Migos fans gathered at the memorial service for late rapper Takeoff.
The talented musician was killed earlier this month aged just 28 in a shooting in Houston, Texas – with his uncle and bandmate Quavo by his side.
State Farm Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks, is hosting a funeral service to celebrate the rapper’s life and music; and band pal Justin Bieber is reportedly set to perform.
Pictures show fans queued at the venue earlier today to pay their respects to the rap star who was gunned down outside a bowling alley.
A woman and another man were also wounded in the shooting. No arrests have been made.
Amongst those queued at the memorial was 22-year-old Jenifer Loving.
She stood in line with her infant son, Mateo, for more than an hour before doors opened to fans. She said Takeoff’s death was heartbreaking because he was so young.
She says Migos’ music 'represented the creativity and culture of the black community' and she 'worried the group would be too saddened to make new music — at least for a while'.
"It’s just something that you can play anywhere, and everybody will just come out and come around and dance," she said.
"It’s how it brings people together. It’s how it makes the whole room just fill up with positivity."
Eric Hood, an Atlanta firefighter, said he was shocked when he heard about Takeoff’s death because of the three members of Migos, he was considered the most laid back.
Migos’ music was an "escape" for many people, he said, and he was hopeful the event would leave his family and the rest of the group with lasting memories of him.
"I pray for them," he said. "I hope they continue to be uplifting, positive, influential members in society and keep pushing forward."
Free tickets to the memorial service were available to Georgia residents, but State Farm Arena said well before Friday that the event had reached capacity.
The venue did not release a programme for the event. Instead of flowers or gifts, his family has asked that people make donations to The Rocket Foundation, which was established in Takeoff’s honour and aims to prevent gun violence, according to its website.
Takeoff, real name Kirshnik Khari Ball, was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia and raised by his mother, along with family members Quavo and Offset.
He started rapping in 2008 and he went on to release his first mixtape with Migos in 2011.
Two years later, the band rose to prominence with their single Versace and their debut solo album Yung Rich Nation was released in 2015.
A year later, Migos struck gold with their single Bad and Boujee. The song soared to number one and went on to be certified four times platinum.
The band released their second album in 2017, with it debuting at number one on the Billboard Us 200.
Culture II was released a year later and became Migos' second album to debut at number 1 on the Billboard 200, moving 199,000 equivalent units, including 38,000 copies sold, in its first week of release.
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