In an effort to combat gun violence, Migos rapper Quavo teamed up with Vice President Kamala Harris to host the first-ever Rocket Foundation Summit at the Carter in Atlanta on June 18.
In direct honor to the untimely demise of his nephew and fellow Migos member Takeoff, died in Nov. 2022, the one-day summit featured a fireside chat with VP Harris and panel discussions detailing gun violence prevention and youth programs.
While Quavo has made some steps toward recuperation from Takeoff’s death, he still struggles with losing his loved one.
“It’s super hard every day. I’m still crying. I’m still grieving. I’m still mourning,” he said, according to the Associated Press.
In commemoration of the life of Takeoff, Quavo and his family launched the Rocket Foundation and invested an abundance of money into community violence intervention.
For quite some time now, Quavo has taken a particular focus on politics as he attended the Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Conference. Some of the people in attendance included Harris and Greg Jackson, who is now the deputy director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
“Just to look behind me and see that I got the VP and guys like Greg Jackson and other survivors that actually fell victim to the same thing, I know that I’m not alone,” he said.
Quavo continued, “This is my second calling. This is very personal to me. That’s what makes my drive and motivation to go even harder.”
Quavo considers the initiative to be a “certified movement.” Earlier this year, he created the Sparks Grant program, which is focused on organizations working together to limit community violence. The program will award $100,000 in grants to Atlanta-focused organizations.
“I feel like a lot of people just announce foundations and keep it moving for nonprofit purposes or even financial issues,” he said. “But I’m on the ground. I’m actually working. We’re getting things done. We’re getting results. We’re raising real money. We’re going down in the real communities where the problem has been an issue.”