Takeoff’s Public Funeral to Be Held at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena
The funeral for Migos member Takeoff will take place on Friday (Nov. 11) at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. According to a release announcing the Celebration of Life, it will take place at noon, with free tickets available to Georgia residents only beginning Tuesday (Nov. 8) at 2 p.m. through Ticketmaster: there is a two-ticket maximum, the tickets are non-transferrable and guests must enter the venue together. Takeoff ( born Kirshnik Khari Ball), 28, was gunned down at 810 Billiards & Bowling in Houston, Texas in the early hours of Nov. 1 at an afterparty he attended with his uncle and Migos bandmate, Quavo.
The Rev. Jesse Curney III, senior pastor of New Mercies Christian Church will deliver the eulogy at the service, according to ATL radio station V-103. Guests are encouraged to arrive early, with doors slated to open an hour before the funeral.
According to TMZ, in a statement, Curney said, “I was really sad to hear the news. Kirsnick has been a faithful member since he was ten years old. He and his family were active and avid supporters of the church and the community as a whole.” The public memorial will have a strict no photo/no video policy, with all devices subject to gate check in Yondr bags prior to entering the arena. The rapper’s family requested that in lieu of flower or gifts, donations should be made to The Rocket Foundation, recently established to support programs supporting community-based solutions to prevent gun violence.
Friend and collaborator Drake announced on Monday that he was postponing his planned show at Harlem’s Apollo theater to mourn Takeoff. “The Apollo show has been moved to allow us to pay respect to our dear friend this weekend,” the superstar wrote on his Instagram Stories beneath an updated poster announcing the new dates of Dec. 6 and 7. “We have added a second date for the fans.”
Last week, Drake memorialized the late Migos rapper — who was gunned down at a Houston bowling alley in the early morning hours of Nov. 1 — during the album release party for Her Loss, his new collaborative LP with 21 Savage.
“I’d just like to send our deepest condolences from the family to the entire QC, to our brother Quavo, to our brother Offset, to the friends and loved ones of the legendary, unprecedented Takeoff — a guy that I knew for a long, long time,” he said, adding, “I always talk about the fact that this was one family. My friends in the music industry are not friends, they’re family. So, our deepest condolences — tragic loss for all of us and, you know, a dark cloud over this business that we love so much.”
Takeoff was killed by “penetrating gunshot wounds of head and torso into arm” according to a report from the Harris County coroner’s office. He was hit when shots rang out during an early morning private afterparty attended by several dozen people, where he was pronounced dead at the scene.
In addition to the many heartfelt eulogies from fellow musicians, Takeoff was honored in a funeral service and afterparty in the Grand Theft Auto community that took place on Monday.
Check out images from the GTA funeral below.
Gil Kaufman
Billboard
