Grief is a complicated emotion, and rarely does it ever travel alone. It often pulls up to the party with sadness or anger, confusion, and anxiety. Sometimes all of the above at once. It cannot be explained simply by even the top psychologists or viewed plainly in black and white.
Yet with all the density of the emotion, grief is versatile. It’s an emotional chameleon that manifests itself in a magnitude of ways. We all receive and operate through grief differently, and perhaps that’s why Yung Miami chose to show off her funeral ‘fit for the Gram.
On November 11th, family, friends and fans gathered to honor Takeoff. The former Migos member lost his life in Houston at the beginning of this month. The memorial was held at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena where Takeoff’s celebrity friends and industry peers said their goodbyes. Drake gave a moving eulogy and Justin Bieber performed an acoustic rendition of his song Ghost.
In usual funeral fashion, guests arrived respectfully dressed in their black best (see more at TheStateofFashion.bulletin.com). Yet it can’t go forgotten that this is a celebrity funeral. The dark sunglasses that covered many swollen eyes ranged from Balenciaga to Versace, and the Van Cleef jewelry was on sight. Though, when it’s a funeral, not a fashion show, serving a look is typically towards the bottom of your list of concerns, or at the very least, it should be.
After the funeral, Yung Miami posted fly ‘fit pics on Instagram. A normal practice amongst A-listers and influencers, except this OOTD seemed a little OOT (out of touch).
(@yungmiami305)Clad in a leather look —featuring a bold shoulder overcoat, mini dress, Balenciaga BB boots, and a satin quilted bag— Yung Miami posed for the Gram in the exact look she wore to Takeoff’s funeral. Captioned with a lyric from Glorilla and Cardi B’s hit Tomorrow 2, the post sees Miami serving on the streets in a handful of runway-ready poses.
Though the lyric “everyday the sun won’t shine but that’s why I love tomorrow” insinuates brighter days following Takeoff’s passing, it could also read as simply captioning a photo with a current song or showing love to her fellow femcees in the game. The comments further this idea with frequent flame emoji responses and the countless statements speaking to the look itself. Not typically the kind of comments you would receive on what you wore as a dearly departed. Miami also made sure to tag her stylist, hairstylist, and makeup artist in the photo, a common move when posting a ‘fit pic.
In addition to Miami, Keyshia Ka’oir also dropped a funeral ‘fit pic to IG. Though she ends her carousel with photos of the deceased alongside his obituary, she did follow up with a separate post that is all about the look.
Without confirmation from Miami or Ka’oir, we can’t say these women aren’t acting out of anguish. Grief is a many-faced beast, and with both women part of an image-leading industry, it’s possible showing out on Instagram is also how they show sadness. There’s also the argument of how close all parties were. If neither Ka’oir nor Miami were in Takeoffs immediate circle, perhaps they didn’t see anything wrong with their posts considering they did pay their respects.
However, it’s also possible they have fallen victim to their celebrity and let their love for the lights blind them from their better judgment. An event as high-profile as a funeral for one of the most dynamic rappers of the early 2010s will likely draw media attention. With Takeoff’s death as highly publicized as it is, coupled with the location of the service (an arena), it was unlikely we wouldn’t see the look.
This begs a few questions: Was this necessary? Who was this for?, and is nothing sacred anymore? While I understand ‘fit pics are a part of the celebrity/influencer job, the already narrowing line of ‘what’s for the TL’ vs, ‘what’s for RL’ grows even thinner when funeral ‘fit pics come into play.
As the will to be seen and relate on social media grows, we’re bound to see even more moments that make us question what should and should not be Instagrammed, and when it comes to sharing those sacred moments, well, we all grieve differently, right?
What do you think?
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