What Quavo Says About Takeoff in Tribute Song 'Without You'

Quavo has apologized to his friend, the late rapper Takeoff, in his new tribute song "Without You."

Migos rapper Takeoff, real name Kirsnick Khari Ball, was shot and killed in the early hours of November 1, 2022. Quavo was seemingly with his friend that night in Houston, Texas, when Takeoff was hit with "a stray bullet," according to his record label, Quality Control.

Just over two months after the incident occurred, Quavo has released a new song which directly addresses his feelings towards his friend. It contains heartfelt lyrics from the rapper, who pays tribute to Takeoff, who died at the age of just 28.

The 4-minute song is available to listen to on SoundCloud now as well as a lyrics video which has been posted to Quavo's YouTube channel.

Within the first verse, Quavo reveals how much he's cried after the death of Takeoff. "Days ain't the same without you. I don't know if I'm the same without you," Quavo raps.

Throughout the song, Quavo refers to "you" often as he addresses Takeoff directly. We know it's Takeoff as he changes "you" to "Take" at the end of the song.

"I wish I had a time machine, just so you can take a ride with me, I miss just how you smile at me," Quavo repeats this line before adding, "Wrap my arms around and hold you tight, so you can never say goodbye to me."

Within the chorus, Quavo makes a number of space analogies, referencing being up in the stars, Mars, the universe and heaven. Its double meaning implies Takeoff is now in heaven but also it is appropriate for the late rapper as his own iconic album imagery on The Last Rocket showed him riding a rocket into space.

The second verse once again addresses Takeoff directly, with Quavo saying birthdays and Christmas won't be the same without his friend. Before that he raps, "It ain't no gang without you."

After the chorus plays again, Quavo refers to Takeoff by name, and apologizes a number of times.

"Take, Take, Take (I'm sorry), Take (I'm sorry), Take (I'm sorry), Take (I'm sorry)," Quavo says as the song comes to an end. The backing vocals subtly sing, "What would I do without you?" underneath Quavo's lyrics.

On the lyrics music video posted to Quavo's YouTube channel, the video ends with a silver infinity symbol. This could be a reference to Quavo and Takeoff's album Only Built for Infinity Links which they released less than a month before Takeoff's death. One of the songs on that album was titled "Two Infinity Links."

The stage name for them as a duo was Unc & Phew, which Quavo also references in the song "Without You."