vol. 1. Migos' third album, the 24-track Culture II, was released in January 2018. Takeoff made his own full-length debut in November of that year with The Last Rocket, which debuted in the Top Four on both the R&B/hip-hop chart and the Billboard 200. Appearances on various singles followed over the next few years, including featured roles alongside Rich the Kid on "Too Blessed" and YRN Lingo on "All Time High," both released in 2020. In 2022, he reunited with Rich the Kid for the woozy single "Crypto." Only Built for Infinity Links, a collaboration with Quavo, appeared that October. Less than a month later on November 1, he was shot and killed at a Houston bowling alley at the age of 28. ~ John D. Buchanan, Rovi