On Wednesday (Sept. 20), 32-year-old Grammy-nominated rapper Quavo joined his mother Edna Maddox and sister Titania Davenport, mother of his nephew Takeoff, at the Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.. The Migos emcee was there to discuss the increasing gun violence in the country. They met with Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Raphael Warnock, Rep. Lucy McBath, and other political figures and activists, WKBN reports.
On Nov. 1, 2022, Quavo witnessed Takeoff’s untimely death when the 28-year-old was shot down in Houston. An innocent bystander, the late lyricist became one of many people who perish in the U.S. because of gun-related injuries each year. According to the Pew Research Center and the CDC, the most recent statistics show that 48,830 people died from injuries that involved guns in 2021.
Quavo made his message to the politicians and the public clear:
“I feel like your calling comes at the least expected times… You don’t think nothing is going to happen. I need to step up to the plate and hit a home run. 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.”
At the ALC, Quavo and Davenport received praise from Harris. Moreover, the Rocket Power artist went on to demand more action:
“We need to do better with the control of guns. We need to figure out how do we keep these types of incidents from happening to people going anywhere and thinking they can hurt somebody where it shouldn’t happen… And how do you keep them out of the hands of people that 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.”
Greg Jackson of the Community Justice Action Fund explained that he feels Quavo can help them gain resources needed to make a difference.
“His voice and commitment around community violence intervention could provide more resources for those who are most at risk,” Jackson stated. He and Quavo want the Break the Cycle of Violence Act to pass to provide billions in critical grant money to high-risk communities. The funds would help support youth job and career development, create prevention programs, and teach methods for curbing gun violence.
Quavo previously created The Rocket Foundation to intervene in community violence. Yet, resources remain one of the biggest obstacles.
“I feel like after going to the White House, I need resources. I need a bag of goodies, so I can take [it] back and say, ‘Here, this is for the culture.’ We have that extension cord. We are plugged into that type of environment. I don’t think no one else in our stature is that connected. In order for things to change, we need resources,” Takeoff’s uncle added.