* En anglais uniquement
Takeoff is the youngest member of trap trendsetters
Migos, whose songs "Versace" and "Bad and Boujee" became major streaming hits, and whose 2017 sophomore album,
Culture, topped the pop charts in both the U.S. and Canada. Along with his contributions to
Migos,
Takeoff released his solo full-length debut,
The Last Rocket in 2018, along with singles like the 2022
Rich the Kid collaboration "Crypto."
Born Kirshnik Khari Ball on June 18, 1994 in Lawrenceville, Georgia,
Takeoff started
Migos in 2009 with family members
Quavo and
Offset in a bid to escape the ghetto cycle of poverty and crime. Their breakthrough single, "Versace," came out in 2013; the album
Yung Rich Nation followed in 2015, and
Culture came two years later.
Takeoff's non-appearance on the album's 2016 lead single, "Bad and Boujee," caused a minor Internet controversy; he brushed it off, claiming he was simply unavailable for the recording session. In May of 2017, he released his first solo track, "Intruder."
Takeoff occasionally appeared solo as a featured performer on tracks by other artists, including
Jose Guapo,
Chill Will, and, most notably,
Calvin Harris, on the song "Holiday" from the Scottish producer's 2017 album
Funk Wav Bounces, Vol. 1.
Migos' third album, the lengthy, 24-track
Culture II, was released in January 2018.
Takeoff made his own full-length debut in November of that year with
The Last Rocket, which debuted in the Top Four on both the R&B/hip-hop chart and the Billboard 200. Appearances on various singles followed over the next few years, including featured roles alongside
Rich the Kid on "Too Blessed" and
YRN Lingo on "All Time High," both released in 2020. In 2022 he reunited with
Rich the Kid for woozy new single "Crypto." ~ John D. Buchanan