Virgil Abloh poses for photographers upon arrival at the Nike Celebrates The Beautiful Game event, in London on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. Abloh, a leading fashion executive hailed as the Karl Lagerfeld of his generation, has died after a private battle with cancer. He was 41.
By Richie AssalyToronto Star

Mon., Nov. 29, 20213 min. read

Article was updated 8 mins ago

On Sunday, famed fashion designer Virgil Abloh died from a rare and aggressive form of cancer. He was just 41.

And while Abloh is best known for his work as LVMH’s star designer and as the founder of the streetwear and sneaker brand Off-White, his influence on the world of music and hip hop culture also looms large.

Over the past decade, Abloh designed artwork for several high profile hip hop acts, including iconic album covers for Kanye West, A$AP Rocky, Pop Smoke, Kid Cudi and more.

West paid tribute to Abloh with a Sunday service choral performance, calling Abloh the creative director of West’s latest album, “Donda.”

Drake, who name-dropped Abloh on the track “What’s Next” last spring, was one of several rappers to pay tribute to the fashion mogul on social media:

Here are 7 of the most iconic hip hop album covers designed by Abloh:

“Watch the Throne” — Kanye West and Jay-Z

Abloh’s golden art direction for Jay and Ye’s 2011 collaborative project contributed to the album’s sense of opulence and braggadocio, which established the two artists as the kings of hip hop at the turn of the decade.

“My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” — Kanye West

Abloh was also the art director for West’s 2010 magnum “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” Featuring creepy, but alluring illustration by visual artist George Condo, MBDTF’s artwork has become a key facet of what is considered one of the greatest albums of the 21st century.

“Long.Live.A$AP” — A$AP Rocky,

Abloh was the creative director for A$AP’s critically-acclaimed debut studio album in 2013. Abloh’s talent clearly rubbed off on A$AP, who has since become a fashion icon in his own right.

“Yeezus” — Kanye West / “My Name Is My Name” — Pusha T

Both released in 2013, the album covers for “Yeezus” and “My Name Is My Name” were striking in their postmodern experimentation. The former was simply an unadorned plastic CD case sealed with a red sticker, while the latter was nothing more than a bar code. Others have tried, but mostly failed, to pull off this style of “anti-artwork artwork.”

“Luv Is Rage 2” — Lil Uzi Vert

Abloh was the creative director for Lil Uzi’s breakthrough project from 2017, and directed the music video for the emo-rap classic: “XO TOUR Llif3.” Speaking about the album cover with FADER, Abloh said:

“One of the pillars of my design aesthetic is showing the process. That way a whole generation of kids will see themselves in the work, and do the work themselves too. That cover is pretty much a readymade example. You feel like you can peel it off, and that was important to me … The same way the Nike shoes — you look at them and you can almost feel like you can do it yourself or you can see the handmade feel in it.”

“Pray for Paris” — Westside Gunn

Featuring an edited version of Caravaggio’s “Goliath with the Head of David,” Abloh’s artwork for Flygod’s 2020 project “Pray for Paris” was a perfect compliment to the album’s themes of luxury and excess. Abloh cited Gunn as an inspiration, telling GQ that he listened to “Pray for Paris” “front-to-back” while designing a Louis Vuitton collection in 2020.

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