Tyler, The Creator Shares Tribute To Virgil Abloh
Over the weekend the massively influential designer Virgil Abloh, whose connections with the music industry were myriad, died at age 41 after a secret battle with cancer. Since then tributes have been pouring in. Kanye West, who made Abloh the head of his Donda agency, dedicated his latest Sunday Service to Abloh. Frank Ocean shared a heartfelt eulogy for Abloh online. And now Kanye and Ocean’s buddy Tyler, The Creator has chimed in with a sentimental outpouring of his own.
On Instagram, Tyler writes that Abloh was “a true geek about things,” praising him for his passion and boundless creativity. Tyler also writes that he began using his African last name Okonma more often because he was inspired by how “regal” the name Abloh felt. It’s an extremely warm and affectionate tribute, and you can read it in full below:
Sir Abloh was a true geek about things. Passion seeped through everything he did. Whether a random set of songs we’ve never heard or what pantone the wing of a plane should be, he always meant it. My favorite project of his was that Benz G-Wagon. My eyes couldn’t comprehend what it was. My brain couldn’t fathom that it was real. But my body and spirit was overjoyed cause i didnt know we could do those type of things and THE NIGGA DID THAT! He kept upping it, every single time. Ahead. ABLOH. that strong African last name. few years back i started using more of my African last name OKONMA because of how regal Virgils felt. Everything he did felt like he said ” hey over here, coast is clear” whenever i questioned things. now about a week away since we last spoke, that convo i thought was random holds so much more weight now. Sometimes, part of us sharing our wild ideas is to get approval from our peers to keep it pushing, but virgil was ALWAYS a cheerleader. For everyone. That hand of his opened doors, lead people in and tossed the keys outside for the next person to have. i wish i was able to see him see what his helping hand did for me. his spirit is around tho. i feel it. he’ll see it. i’ll keep pushing and trying things while leaving the door open. he’ll shake those pom-poms. we’ll keep that on loop. safe travels.
