Quavo is feeling like Louis. Inspired by pioneering jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong, the founding Migos member is hard at work on his third solo album, Satchamo, as well as his burgeoning acting career and his nonprofit organization. “I’m a total Renaissance man,” he tells me.

In November 2022, Quavo suffered an unimaginable loss: his nephew, best friend, and creative partner, Takeoff, was struck by a bullet outside a bowling alley in Houston, which took his life. Since then, Quavo has dedicated his life to honoring Takeoff’s memory. “I gotta go up for Take,” he raps at the beginning of his second solo album, 2023’s Rocket Power.

The rocket, a symbol that pays homage to Takeoff in addition to representing Quavo’s own rise from the streets to the upper crust, also lends its power to The Rocket Foundation, a nonprofit Quavo spearheaded shortly after his nephew’s death to battle gun violence. “It means a mission that’s not finished,” he says, referencing the foundation’s name. The fight against senseless killings in America is far from over, but Quavo has accomplished an impressive amount in a few short years, working tirelessly to find community-based solutions to the systemic issue, while simultaneously lobbying for gun control in Washington, DC. His work has earned him the title of Variety Hitmakers Humanitarian of the Year in 2024.

 In addition to his work with The Rocket Foundation, Quavo has been developing his talents on the silver screen: he voices Spike in the newly released animated film Sneaks, which tells the story of two young sneakerheads as they flee the clutches of the villainous Collector through the streets of New York City.

More recently, though, Quavo has focused his creative energy on music again. Last summer he dropped “Tough,” a genre-bending country/trap collab with Lana Del Rey. Then, this April, he collaborated with fellow Atlanta icon Lil Baby on a single called “Legends” that sees the duo trading celebratory bars about their ascendance from the trenches to the top of the rap game. The single arrived alongside a Hidji-directed music video in which Quavo and Lil Baby flex their status in a garage full of luxury cars before whipping them through the ATL streets. Next, he’s set to release fiery track, “Dope Boy Phone,” teased through an Instagram Reel that finds him taking a business call while dropping the top of a sleek convertible. 

The new tracks come as Quavo gears for his first studio LP in two years. Satchamo will surface via his longtime label Quality Control. The project is a reflection on legacy—the one he shares with his band, the one Takeoff leaves behind, and the one he’s still building through his music, his philanthropy, and his many other endeavors. 

Here, the visionary discusses the importance of these legacies, his personal style, his favorite memories of Takeoff, the secret to his consistent output and lack of creative burnout, and the ideal setting for a first Satchamo listen.

What can you tell us about Satchamo? How can we expect it to depart from the sound established by Rocket Power?

Satchamo comes from a broad stem of Louis Armstrong. Everybody called him Satchmo when jazz was the main frequency that made the body move. Coming from the greatest group in the world, me being the centerpiece of that group and holding it together, making a lot of the hooks and the songs, and using my talents to get on features with everybody over the last 10 years, I feel like history only repeats itself.  This is my Satchmo moment. 

I’m a total Renaissance man; whether I’m entertaining, acting, doing music, or in sports, I’m doing so many different things. Sometimes you get lost in the sound, in the music. I just want to remind those people that I’m here. The sound is going to be different. It’s very straight to the point. It’s very back to the basics. It’s very cultural. I don’t ever want to shy away from what I came from, and that’s what Satchamo is. 

What is the ideal environment in which one should be listening to Satchamo for the first time? Where should the audience be, who should they be with, and how should they feel? 

You should be with your gang; you should be with your family, your team. It doesn’t really matter what setting you’re in—you could be on the beach, you could be in the club, or you could be in the car. Once you plug it in, it’s going to take you to a world. It’s going to bring you into my world and into a world that we all share together. Music has to relate to and connect with people and fans. So like I said, when you plug it in, it’s going to automatically feel like you’re back in your comfort zone, back at home, at your table.

You’ve done a lot of wonderful advocacy work with The Rocket Foundation. What does The Rocket Foundation mean to you? 

It means a mission that’s not finished. Ever since my nephew has been gone, I feel like I’ve got to complete this mission. As long as I’m here, I feel like The Rocket Foundation is going to be something I always represent, something I always feel like I have to complete until the day I leave. 

How has the mission of the Rocket Foundation shifted over the course of the years? Where to next? 

Right now, we’re turning the pages. We’re getting stuff done. We’re working to get laws passed. Shout out to Greg [Jackson Jr., former Deputy Director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention]; he was in the White House for us, helping fight for new gun laws. I am trying my best to do what I can for the community, trying to clean up guns, trying to end this gun violence thing, and practicing gun safety. It’s about knowing when, how, and in what situations to use a weapon. 

You recently collaborated with Lil Baby on “Legends,” and before that, Lana Del Rey on “Tough.” What makes for an excellent musical collaborator? 

You gotta be Satchamo. You gotta be able to do those things. Look at the difference between Lana Del Rey and Lil Baby, both legends, you know what I’m saying? We can go that way, and we can go this way, so that’s what I want to put in my album: versatility. I want people to know that I’m able to do all things. 

After being a musician for so many years, one must inevitably feel some type of burnout. Where do you turn when you feel creatively depleted? 

My mind creates every day, so I don’t ever feel like I am depleted. If I had a way to just fire away at everything, I would love to do that, but it’s all about timing. You just have to be patient with holding your craft and knowing that it’s the next big thing. 

How would you describe your personal style, and how has it changed in the past couple of years? 

My style is unique. It’s something that’s never been seen before, and I don’t think it’ll ever be duplicated. It’s very creative and very spontaneous. Over the years, I feel like it’s become more calculated and strategic. 

Ten years from now, what do you want to remember about this moment in your life? 

Coming from the South, being one of the hardest, one of the best artists, one of the greatest human beings that can still be touched, that can still be reachable, that can still be relatable. As far as The Rocket Foundation, we made a lot of changes in the community as far as gun violence. Hopefully, we can save more lives and change more laws in the years to come. 

What does legacy mean to you? What traits make for a musical legend? 

All that you believe in, and at the same time, how the people see you. You gotta be a people’s champ, you know what I mean? I look at myself like, when it’s all said and done, I will have tried to do a lot of the work that guys like Muhammad Ali did and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did, and LeBron James is doing with the I Promise school. The more we touch the people, that uplifts your craft, uplifts your music, uplifts whatever job you represent. 

What is a memory you can’t let go of? 

All my memories with my nephew. Every last moment. 

Photographed by Kurt Iswarienko

Styled by Jay Hines

Written by Raphael Helfand

Grooming: Marcus Phillip Hatch

Producer: Randy Henderson