Cardi B shared an emotional Instagram tribute Friday night to the late rapper Takeoff, who was the cousin and Migos bandmate of her husband Offset.

Her post came hours after she joined a massive crowd of loved ones and fans at Takeoff’s funeral in rainy downtown Atlanta near where the 28-year-old grew up.

Takeoff, born Kirsnick Khari Ball, was shot and killed earlier this month outside a Houston bowling alley.

‘This has truly been a nightmare and the pain is incomparable,’ Cardi wrote on Instagram this Friday night.

Her post included an album of throwbacks that included pictures of him with Offset and their uncle Quavo, with whom he formed the hip-hop trio Migos.

Cardi also shared a screengrab of her private messages with Takeoff, in which she encouraged him about his future and he gushed: ‘love you too 4L & After thank u sis.’

‘Takeoff your untimely passing has brought a great deal of pain and sorrow to so many lives. The impact you had in this world was so considerable and we have struggled to grasp this tragedy,’ she wrote in her caption.

‘I am heartbroken but I am grateful for all the precious memories we got to share while you were here with us. This has truly been a nightmare and the pain is incomparable,’ Cardi confessed.

‘The emptiness your brothers are feeling is unbearable and I pray that you give Offset ,Quavo, and your friends and family the strength to keep going as they are trying to cope with this loss.’

Cardi shared her belief ‘that angels send signs and beautiful dreams to loved ones to assure them that they’re watching them and they’re okay and happy…send your mom some of those.’

She touchingly added: ‘As a Migos fan it hurts me to look at pictures and videos of y’all together, and hearing y’all songs that changed the music industry and moved the culture and had the clubs lit.

Cardi went on: ‘It hurts because I know it will never be the same again—but I know your bros and y’all fans will make sure the world never forgets the impact you made. I will remember your remarkable talent and your dope ass personality.’

She offered up a prayer ‘that you are at peace and in paradise because you deserve every bit of it. I know God opened the heavenly gates for you with a warm embrace. Rest in power TakeOff I will also love you 4L & after.’

Quavo and Offset both took the stage at his funeral amid a formidable array of prominent figures who paid tribute to Takeoff.

Drake delivered an emotional eulogy comparing himself and Migos to the Rat Pack, according to TMZ. Meanwhile top-flight stars including Justin Bieber and Chloe Bailey delivered musical performances in Takeoff’s memory.

Mourners gathered in the State Farm Arena, including Offset’s wife Cardi B, who concealed her eyes behind a massive pair of sunglasses as she sat in the audience.

A brief social media clip of Drake’s eulogy saw him hail Takeoff as ‘forever balanced. Whenever he would take his shades off, he had this thing about him that I loved – no matter what was going on around us he was, like, always kinda squinting but like his eyes were wide open.’

Video of Quavo’s eulogy has circulated on social media in which he recalled that since childhood, Takeoff had ‘been by my side, looking up at me with them eyes, same eyes you got as you got as my sister, waiting on me to make the next move, then you followed up right behind me. You always made sure I did it first so you could do it right with me.’

Quavo, who was just three years Takeoff’s senior, recalled: ‘You never competed with me. We was always on the same team, ‘cause you hated playing against me ‘cause I always played too hard or too rough. And I could hear Momma saying: “Not too rough, son,” ‘cause I ain’t like to lose.’

He touchingly remembered that his and Takeoff’s ‘first dream’ was not to venture into the music industry, bot to become ‘tag-team partners in the WWE.’

Offset found himself reduced to tears as he gave a speech memorializing his cousin, whom he credited with having ‘changed the culture of music forever.’

Footage of the speech posted to TikTok showed Offset repeatedly becoming too overcome with emotion to go on, only for the audience to applaud and encourage him.

He begged God to give him and his family ‘strength,’ saying: ‘I don’t wanna question you, God, I just don’t – I don’t get it. I don’t get you sometimes.’

