When Takeoff, Atlanta rapper and one-third of legendary hip-hop group Migos, tragically passed away late last year in a shooting, he had only put out one solo album to date, which came in the form of The Last Rocket in 2018. Now, though, according to his uncle Quavo, who he collaborated with last October for their first album as a duo, a new LP from Takeoff is on the way.
On Thursday (July 27), Quavo uploaded a video to his YouTube page, which included a somber interview where he discusses his current headspace. This upcoming Friday (Aug. 4), he will be putting out his own solo album titled Rocket Power, whose title and contents are dedicated to Takeoff.
Videos by American Songwriter
“This Album Is Embodying All My Emotions,” he wrote in an Instagram post earlier this month. “Through the process of healing, I’ve learned to turn tragedy into triumph. I had to dig deep into my purpose and find the power to keep striving. To my fans, thanks for being patient wit me and supporting Us. To my FAMILY, even when times get hard we (know) our MAIN mission is to keep the Rocket name ALIVE.”
In the interview, Quavo confirmed that Takeoff’s first posthumous album is currently being put together. Additionally, he revealed that he found hundreds of unreleased songs on Takeoff’s phones, multiple of which he has never heard before.
“In this phone alone, [there is] 150 songs,” he said, also adding the Takeoff had three cell phones in his possession. “He’s got songs I never heard. I’m like, ‘Bro why you never played me this?’”
Impressed by his now-deceased nephew’s vault of music, Quavo said that his posthumous catalog could be the stuff of legends, likening him to fellow fallen stars like Tupac and Pop Smoke.
“Something about Take’s verses right now are just so ahead of their time,” he said. “So when his album comes— the only person that went as crazy after they went away was Pop [Smoke]. Pop Smoke had a great album, and Tupac… Pop [Smoke] wasn’t out long enough so he couldn’t keep a lot of the stuff. So I would put Take and Tupac as far as the (best posthumous) catalogs, and a whole bunch of music in the vault he can probably drop music for the next 10-15 years.”
Because of how much he loves all the music Takeoff left behind, Quavo also noted that he will use some of his former Migos partner’s verses for Rocket Power, but in a respectful manner.
“I use a couple unreleased verses but I want to keep his stuff very, very, very sacred right now for his project,” he said. “I don’t want to be pulling the stuff then we get to his project and not know what to do.”.
Ultimately, throughout the discussion, it seemed Quavo wanted to be careful and considerate of the responsibility of having Takeoff’s remaining music. And, before we get to experience another full-length project from the fallen Migos icon, we’ll be able to hear some of his first posthumous verses on Rocket Power next weekend.
Watch Quavo’s full interview below.
Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images