Offset appears on stage in wheelchair for first performance since being shot

Offset performs live

Offset has played his first show since being shot and arrived on stage in a wheelchair.

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The former Migos rapper – real name is Kiari Kendrell Cephus – was shot in a valet area outside the Seminole Hard Rock hotel and casino on April 6. 

He sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the shooting and was discharged from hospital on Thursday (April 9) – telling fans that he was going to be focusing on “my family, my recovery, and getting back to the music”.

Over the weekend (Saturday April 11), the 34-year-old rapper made his first appearance on stage since being released from hospital, and performed at University of Arkansas’s Rowfest.

To kick off the gig, he was rolled out onto the stage in a wheelchair, before getting up and walking towards the crowd to kick off the show, as they held up their phone torches.

“Real Love” he wrote on Instagram after the set, sharing a selection of clips from the performance and backstage photos.

While local police have not formally charged anyone with the shooting, fellow rapper Lil Tjay (real name Tione Jayden Merritt) was arrested in connection with the incident, per Rolling Stone.

He was detained at the scene and charged with disorderly conduct, and released from custody that same day, according to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. His lawyer dismissed the claims of further involvement in the shooting as “false” and “baseless rumours”.

Billboard claims that Lil Tjay called Offset a “rat” and denied claims he was involved in the shooting. “I didn’t do no damn fighting,” he said. “Did I shoot Offset? That shit is crazy.”

The outlet also claims that some fans at the show at Rowfest held up messages on their phone reading “Fuck Lil Tjay” in light of the rumours.

Find more footage from the night below.

Offset’s is next set to take to the stage on May 9, as part of the Xperience Live Event Center in Orlando, Florida.

The Seminole Police Department has said an investigation into the shooting is ongoing, and the incident took place just over three years after fellow Migos member Takeoff was shot dead outside a Houston bowling alley. 

The rapper, real name Kirsnick Khari Ball, died aged 28 on November 1 in 2022 when he was shot dead in an alleged dice game gone wrong in Houston, Texas. Patrick Clark was later charged with his murder and is set to go on trial in November, as per the Houston Chronicle.

The post Offset appears on stage in wheelchair for first performance since being shot appeared first on NME.