Migos’ Takeoff had already changed the sound of hip-hop. He was just getting started on a new chapter of his life, and it wasn’t going to be an easy one.
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“This is my first time going to jail,” Donald called out to his bandmates as they rode in a car across the street, to the parking lot of the El Mirage Municipal Detention Center in La Mesa, California. “It’s the first time I ever cried on someone else’s shoulder.”
He had gotten out of jail last Friday—the day before his 23rd birthday—after he had been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and public intoxication. All he needed to clear his name was some concrete evidence and an apology from the police.
“I’m taking my kids to school,” Donald explained, “but there is a lot of paperwork, and I need to take care of my paperwork first. I know, I know. But I can’t wait.” He paused, and then he gave one of the most important lines in the new Migos song, “Pray for Me,” to show how sad he was about having to leave their home so soon after making it. “Can’t wait to see you guys at a show or a big party,” he said, with the same emotional honesty. “I think we all know how much you guys mean to me. I don’t want to ever give you guys up, so I got to get back on the horse.”
While he was at the detention center, it became clear that Donald was as sad about leaving as he was about being back at their house. Despite being offered a bail bondsmen to help pay for a bail, he asked to go to jail and pay his own bail. “But I’ll pay for the paperwork, and I’ll just pay for it,” he explained. “That’s what I’m gonna do.”
When he was released from the detention center Thursday, Donald said that he had one last request of his mother. She didn’t have long to get used to seeing him like this, so this time around
