Former Migos rapper Offset stable after being shot

HOLLYWOOD, Florida (AP):

Rapper Offset, a former member of the influential hip-hop trio Migos, was shot outside a Florida casino and is in stable condition, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Offset, who was once married to Cardi B, was being treated at a hospital after Monday night’s shooting, the spokesperson said in a statement, although his exact condition was unknown. Police said the injuries were not life-threatening.

More than three years ago, Offset’s cousin Takeoff, another member of Migos, was shot and killed at a Houston bowling alley.

Monday’s shooting followed a fight at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, just north of Miami, the police said. Officers detained two people.

A rapper known as Lil Tjay, Tione Jayden Merritt, was arrested for the altercation that occurred before the shooting, the Seminole Police Department in Florida said. He was charged with disorderly conduct and operating a vehicle without a valid licence.

His lawyer, Dawn M. Florio, told The Associated Press that Lil Tjay did not have a gun and was not charged with any weapons or gun-related crimes.

She said he paid his bond and was released on Tuesday afternoon. The 24-year-old rapper is a stalwart of New York’s South Bronx scene, celebrated for his sing-rapping and pop-hip-hop style delivered atop drill beats.

While the police said one person sustained injuries at a valet area outside the casino, they did not identify the victim.

The second person detained at the scene has not been charged, and investigators were working to identify others involved, the police said in a statement on Tuesday.

Offset, born Kiari Kendrell Cephus, first made a name for himself with Migos. The Atlanta trio is one of the most popular hip-hop groups of all time, celebrated for their rapid-fire triplet flow, an often-imitated delivery that changed the trajectory of trap.

Their career kicked off with the 2013 hit Versace. They then had several multiplatinum-selling singles, including Bad and Boujee, which went No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart, Stir Fry, Narcos, and T-Shirt. Migos released four full-length albums across their career, closing that chapter after the killing of Takeoff.

Offset and Cardi B were secretly wed in September 2017 in Atlanta. In 2024, Cardi B announced that she filed for divorce. They have three children together.

The third member of Migos, rapper Quavo, sought to transform his nephew Takeoff’s tragic shooting into a force for change, holding a summit against gun violence in 2024.

The police said Takeoff was an innocent bystander when he was shot outside a Houston bowling alley after a disagreement over a dice game. Takeoff’s death was among a string of fatal shootings in recent years that involved hip-hop stars such as Nipsey Hussle, Pop Smoke, PnB Rock and Young Dolph.

Offset embarked on a solo career years before Takeoff’s death.

As a solo artiste, Offset is known for an idiosyncratic style — a melodic, aggressive finesse. He released three full-length albums: 2019’s Father of Four; 2023’s Set It Off, which he described to The Associated Press as an effort to “bring rap back” in a genre currently led by rappers who sing; and 2025’s Kiari.

“ Set It Off was a freedom,” he told AP last year, proof that he could shine as a solo artiste outside of Migos. Kiari, instead, is “me, for what I am. And recognising who I am, because I feel like sometimes you could get lost in trying to please other people and trying to do what they want you to do. So, this is like my rebellion. My rebellion album.”