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Migos rapper Takeoff shot, killed in Houston: TMZ

FILE - Takeoff, left, and Quavo of Migos, arrive at the BET Awards in Los Angeles on June 27, 2021. Houston police say one person was fatally shot and two others injured early Tuesday at a private party attended by members of the rap group Migos. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP File)

HOUSTON, Texas (WGHP) — Rapper Takeoff was shot and killed outside a Houston bowling alley, allegedly while playing dice, according to reports. He was 28.

TMZ is reporting that Takeoff, one-third of the hip-hop group Migos, was killed early Tuesday morning. Law enforcement and witnesses said it happened around 2:30 a.m. at a bowling alley.


Takeoff, whose real name is Kirshnik Khari Ball, and groupmate Quavo, whose real name is Quavious Keyate Marshall, were at the bowling alley allegedly playing dice with another group when an altercation broke out and someone opened fire, hitting Takeoff, TMZ reported.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. The media outlet also reported Quavo was not injured.

Two other people may have been shot in the altercation as well, but there was no immediate word on their conditions. No arrests have been announced.

Takeoff was the youngest member of Migos, the rap trio from suburban Atlanta that also featured his uncle Quavo and cousin Offset, whose real name is Kiari Kendrell Cephus. They first broke through with the massive hit “Versace” in 2013. The song was remixed by Drake, heightening its popularity.

The group had four Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, though Takeoff was not on their multi-week No. 1 “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert. They put out a trilogy of albums called “Culture,” “Culture II” and “Culture III,” with the first two albums hitting No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. They also earned an ASCAP Vanguard Award in 2018, for their streaming success with multiplatinum songs like “Motorsport (featuring Cardi B and Nicki Minaj),” “Stir Fry,” and “Walk It Talk It.”

The trio also played a fictional version of themselves on an episode of the hit TV show “Atlanta,” but the group wasn’t currently together.

Offset, who is married to Cardi B, released a solo album in 2019, while Takeoff and Quavo released a joint album “Only Built for Infinity Links” last month.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.