GTA 5 players have hosted a huge funeral for Migos rapper Takeoff in the Rockstar sandbox game GTA Online, after the ‘Motorsport’ and ‘Stir Fry’ musician, who previously collaborated with Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, died on November 1.
GTA Online players were instructed to wear all-white suits to attend an initial church service dedicated to Takeoff, before changing into all black for a “house party” afterwards. “Tonight we laid Takeoff to rest,” reads a dispatch offered to GTA 5 players. “Follow the street law. No crashing. Step out with your best car.”
One player drove a white hearse, leading a procession of other Grand Theft Auto and Takeoff fans in their own, customised white vehicles, before a short service where players used the “make it rain” emote to throw money on the ground and fired their weapons into the air, in commemoration of the rapper.
Real name Kirsnick Khari Ball, Takeoff, 28, was killed November 1 in a shooting in Houston, Texas. A public memorial service for the rapper is scheduled for November 11, with Justin Bieber, Takeoff’s collaborator on ‘What You See’, set to perform.
“I’m 60 years old, playing video games all my life,” writes one GTA 5 fan, in response to the online funeral. “Damn good job putting that together, showing love.” “Beautiful,” writes another. “Made me cry with the fireworks. Very creative. Thank you.”
As part of the hip-hop trio Migos, which also featured their uncle, Quavo, and first cousin once removed, Offset, Takeoff achieved several top-ten hits on the Billboard 100 chart and was nominated for two Grammy awards. On October 7, Takeoff released an album with Quavo, ‘Only Built for Infinity Links’. A private funeral for Takeoff was held November 5, while fellow musicians including Beyonce and Kid Cudi offered condolences on social media.