Houston Police Arrest Suspect in Shooting Death of Takeoff

Patrick Xavier Clark Booking Photo Courtesy HPD

The Houston Police Department held a press conference on Friday afternoon to announce the arrest of a man in connection to the killing of Takeoff.

HPD Chief Troy Finner said Patrick Xavier Clark, 33, is charged with the murder of the Migos rapper, whose real name is Kirshnik Khari Ball.

Takeoff died at the age of 28 after being shot outside of a downtown Houston bowling alley last month.

“We lost a good man,” Finner said, adding that he talked to Takeoff’s family, and thanked them for their patience as the department worked through facts and the investigation ahead of an arrest.

Clark was arrested on the east side of Houston, Texas, Thursday evening. Another man, Cameron Joshua, 22, was charged with the unlawful carrying of a weapon.

At this time authorities have not connected him to the murder.

"We believe Cameron Joshua has been appropriately charged in this case," Prosecutor Matt Gilliam said.

Mayor Sylvester Turner & Chief @TroyFinner provides an update in the fatal shooting of Kirsnick Khari Ball (Takeoff). https://t.co/0YAEbw91tR

— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) December 2, 2022

Police responded to reports of a shooting at 810 Billiards & Bowling at around 2:30 a.m. When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered one man dead (from a gunshot wound to the head or neck) and two other people injured.

Later authorities positively identified the victim as Takeoff. He was the youngest member of the chart-topping group he formed with his uncle Quavo and cousin Offset.

Takeoff, second from right, was shot and killed Tuesday morning in Houston.

Formed in Atlanta in 2008, Migos had been one of hip-hop's most successful acts. The group has sold over three million albums and received two Grammy Award nominations.

Takeoff also found success outside the group. His solo album, “The Last Rocket,” debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2018. Recently, along with Quavo, he released “Only Built for Infinity Links,” which peaked at No. 7.

Watch: Detroit Inmates Facing Increased Prison Time After Shooting Rap Video In Prison

Screengrab of "In Dis Cell" YouTube video posted by "Da Hub."

They say there is no such thing as bad publicity. For two Detroit-based wannabe rappers, whether or not that proves to be true remains to be seen.

Either way, it looks like they will have plenty of extra time to think about it.

The inmates at the Macomb prison unit in suburban Detroit, have been separated and segregated from the general population after it was discovered they filmed a video at the facility.

Authorities made the moves after guards found a YouTube link written on a piece of paper during a routine search and discovered a rap video titled "In Dis Cell" — filmed in the prison — when they tried the link.

“The prisoners who were in the video certainly made no attempts to hide or disguise who they were, so staff was able to recognize them and go to their cell and confront them about this,” Chris Gautz, the spokesman for Michigan’s Department of Corrections, told Fox 2.

Now thanks to the two cell phones shown in the video, which Gautz said the men shot back in September before posting it to YouTube on Nov. 3rd, the inmates are facing additional prison time.

Possession of a cell phone in prison is a crime.

"Because while you can make rap videos with them, that’s one thing you can do with a contraband cell phone," Gautz said. "But you can also effectuate an escape, you could put out a hit on another staff member, another prisoner, a member of the public. You could harass witnesses, you could intimidate your victims.

"There’s a whole number of things untoward that you can do with contraband cellphones."

Watch the "In Dis Cell" video below:

Joyce Byrant, 'The Black Marilyn Monroe,' Dies at 95

Carl Van Vechten, via Wikimedia Commons

Joyce Bryant, the sultry singer whose signature silver hair and tight mermaid dresses earned her the nicknames the "Bronze Blond Bombshell" and "The Black Marilyn Monroe," is dead.

Her niece and caretaker, Robyn LaBeaud, broke the news that her aunt died at home on Nov. 20 in Los Angeles, following a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. She was 95.

"What a woman she was I will share our journey soon and please don't forget auntie she loves each and everyone of you," LaBeaud posted on Bryant's official Instagram.

Bryant was one of the most popular acts on the nightclub circuit during the 1950s, reportedly amassing $1 million in performance and recording contracts by the middle of the decade.

She was one of the country's first Black sex symbols, using radiator paint to dye her hair silver early in her career and wowing audiences with her four-octave vocal range and suggestive choreography.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @CaliforniaLovesFrenchies my name is Robyn (@joycebryantofficial)

At the height of her first brush with fame, the devout Seventh-day Adventist left the limelight. Feeling guilty about the sexual nature of her performances and scared of the drug dependency that had taken hold of many of her friends in entertainment, she enrolled at what is now Oakwood University, a historically Black Seventh-day Adventist institution in Huntsville, Ala.

RIP to singer Joyce Bryant, 95, who was a huge attraction in the '40s and '50s, noted for her silver hair and saucy songs. She quit in 1955 in a fit of religious fervor and discomfort over her image, but did return. Major civil rights activist. https://t.co/Id9xRvvKrB pic.twitter.com/bIkpFnx9DW

— Matthew Rettenmund (@mattrett) November 24, 2022

Bryant worked as a missionary before retraining, under the direction of Washington vocal coach Frederick Wilkerson, as a classical singer and eventually starting a career in opera. She sang the role of the female lead for the Gershwin opera "Porgy and Bess" after winning a contract with the New York City Opera. Bryan also toured internationally with Italian, French, and Vienna opera companies.

Later the torch singer would return to her roots in the 1980s to much acclaim and she subsequently began a career as a vocal instructor, with a stable of famous clients such as Jennifer Holliday and Raquel Welch.

Rest in Peace & Power, Joyce Bryant, who passed away on November 20.

Bryant was a singer, dancer & civil rights activist who achieved fame in the late 1940s & early 1950.

📷:Bryant in a gown made by the African American fashion designer Zelda Wynn Valdes.Philippe Halsman. 1954. pic.twitter.com/6MR5jj28Vd

— Black Women Radicals (@blkwomenradical) November 22, 2022