Remembering Drew Takeoff: A Conversation with a Legendary Hero and Celebritating the Music of a Founding Father and a Memory from his Dad
His lawyer Drew Findling wrote in a statement following his death that Takeoff was a brilliantly talented musician and a uniquely kind and gentle soul. He will be greatly missed now and always.”
The most under appreciated of the group was Takeoff, a spirited performer that was prone to bouts of introspection. He was usually the group’s anchor, securing its songs through all of their motion. Migos were formal and cultural innovators: The Migos flow spread across popular music and the triad helped popularize the viral dance move the dab. In the opening months of 2017, they were fully ascendant: Their hit single, “Bad and Boujee,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 in January, and their second album, Culture, became the No. 1 album in the country a few weeks later. There was a disagreement between Joe Budden and Takeoff at the BET Awards. Donald Glover praised the group when he won the Golden Globe for best comedy series, saying: “They’re The Beatles of this generation.”
The three-hour sendoff was a superstar affair, featuring performances from Justin Bieber, Chloe Bailey and Yolanda Adams, as well as a poem by Drake, and words of remembrance from Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and the founders of Migos’ label, Quality Control Music.
Migos vs. Evil: A Memorandum for the 23rd Birthday of Sgr Offset, the Founding Father of the Universe
Offset hasn’t been able to sleep or eat following the November 1 killing, he told the several thousand people in attendance, most of them dressed in black. He wakes up each time he sleeps hoping that news of his cousin’s fatal shooting in Houston was a horrible dream.
He told the crowd how the band Migos changed the future of music before asking them to pray with him.
The ceremony opened with about an hour of gospel music. There were roses on stage and Takeoff’s casket was sitting at the foot of stairs that looked like a mother of pearl. The Acrobats are suspended from white ribbons as a choir sings. An infinite symbol ringed the arena, a nod to his latest productions as well as to how he will be remembered.
There was a soft glow on the arena floor as box candles on the stadium screens bathed it in a soft glow. A two-time award winning singer performed his song “Ghost” on a piano on a stool.
Drake, who in 2013 catapulted the rising stars into an altogether other universe when he remixed and added a verse to their hit, “Versace,” leaned on British entertainer Joyce Grenfell and writer Maya Angelou in his eulogy.
He quoted from Grenfell: “If I should go before the rest of you/Break not a flower nor inscribe a stone/Nor when I’m gone speak in a Sunday voice/ But be the usual selves that I have known.”
They existed and it was wise to remember when great trees are felled or great souls pass, that they existed. They are indeed, we can be. Be and be better. For they existed.”
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/11/us/takeoff-migos-memorial-service/index.html
Remembering Jay Takeoff: A Memorandum of a Wonderful, Kind, Funny Rapper and a Family Member of the Migo
Takeoff seemed aware of his notoriety as the subdued Migo, but the Lawrenceville-born rap star also seemed ready to shake the reputation, eerily telling the podcast, “Drink Champs,” last month, “It’s time to pop it, you know what I mean? It’s time to give me my flowers, you know what I mean? I don’t want them later on when I ain’t here. I want them right now.
Woods likes that Takeoff was known to keep to himself, but by no means did that mean he was the lesser third of the group. With every new song, he appeared more developed as a lyricist, able to switch from rapid fire rap to deliberate three- or four-word bursts that painted vivid scenes. He made waves on both his and Quavo’s “Cross Country” and “Integration” and stayed on top of the beat as he flipped styles on the tracks.
Between Bailey’s stirring rendition of Beyonce’s “Heaven” and Adams’ performance of the gospel song, “The Battle is Not Yours,” Takeoff’s family members took the podium to offer fond memories of the humble, wise, peaceful young man who always wanted to be a rapper but never fretted over credit or the spotlight. His mother said he had a unique voice as a baby.
He was quiet but attentive to family members. He was the funniest guy in the room, and no matter how famous he got, he never stopped putting family first and making sure their needs were met, they said.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/11/us/takeoff-migos-memorial-service/index.html
Takeoff, Quavo and Offset in the State Farm Arena: Reflections on an Atlanta Hawks Game influenced by Woods and Allen
State Farm was a fitting venue for Takeoff’s farewell. The rapper was often courtside – usually with Quavo and Offset – for Atlanta Hawks games, iced out and dripping. He has played his music through the PA system for many years.
Though doors did not open until noon, fans began lining up outside the arena at around 8:30 a.m., despite a cool, steady drizzle. A woman holding her arm out of a car as it passed, shouted “Rest in peace, Takeoff” around 10. The fans in line waved back.
Kalandrick Woods, 24, and girlfriend Kailey Allen, 20, of Covington were second in line. Woods took the day off as a sandblast machine operator, and they drove about 45 minutes to get downtown.
When asked what his favorite song is, Woods replied that it’s hard to talk about his favorite Migo. He cried when he heard the news, he said.
“Deadshot (brrt)/AK make that head rock (brrt)” She had to think on it for a few seconds, though the beginning is her favorite Takeoff verse. Takeoff is a band member on the hit song “Slippery” and brings the band’s depiction of a car wreck into focus.
Solomon and her friend traveled from Atlanta, Georgia to attend their friend’s funeral. The band’s impact reached well beyond Atlanta, they said. They were trendsetters in fashion and influenced the way rappers inject ad-libs into their music.
Migos were a fixture of Tindall’s and Thomas’ adolescence, they said, and he didn’t always get the recognition he deserved, but he showed up on every track.
After more than a dozen Migos mixtapes and four studio albums – two of them platinum – Takeoff and Quavo recently announced they’d be performing as Unc & Phew. The pair released a film last month, “Only Built forInfinity Links.” Offset was noticeably missing. There were rumors that the band had a beef with each other.