James Corden Pays Emotional Tribute to Migos‘ Takeoff: ’He Was an Incredible Guy’

James Corden got emotional on Tuesday night (Nov. 1) while remembering the Migos‘ Takeoff, telling viewers that he was “utterly devastated” to hear the news about the rapper’s killing on Monday morning. “It’s heartbreaking to anyone who knew him and to all of his fans around the world Takeoff was… oh man, he was funny and kind,” the Late Late Show host said of the 28-year-old MC who was gunned down at a Houston bowling alley by an as-yet-unknown assailant on Halloween night.

Corden said his most vivid memory of the time he spent with the rapper was “how much he loved music. He lived for it and it was that love of much that essentially willed Migos into existence,” he said of the drive that helped the Atlanta trio rise from cooking up early tracks on Windows Movie Maker video editing software to landing a string of Billboard Hot 100 hits with such indelible songs as “Stir Fry,” “Versace” and “Bad and Boujee.”

He noted that bandmate and uncle Quavo himself said that Takeoff was the strongest member of the group, which also includes Takeoff’s second cousin Offset. “They called him Takeoff because he’d record his verses often in just a single take,” Corden said, calling the trio one of the “most influential” rap groups of their generation. “Takeoff helped define trap music and he put it on a national stage.”

Counting himself lucky to have spent time with Takeoff over the past few years, Corden recalled that the “warm and generous” rapper even had a personal nickname for his late night pal: Big Drip. “We have lost someone incredibly special today,” Corden said. Migos made a number of appearances on the Late Late Show over the years, including a classic 2018 visit for a “Carpool Karaoke” segment (see below).

The trio’s label, Quality Control Music, took to Instagram on Tuesday to mourn the loss of the rapper. “It is with broken hearts and deep sadness that we mourn the loss of our beloved brother Kirsnick Khari Ball [Takeoff’s given name], known to the world as Takeoff,” a statement posted to the label’s social media read. “Senseless violence and a stray bullet has taken another life from this world and we are devastated.”

Takeoff was at a private party at 810 Billiards & Bowling in downtown Houston with Quavo around 2:35 a.m. when investigators say shots rang out during an afterparty attended by around 40 people. Takeoff was pronounced dead at the scene, and two other victims — a 23-year-old male and 24-year-old female — checked themselves into a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Houston police said the incident is still under investigation, encouraging anyone who was there or has any information to come forward to help authorities crack the case.

Check out Corden’s monologue and the Migos’ “Carpool Karaoke” episode below.