The rapper known as Takeoff, born Kirsnick Khari Ball, was a subtle vocal technician and one-third of the chart-topping group Migos. Their singsong flow helped define Atlanta’s ever-evolving, influential rap sound. Takeoff was shot and killed outside a Houston bowling alley. He was 28. 

It was Takeoff’s childhood obsession with Southern hip-hop that first inspired Migos, as young teenagers in the Atlanta suburbs of Gwinnett County, to be on its way to becoming one of the biggest rap acts of the last decade, known for hits like “Versace” and “Bad and Boujee.”

Even as he dodged celebrity and maintained almost no public profile, Takeoff became a connoisseur’s fan favorite of the trio, and was credited with initiating the stuttering, triplet delivery that came to infiltrate hip-hop and trickle into the pop sphere. 

Ahead of their first album’s release, Takeoff compared the moment to Christmas Eve. “You just know that everything you asked for is going to be there up under that Christmas tree,” he said, his often-downcast eyes lighting up. “It’s our time now.” 

Takeoff always wanted to rap, and was known for his quiet, reserved and peaceful personality. Recently he mused about his future, “God knows. And we pray, so only time will tell.” 

Time ran out too soon for Takeoff, and he is now forever In Heaven with the Stars.