Plaint for Takeoff

Lyricist Lupe Fiasco proclaimed on his track “On Faux Nem” that “too many rappers get killed.” Period. There were no bars that followed this statement until the chorus, just instruments. The beat just played. This ominous statement remains to be true with the recent murder of Kirshnik Khari Ball better known as Takeoff of the Migos.

Allegedly shot and killed over a dice game in or around a bowling alley, it’s still possible for nigger acts to take place in an industry devoted to nonsense. The altercation seems to be the latest in a string of various incidents where rappers have been silenced forever outside of their home city or state.

While plenty of hip hop artists have been laid down through nigger acts at home, when they venture out of their bubble, it seems like the stakes raise even more.

Takeoff was shot and killed in Houston, Texas bringing a damper to the World Series featuring the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros. (Remember Philly’s PnB Rock was murdered in September in Los Angeles.)

Often seen as the member of the Migos with the least charisma, Takeoff was a quiet bluesman in the body of a rap artist.

While he may have been the least popular to some, his The Last Rocket (2018) caught the minds of critics who mostly praised the effort.

His struggle to make a voice for himself continued until his final moments. While appearing on Drink Champs, Takeoff said that he wanted his flowers now instead of when he’s gone.

When he became more famous, he still seemed to be the third act in the trio. Migos brought the sound of Atlanta to new levels being one of the few remaining groups involved in the rap game. Takeoff’s contributions to the collective remained to be significant nevertheless.

Takeoff’s relatively reserved character and ability to blend in and stand out at the same time became a hallmark of his style.

As his life has been snuffed out over nigger nonsense, it appears that the rapper could not escape it. More often than not, rappers like Takeoff get gunned down not because of their money or notoriety, it’s monkey shit that gives the gunman gumption to lose their sense of reality. Their intended target either escapes or shields or shields themselves from an attacker. Could this be the case with Takeoff?

The fact that so many rappers die is not usually because the assailant(s) want jewels or money or even “prestige” in the streets. They feel affronted and offended and wish to extinguish anyone they wish to kill. They feel the rapper could be discouraging them from advancing in their own lives. They may lack talent, stage presence, or just have no game. Those facts bubble up to the surface and they see an established, successful musician and with all that mixed up, the Sig or the Glock or the Draco spits out the emotion of hatred. Takeoff could’ve been offed based simply on the fact he was caught in the crosshairs rather than the nigger who ran away from the gunfire.

The murderer(s) in this case emoted and devolved to the level of a brute. To take a life for any other reason other than self defense or euthanasia is vicious. It is particularly gruesome when that life had something to it. Takeoff’s talent ascended him to the upper echelons of rap supremacy.

If rappers aren’t dying from ingesting lean with health problems, they’re squeezing triggers. A lesser known rapper, Lotta Cash Desto was gunned down almost two months ago in H-Town. Among a host of other murders in those Texan streets, Takeoff just is the latest.

If anything positive can come from this incident, let all fake niggers put down their weapons and real niggers strap up and be prepared for the gunman.