Drake Puts Up A Massive Virgil Abloh Statue On "It's All A Blur" Tour

BYAron A.Published on July 06, 20234.5K Views

ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 20: Drake performs onstage at Hot 107.9 Birthday Bash Block Show at Phillips Arena on June 20, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

RIP Virgil.

Drake is back on road. On Wednesday night (July 5), the “Search & Rescue” rapper returned to the stage to start his first tour in roughly five years and he certainly made sure the experience was well worth the wait. While the It’s All A Blur tour setlist includes records from across his catalog, from Thank Me Later to Her Loss, he ensured that he provided an elaborate stage set-up to accompany the bops. However, he made sure that it also paid homage to one of the greatest creative minds of our time.

On Wednesday night, hours before Drake and 21 Savage hit the stage at Chicago’s United Center, the Canadian rapper hit the ‘Gram to preview the stage design. He revealed that the stage boasted a massive statue of the late Virgil Abloh throwing a paper plane – a reference to the Louis Vuitton spring-summer 2019 runway show. “Our brother is watching,” he wrote on his Instagram Story with an image of the statue.

Drake Pays Homage To Virgil Abloh

Upon its reveal on Wednesday night’s show, Drake issued a heartfelt message about Abloh. “Please make some noise for one of the most important people I’ve met in this industry,” he said on stage. “Make some noise for one of the greatest minds that we’ve ever seen.” He continued, “Our brother, our family, he goes by the name of Virgil Abloh. Let’s pay some respect.” Of course, this isn’t the first time Drake showed love to Abloh’s brilliance, having dedicated 2022’s Honestly, Nevermind to the Off-White founder.

The It’s All A Blur tour already feels like it’ll create some incredible moments this year. The opening night shared some insight on the setup, which includes Drake running through a greatest hits-like setlist before 21 Savage emerges on stage. The two then joined forces to deliver a few cuts off of Her Loss before Drake appropriately closed the night off with “Legend.” But besides the tribute to Virgil, Drake also opened the show with “Look What You’ve Done” next to a hologram version of his younger self. Check his tribute to Abloh above.

About The Author

Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.