Quavo has launched a new initiative in honor of his late nephew, Takeoff, with the aim of controlling gun violence in the city of Atlanta.
On Wednesday (March 20), Billboard reported that the ex-Migos rapper launched the Sparks Grants Initiative, which will award ten organizations grants of $10,000 each for their programs focusing on gun violence and its regulation.
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“I am honored to launch this grant program to honor Take and the countless families that have been affected by gun violence,” the 32-year-old said in a statement. “The Rocket Foundation will be giving out $100,000 in Spark grants to local organizations dedicated to reducing community violence in Atlanta.”
He continued: “There is a lot of important work going on in ATL right now, and part of our mission is to uplift these organizations and support them to help save more lives.”
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Applications are still being accepted for the grants, and the deadline to apply is April 21.
Quavo has spoken fondly about his late nephew on numerous occasions ever since he was shot and killed in November 2022.
In February 2023, Quavo honored TakeOff with a moving performance of “Without You” at the Grammy Awards during the ceremony’s In Memoriam segment.
With half of his face covered by a black mask, he was joined by the Maverick City Music choir as images of musicians who passed away last year flashed on the giant screen behind him, including Coolio, DJ Kay Slay and Hurricane G.
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The most powerful moment of the segment came towards the end, when Huncho walked up to the mic at the front of the stage and held up TakeOff’s chain as a photo of the late rapper took over the screen behind him inside the Crypto.com Arena.
In July, during am interview posted to his YouTube channel, he admitted that the pain of losing his former Migos partner is sometimes so intense that he often cries himself to sleep to overcome the agony.
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“I think about [Takeoff] all the time,” he said. “Sometimes I cry myself to sleep, you know, and that’s it. I just know he’s here. I know that if I can’t feel him, I just know he’s around.”
TakeOff was shot and killed outside 810 Billiards and Bowling Alley in Houston on November 1, 2022, after an argument following a heated dice game. The 28-year-old’s murder has spawned a pair of arrests.
