American Music Awards 2022: Takeoff Honored During Show Tribute, Cardi B Surprises With Appearance

By Brenda Alexander

Takeoff was honored at the 2022 American Music Awards by host Wayne Brady and his music peers, who loved him. The Migos rapper was killed Nov. 1, 2022 at a bowling alley in Houston, TX. He was 28 years old. Unfortunately, he was one dozens of rappers killed by gun violence this year. Brady paid special tribute to the late star after a commercial break, remembering his impact. "We recently lost Kirsnick Khari Ball, better known as Takeoff, one-third of the groundbreaking hip-hop group Migos," Brady began. "On behalf of all of us that love hip-hop all around the world, we thank you, Takeoff, for your artistry, and tonight, we honor your memory. We have to stop this senseless and terrible gun violence."

Earlier in the evening, Entertainment Tonight caught up with Tinashe on the red carpet ahead of the show. The singer opened up about Takeoff's impact as a "generational figure" in the music industry. I think Takeoff is such an amazing talent, and I think he's gonna go down in history as somebody who really set the mark," she shared. "I think the Migos was such a legendary group and I'm just honestly still very, very, very, very sad about the entire how it all played out. I think that we're really missing one of our generational figures," she continued. "I think that he went way too soon, 28 is so young, so it's definitely a tragedy."

Cardi B made a surprise appearance at the show, joining GloRilla onstage for a high-energy performance of their hit, "Tomorrow 2." The "WAP" rapper's husband, Offset is a member of Migos, and Takeoff's cousin. It's her first public appearance since his death and comes days after she posted a touching tribute to him on social media.

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