After his nephew and fellow Migos member Takeoff was shot and killed in November 2022, Quavo decided to turn his grief into action. That same month, the rapper, who has been named Variety Hitmakers Humanitarian of the Year, established the Rocket Foundation, an organization dedicated to honoring Takeoff’s legacy and combating the ongoing issue of gun violence in his hometown of Atlanta and beyond.
“I felt like it’s a crisis that goes on everywhere, and me being a figure and a person who speaks to the youth, I feel like turning my tragedy into triumph,” explains Quavo, who launched the foundation with a $2 million commitment to invest in community-violence intervention.
In the two years since its launch, the foundation has grown into a movement to combat the deadly crisis in the United States. In 2022, there were more than 48,000 firearm-related deaths, according to the CDC. On a local level, Quavo aided the Atlanta community with the announcement this past March of a Sparks Grants program to award $10,000 to 10 organizations. Over the summer, he partnered with the Offender Alumni Association to host a music-education workshop for at-risk youth as part of a 10-week Rocket camp.
Quavo has also grown his mission to enact change on a federal level. In September 2023, he met with Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House during the Congressional Black Caucus legislative conference. Shortly after, the White House announced the formation of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
“That was a big deal,” he says. “We celebrated. We felt like we were getting some answers, finally getting some things done. And this is just the beginning.”
This past June, Harris joined Quavo to discuss gun violence at the first-ever Rocket Foundation Summit on Gun Violence Prevention in Atlanta. The following month, Quavo took the podium at one of Harris’ rallies to champion her in the presidential race and commended her for helping to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, one of the most significant laws passed in the fight against gun violence in history.
Quavo is no stranger to philanthropy. During his reign as one-third of Migos, the trio that helped nationalize the sound of contemporary Southern rap, he founded the Quavo Cares Foundation to work hand in hand with the Atlanta community to help youth. The foundation’s initiatives — since its establishment in 2021 — have included Back 2 School Givebacks, sporting events and the annual Huncho Day staged at his former high school.
“Going to community centers in my neighborhood shaped who I am today,” he says, “so I wanted to return that favor.”
Engaging in gun-violence reform is Quavo’s No. 1 priority. He’s met with families who’ve been affected by such violence, and wants them and others to know that he intends to make a difference.
“It’s so emotional that you don’t know what to do about it,” he says. “Once you see other people and other families who’ve been through the situation, you want to prevent anyone from feeling this grief. So that’s why I say when I get with those families, ‘I see a light shining through that. I don’t want anyone else to feel this type of pain.’”
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