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Migos rapper Quavo lost his nephew and fellow Migos member, Takeoff, to gun violence last year, and the rapper has decided to take action against the problem. On Wednesday, September 20, Quavo met with Vice President Kamala Harris and joined a panel discussion on gun violence, along with the Community Justice Action Fund, to discuss and advocate for gun violence prevention.
Quavo's cause and his appearance at the White House stirred an age-old massive debate online about gun control and gun violence prevention. Some users pointed out the irony in the situation by asking the rapper to stop rapping about it, while others claimed that guns were not the problem, only to be slammed by those who believed otherwise. Meanwhile, one X user blamed "lifestyle" over "guns."
Quavo re-ignites gun control debate, netizens express mixed opinions
Quavo's White House appearance re-ignited the online gun control debate. Some people claimed that the rapper was being hypocritical as his lyrics allegedly might have most likely promoted it. Meanwhile, several netizens claimed that it was not guns that were the problem.
Some netizens talked about the conditions and culture that led to drastic incidents of gun violence. However, a large majority were convinced that guns were the root cause of the problem and that easy access to the weapon needed to change.
More about Quavo's white house appearance
Quavious Keyate Marshall arrived at the White House on Wednesday, alongside his mother Edna Marshall, and his sister and Takeoff's mother, Titiana Davenport. He met privately with members of Congress, and most importantly with Vice President Kamala Harris as an advocate for gun violence prevention. The Vice President wrote on Instagram:
"Thank you @quavohuncho (Quavo), Edna, and Titania for using your voices to honor Takeoff's legacy and call for action to prevent gun violence."
Later in the day, he attended a panel discussion on the topic of gun violence prevention at the Congressional Black Caucus legislative conference in Washington. He was joined on the panel by Sen. Raphael Warnock, Rep. Lucy McBath, and Community Action Fund, executive director, Greg Jackson. He spoke at the panel:
"I feel like your calling comes at the least expected times."
He added:
"I need to step up to the plate and hit a homerun. I have to do something about it, so it won’t happen to the masses — especially in our culture. I don’t want this to happen to the next person. I want to knock down these percentages."
The rapper stated that the country needed to have better control of guns. The 32-year-old raised the question of how people can use guns safely and how these weapons capable of murder can be kept from the hands of people liable to make bad decisions.
"I'm kind of in a half-and-half place. Even police have guns. Unfortunately, some of the people in our culture and loved ones have been lost to police brutality. It's all about choices and how we can put a filter on who can use these guns."
Quavious launched the Rocket Foundation in 2022, after the death of his beloved nephew and fellow Migos member, Kirsnick Khari Ball, also known as Takeoff. The organization was created to honor Takeoff and support proven, life-saving programs to prevent gun violence.