Kevin ‘Coach K’ Lee and Pierre ‘P’ Thomas, the hip-hop moguls whose label launched Migos, also gave speeches, as did Takeoff’s mother and siblings.

State Farm Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks, was hosting a memorial service to celebrate the rapper’s life and music, and a massive sign outside the arena was lit up with the rapper’s image.

A program for the funeral showed an order of events that included various musical performances, prayers, montages and poems.

Chloe Bailey performed a song by Beyonce, while the Mayor of Atlanta, Andre Dickens, honored the rapper with a civilian award.

Justin Bieber took the stage and sang an acoustic version of his own 2021 song Ghost, with CNN reporting that a single piano was his only accompaniment.

‘Since the love that you left is all that I get,’ the lyrics run: ‘I want you to know that if I can’t be close to you I’ll settle for the ghost of you. I miss you more than life, and if you can’t be next to me your memory is ecstasy.’

Gospel singer Yolanda Adams reportedly performed her number The Battle Is The Lord’s, a song that draws its title from the first book of Samuel in the Old Testament.

A host of VIPs flooded into the State Farm Arena, including Teyana Taylor, who collaborated with Migos on her song Drippin, and CeeLo Green, who featured on Offset’s solo song North Star.

Line wrapped around State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta. People waiting to attend Takeoff’s funeral, which starts at 12. Live coverage on @ATLNewsFirst pic.twitter.com/YrnwGvknD6

— Rachel Aragon (@RachelANews) November 11, 2022

Officers confirmed that there were 40 to 50 people at the location, when they discovered a man with a gunshot wound to the head or neck.

A woman and another man were also wounded in the shooting. No arrests have been made.

Security guards who were in the area heard the shooting but did not see who did it according to police.

Dispatchers reportedly heard five shots fired, according to TMZ, with witnesses telling officers that they heard multiple gunshots and screaming.

Images from the scene reportedly show the rapper lying dead in a puddle of blood after being ‘shot in the head’ during the row.

Footage from the scene show Takeoff lying on the floor, while Quavo rushes to his side.

A group started to gather around the injured rapper and tried to move him, but quickly lowered him to the ground as Quavo screamed for help.

Video of the incident shows several women shouting to ‘get inside’, while another man can be heard saying ‘I’m scared for you bro.’

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said the day after the shooting that Takeoff was ‘well respected,’ and there was ‘no reason to believe he was involved in anything criminal at the time.’

Migos was founded by Takeoff in 2008 with his uncle Quavo and cousin Offset – who is married to Cardi B.

All three were largely raised by Takeoff’s mother in an Atlanta suburb.

Jenifer Loving, 22, stood in line with her infant son, Mateo, for more than an hour before doors opened to fans. She said Takeoff´s death was heartbreaking because he was so young.

Migos’ music represented the creativity and culture of the Black community, she said, and she worried the group would be too saddened to make new music – at least for a while.

‘It´s just something that you can play anywhere, and everybody will just come out and come around and dance,’ she said. ‘It’s how it brings people together. It´s how it makes the whole room just fill up with positivity.’

Eric Hood, an Atlanta firefighter, said he was shocked when he heard about Takeoff’s death because of the three members of Migos, he was considered the most laid back.

Migos’ music was an ‘escape’ for many people, he said, and he was hopeful the event would leave his family and the rest of the group with lasting memories of him.

‘I pray for them,’ he said. ‘I hope they continue to be uplifting, positive, influential members in the society and keep pushing forward.’

Free tickets to the memorial service were available to Georgia residents, but State Farm Arena said well before Friday that the event had reached capacity and fans without tickets should not come downtown.

Migos’ record label, Quality Control, mourned Takeoff’s death in a statement posted on Instagram that attributed it to ‘senseless violence and a stray bullet.’ Police have said nothing about the gunshot being stray.

Instead of flowers or gifts, his family has asked that people make donations to The Rocket Foundation, which was established in Takeoff’s honor and aims to prevent gun violence, according to its website.