Celebration of Life for Takeoff to Be Held in Atlanta on Friday

A celebration of life will be held for Takeoff in Atlanta on Friday. 

Friends and fans of Takeoff, the Migos rapper shot and killed outside a downtown bowling alley in Houston last week at the age of 28, will have one last chance to celebrate his life.

Quality Control Music and Motown Records have announced that on Friday at noon in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, an event will be held to honor the artist, born Kirsnick Khari Ball, and allow fans to pay their respects to the superstar and his family.

“Takeoff was one of the most influential names in modern music whose creativity left a profound impact on music and culture as we know it today,” read a release from the labels. “The cherished Quality Control/Motown superstar was a part of the supergroup Migos and was a beloved son, grandson, brother, nephew and friend to so many.”

Free tickets to the event were available to Georgia residents on its website. As of this morning (Nov. 9), however, all were accounted for. Organizers are urging those without tickets not to come downtown.

Instead, those wanting to honor Ball can donate to The Rocket Foundation. It was established recently in his honor to support programs attempting to save lives through proven, community-based solutions to prevent gun violence like that which took his life.

No arrests have been made in the shooting, which also wounded another man and woman.

Artifacts Rapper, Tame One, Dead at 52

Tame One ©Twitter

Underground hip-hop legend Rahem Brown — who utilizing the sobriquet Tame One comprised the influential nineties rap group Artifacts along with El Da Sensai and DJ Kaos — passed away over the weekend at the age of 52.

His mother broke the news on Sunday evening in a Facebook post.

“I can’t express this any other way,” Darlene Brown Harris posted. “My son, Rahem Brown, Tamer Dizzle Is Dead.”

She went on to say that the cause of his death was likely a drug reaction, though authorities would know more once an autopsy is performed adding, “The medical examiner says the six pharmaceutical drugs that Trinitas hospital prescribed to him last Friday, combined with the weed he smoked over this weekend…his heart simply gave out.”

The news was met with a profound wave of mourning in the hip-hop community.

Rock Steady Crew legend Crazy Legs, rapper Immortal Technique and producer Just Blaze were among the many friends, admirers and collaborators who took to the internet to share their love for the deceased MC.

RIP #TameOne of Artifacts. #hiphop #mc #emcee #90shiphop pic.twitter.com/qfo9teRlRq

— Crazy Legs (@CrazyLegsBX) November 7, 2022

Rest In Power Tameone. I can’t believe it.

— Immortal Technique (@ImmortalTech) November 7, 2022

However, the emotional post from his former partner El Da Sensai on Facebook in reaction to the news stood out.

“I'm crushed. I'm ok...not ok. I feel every kinda way!!! My brothers are gone!!!! I'm sorry I seen a lot of y'all calling me. I just need a moment to process all this sh—t,” he wrote. I'm shocked…devastated as a lot of you are. This is not fair...not like this.”

He continued, “Darlene Brown Harris im so sorry. I love you. Your son was like a brother to me and we shared a gift With the world and stood the test of time even when we didnt know we werecapable. I'm proud of us.. Tame & Kaos do y'all hear me? We just put out some of our best work yet and now your gone. I will never understand this but I have to except it.”

Newark, New Jersey, natives, Brown, Kaos (who passed away in 2019) and El Da Sensai released the Artifacts debut album “Between a Rock and a Hard Place” in 1994.

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Underground audiences gravitated to it, spurred on by hit singles like “Wrong Side of da Tracks” which highlighted the group's love of the graffiti scene in which they were active participants, and features by prominent artists like Brown’s first cousin Redman.

The group would release one more album, 1997’s “That’s Them” before disbanding and taking a 25-year hiatus before releasing their final project of new material, “No Expiration Date” in August of this year.

Brown found success outside the group, releasing music well into the new millennium. His 2003 solo debut “When Rappers Attack” drew praise from music critics. He also served as a member of the underground supergroup Weathermen alongside its founder Cage, El-P, Aesop Rock and several other notable underground stars.

Rapper Hurricane G, First Female Hit Squad Member, Dead at 52

Hurricane G in a screengrab from her video for "Somebody Else." 

Trailblazing rapper Hurricane G is dead at 52.

Hip-hop legend Erick Sermon, who shared a daughter with her, of EPMD confirmed the news on Sunday. 

“My heart is hardened today. One of my good friends… my oldest daughters mother passed away today,” Sermon wrote on Instagram in a touching tribute.

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A post shared by Erick Sermon (@erick_sermon)

He added that Hurricane G, born Gloria Rodríguez, was "a legend in her own right in the Hiphop community."

"She rapped with me. @redmangilla she paved the way," Sermon said.

The Brooklyn native never forgot her roots. She performed in both English and Spanish throughout a career spanning 30 years.

She was the first female member of Hit Squad — the hip-hop collective originally formed by Sermon and his partner-in-rhyme with EPMD, Parrish Smith, in the 1990s. Hurricane G made her mark on the loaded roster which included future icons Redman and Das EFX.

Her career as a solo artist peaked in 1997 with the release of "Somebody Else." The single, from her debut album "All Woman," charted at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart.

Her impact went far beyond her own music, though, through collaborations over the years with several prominent artists, including Redman, Xzibit and Diddy.

Hurricane G's appearance on Redman's 1992 hit "Tonight’s da Night" was her big break in the industry. She also was featured on tracks with Keith Murray, Delinquent Habits, Funkdoobiest and the Cocoa Brovaz.

In 1999, she was featured on the track "P.E. 2000" from Diddy's platinum-certified second album, "Forever." 

Her final solo effort was 2013's "Mami & Papi," featuring Thirstin Howl III.

No cause of death was given for the artist, but her daughter Lexus Sermon, revealed on Facebook in May that her mom was battling lung cancer.

"My mom has stage 4 lung cancer," captioned a photo of her mother smiling. "Don't know how many of you understand what that means but even after 30 years of life I'm still trying to process it myself. I have never cried so much in my life I have never felt so disconnected from reality in my life.

"Yet my mom still managed to be the one to hold it together and say ''don't worry baby everything's gonna be alright."

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