Dear Leaders of the Hip-Hop Community, from a Tired Fan

Following the death of Migos member Takeoff, there needs to be a call for a lifestyle change in the rap community because WE are TIRED!

I woke up today feeling weird.

It feels like something is in the air.

I felt like something happened over night while I slumbered.

Unfortunately, I was right.

It’s November 1st, 2022 6:55 AM and I awoke to a barrage of texts from various people telling me that a member of one of the most legendary rap groups to ever come out of Atlanta, Migos, Takeoff, had been shot and killed.

I was devastated, along with many other hip-hop fans.

I was really looking forward to seeing how he and Quavo’s career blossomed together, separate from the Migos as their duo name Unc and Phew.

I was just grooving to COLORS Studio’s, “Hotel Lobby,” video where Takeoff and Quavo’s chemistry really created a masterpiece.

Now those flowers will need to be placed on his gravesite.

Takeoff, known to many, including band mate Quavo himself, as the best rapper of the trio was shot and killed outside a bowling alley in downtown Houston after suffering from a gunshot wound to the head and torso, according to KHOU-11’s report.

This blog is not about recounting the events that took place the night Takeoff lost his life, but it is a penned letter to leaders of the hip-hop community condemning the senseless violence and deaths that have been plaguing the community for decades.

It did not begin with Takeoff, and sadly, will likely not end with the “most chill,” member of the Migos unless a change is made.

Since 2018, “Gun violence has killed at least one rapper a year,” according to a report by CNN. XXXTentacion in 2018, Nipsey Hussle in 2019, Pop Smoke and King Von in 2020, Young Dolph in 2021, and PnB Rock and Takeoff, just a few months a part from one another in 2022.

Even before 2018, gun violence in the hip-hop community was an issue.

Over the years, the list of rappers dying from gun related violence is growing and it seems to be affecting the younger rappers the most.

It seems like our young, Black hip-hop artists are being hunted.

It’s more than, “Well they rap about violence so they get what they put out,” or “Rap music glorifies violence.”

That is besides the point. Music is meant to be expressive and does not always imitate real life.

Rock stars make music all the time about violence from the classic 1979 hit, “I Don’t Like Monday’s” (relegated to the live performance because the original audio has been banned on YouTube in the U.S.) by the Boomtown Rats about a school shooting to the more modern hit, “Pumped Up Kicks (2011)” by Foster the People which tells the story of a high school shooting through the eyes of the murderer.

Instead of pointing fingers at who and what social factors are to blame for Takeoff’s untimely death, the biggest thing the hip-hop community needs to take away from this tragedy is: Appreciation.

Members of the community need to know that fans appreciate their musical talents. As a stan of hip-hop for as long as I can remember, I do not remember all of the crazy antics pulled by the artists’ who made them, but I remember the music.

It’s okay to make a hit song that incorporates violence as artistic expression, but it is also okay to not live the life you are making that kind of music about.

Who cares about authenticity when lives are at stake? We are losing artists senselessly.

Desiigner announced his retirement from rapping following Takeoff’s death.

If this continues, more artist’s will quit and fans of the genre will only to able to listen classic rap songs, or wait for posthumous albums to be released.

Music is art and art is subjective. It is not worth losing your life trying to re-create dangerous scenarios.

We appreciate you for who you are as an artist.

Not a gangbanger.

Not a gangster.

Not a pimp.

Not a drug dealer.

But an artist.

I am not at all saying all rapper’s lead these kinds of lifestyles, J. Cole, for example, but I am saying all of that to say this: Watch who you surround yourselves with.

All the fame, money, and success brings many things into your life but unfortunately it can also bring people into your life who do not have your best interests at heart. Some of these people may want to get you “caught up,” or “catch you lacking,” which could wind you up in legal trouble, like many members of Young Thug’s YSL label, who are facing years in prison with RICO charges, or dead.

I watched Gunna perform at Broccoli Fest 2022 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., and the next day, he and Young Thug were in the news after being arrested on racketeering charges.

King Von, who allegedly killed multiple people, is a sad example of what happens when the “street life” catches up to you. It eventually will as long as you are still involved in that lifestyle.

Multiple videos that I will not link here (they should be forcibly taken down in my opinion, but that’s a whole other article), following the incident are circulating the internet. They show a grief-stricken Quavo crying over the body of his, now dead, nephew.

A similar situation occurred when PnB Rock was shot and killed inside Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles in L.A in September.

People are becoming so numb to situations like these that the only thing they can think to do is pull out their cellphones and start recording people taking their last breaths. It is truly a sad state to be in.

We are tired of losing our young, Black talent. Whether it is due to gun violence, drugs, and/or prison.

We, as a community, are tired.

While Takeoff is no longer here and Migos, as we know it, will never be the same, I am encouraging hip-hop artist’s to change their lifestyles so fans of the community do not have to keep reliving these heartbreaking scenarios over and over again.

Sincerely,

A Tired Fan

P.S. Rest in Peace, Takeoff and to all of the other rappers who lost their lives in gun violence. Thoughts and prayers go out to the family and loved ones of everyone directly or indirectly affected by this heartbreaking event.

If you have the time, please go show Takeoff’s solo album, The Last Rocket, some love!