Disclaimer: The photos in this article are graphic; despite the blurring and blocking, they are necessary for the overall message and intent. Usually, the news of the murder of a rapper would not find its way onto this site; however, African American adolescent and young adult violence is a passion of mine, and I have conducted years of research through The Odyssey Project and designed and developed numerous programs to confront this issue and others. 

What concerns me is all of the attention being given to the behavior of Kanye West and Kyrie Irving while ignoring the anti-black and anti-empowerment poison that is being piped into the Black community via the music industry. There is no uproar about an industry that promotes Black male violence, misogyny, excessive drug use, financial irresponsibility, and more. It seems that a notable rapper is dying every week to senseless violence. My condolences go out to the family and loved ones of Offset. My heart is also overwhelmed by the narrative being reinforced by this type of violence. The Black Men Lead rite of passage program was designed to effectively racially socialize young Black males, and we have been successful with it. 

For years, I have been sounding the trumpet about the need to racially socialize young Black males---something that would reduce their proclivity to violence, dropout, and incarceration rates. 

The challenge here is that most people are simply overwhelmed by life in general and completely bewildered by the violent culture surrounding them. We cannot view this as simply another rapper being killed. We need to see this as a microcosm of a much larger issue. We must be willing to say enough is enough! ~ Rick Wallace, Ph.D., Psy.D.

Article

Takeoff, one-third of Migos, is dead after an early morning shooting in Houston ... TMZ Hip Hop has confirmed.

Law enforcement sources, and multiple witnesses, tell us the fatal incident went down shortly after 2:30 AM ... that's when cops got the call for a man shot at a bowling alley called 810 Billiards & Bowling Houston.

We're told Takeoff and Quavo were there playing dice when an altercation broke out, and that's when someone opened fire, shooting Takeoff ... either in the head or near his head. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

TMZ Hip Hop has obtained footage from the scene, and you can see Quavo -- in an orange shirt -- and others gathered around Takeoff. At first, they tried to move him but then put him back down, and Quavo yelled for someone to get help.

Police tell us 2 other people were shot and were taken to the hospital in private vehicles. It's unclear what their conditions are. Quavo was not injured.

Just a couple of hours before the shooting, Takeoff posted a selfie from the bowling alley. Quavo had posted a video earlier in the night, driving around Houston with Jas Prince, who was celebrating his birthday.

Takeoff, whose real name is Kirshnik Khari Ball, was the youngest member of Migos. Quavo was his uncle, and Offset was his cousin. They came together as a group in 2008 in Georgia and became multi-platinum hitmakers ... dropping their first major hit, "Versace," in 2013. They would hit number one on Billboard in 2016 with "Bad and Boujee."

Most recently, Quavo and Offset released a project as the duo, "Unc & Phew." They just released their latest music video, "Messy," on Monday.

Takeoff was 28.

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