Drake, Justin Timberlake, BTS & More React to Virgil Abloh’s Death

The tributes are pouring in following the death of fashion designer Virgil Abloh, who passed away Sunday (Nov. 28) at the age of 41.

Musicians like Drake, Justin Timberlake, BTS, Offset, Bruno Mars and many others took to social media to pay their respects to Abloh, who founded the streetwear-focused luxury label Off-White and most recently served as men’s artistic director of Louis Vuitton.

A post on Abloh’s verified Instagram account announced his death, explaining that he battled a rare, aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma, for more than two years.

“My plan is to touch the sky 1000 more times for you…love you eternally brother thank you for everything,” Drake captioned photos on Instagram of himself with Abloh.

In addition to his contributions in fashion, Abloh was a DJ and served as Kanye West’s longtime creative director. He also helped design iconic album covers by West, A$AP Rocky, Lil Uzi Vert and Pop Smoke.

Abloh recently collaborated with Cudi on the Kurt Cobain-inspired floral print dress worn by the rapper during his appearance earlier this year on Saturday Night Live.

“What can you say when a force like @virgilabloh is taken too soon?” Timberlake wrote on Instagram. “You gave the world so much, in so little time. And created with intensity… knowing better than the rest of us that life is short, but anything is possible. I’m honored to have known you. Thank you for sharing your gift with us.”

BTS added on Twitter, “RIP Virgil Abloh, you will be missed. It was an honor to work with you. A true creative genius.”

In another remembrance, Pharrell Williams described Abloh as a “kind, generous, thoughtful creative genius. Your work as a human and your work as a spiritual being will live forever. Sending love and light to your wife, children, family and day ones. You’re with the Master now, shine.”

Abloh is survived by his wife Shannon, his children Lowe and Grey, his sister Edwina and his parents Nee and Eunice.

See more tributes to Abloh below.

 

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Kanye West (Ye)’s Choir Covers Adele’s ‘Easy on Me’ at Sunday Service Dedicated to Virgil Abloh

A choir assembled for a moving rendition of Adele‘s “Easy on Me” at Kanye West‘s latest Sunday Service, which was dedicated to Virgil Abloh, his longtime creative director who died on Sunday (Nov. 28).

Ye’s Sunday Service choir sang new lyrics set to “Easy on Me,” the chart-topping lead ballad from Adele’s album 30. The performance was live streamed briefly at dondalive.com Sunday afternoon, shortly after Ye shared the link on his Instagram Story.

In a reworked first verse, they sang: “I know your love flows like a river/ And I could wash myself in it forever/ I know there is hope in these waters/ But I can’t bring myself to swim/ When I am drowning in my sin.”

“Go easy on me, father,” Ye’s choir harmonized on the reworked “Easy on Me” chorus. “I am still your child/ And I need a chance to/ Feel your love around.”

“In loving memory of Virgil Abloh, the creative director of Donda,” the screen read. Abloh, who most recently served as men’s artistic director of Louis Vuitton, passed away after a private two-year battle with cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare, aggressive form of cancer. He was 41.

Watch the Sunday Service choir sing “Easy on Me” in the clip below.

 

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Fire Destroys Up to 60 Guitars, 100 Paintings at House of Avett Brothers’ Father

A fire has destroyed 60 guitars and up to 100 paintings at the North Carolina home of Jim Avett. He is the father of Scott and Seth Avett of the Avett Brothers band.

The Charlotte Observer reports that the fire occurred Friday (Nov. 26) in the city of Concord.

“The fire started from a golf cart,” Jim Avett posted on Facebook. “Half the house is totally beyond repair.”

Officials said that arriving firefighters saw “heavy fire from the garage” and entered the house to keep the flames from spreading. No one was hurt, although Jim Avett said a cat was missing.

The Avett Brothers, three-time Grammy Award nominees, are based in North Carolina and have a national following. Jim Avett said on Facebook that the blaze is “not a knockout punch.”

“We have the strength, attitude, faith and abilities to move forward,” he wrote. “And we will!”

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Madonna Criticizes Instagram for Removing Photos Showing a ‘Small Portion’ of Her Nipple

Madonna is calling out Instagram for removing her photos.

On Thursday (Nov. 25), the 63-year-old Queen of Pop took to the social media platform to republish a series of snapshots showing her in various poses and wearing black lingerie, noting in the caption that Instagram had removed the same post from the prior night because it violated guidelines by exposing her nipple. In her new post, Madonna used a red heart emoji to conceal her left breast.

“I’m reposting photographs Instagram took down without warning or notification….. The reason they gave my management that does not handle my account was that a small portion of my nipple was exposed,” Madonna wrote alongside the gallery.

She added, “It is still astounding to me that we live in a culture that allows every inch of a woman’s body to be shown except a nipple. As if that is the only part of a woman’s anatomy that could be sexualized. The nipple that nourishes the baby!”

Instagram’s community guidelines page states, “We don’t allow nudity on Instagram, with some exceptions, like photos of post-mastectomy scarring and women actively breastfeeding. Nudity in photos of paintings and sculptures is OK, too.”

A spokesperson for Meta, Instagram’s parent company, told CNN that photos which breach the company’s rules are removed “whenever we find it, no matter who posts it.”

Madonna argued in her response, “Can’t a mans nipple be experienced as erotic ??!! And what about a woman’s a– which is never censored anywhere. Giving thanks that I have managed to maintain my sanity through four decades of censorship…… sexism……ageism and misogyny.”

She also tied the ordeal into the Thanksgiving holiday, writing, “Perfectly timed with the lies we have been raised to believe about the pilgrims peacefully breaking bread with the Native American Indians when they landed on Plymouth Rock! God bless America.”

See Madonna’s post on Instagram below.

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Billboard Buys: Get This Polk Soundbar and Subwoofer Combo for $149

Your TV speakers probably deliver decent sound, but if you really want to experience the content you’re listening to, you’ll want to upgrade to a soundbar. The best soundbars help to amplify sound across your room, in a way that regular TV speakers just can’t do. A good soundbar will also create more finely-detailed sound, whether you’re listening to music, want to feel the effects from a big action movie, or want to pick out hard-to-hear dialogue from a TV show or newscast.

One of the best soundbar deals online is this soundbar and subwoofer combo from Polk Audio. Right now, you get Polk’s Signa S2 Ultra-Slim Sound Bar and a booming subwoofer for just $149 on Amazon – a $50 discount.

This is one of the best deals for a top-rated soundbar and subwoofer combo online, as many soundbars on their own cost upwards of $199+. The fact that you can a full-sized subwoofer included is a great package. This is tied to Amazon’s Cyber Monday deals, which are live now.

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Shop: Polk Audio Signa S2 Ultra-Slim TV Sound Bar $149

This Polk Audio soundbar is an ultra-slim unit that measures just 2.15 inches tall, which means it can fit under your TV or mounted to your wall. It’s a 2.1 sound bar, which gets you a couple of drivers (the part of a speaker that produces sound), plus the subwoofer for added bass. It won’t replace a traditional 5.1 — or true surround sound — home theater system, but the Polk soundbar will still deliver big, room-filling sound.

The Signa S2 comes with a remote control that lets you switch between its inputs, and you can plug in any audio source via HDMI ARC, optical input and AUX. We think this is a great deal but don’t take our word for it: The Signa S2 Soundbar and Subwoofer Set currently has a 4.5-star rating (out of five) from more than 13,000 reviewers online. See full details and get the Polk Audio Soundbar + Subwoofer combo for $149 here.

You can also find the Signa S2 on Polk’s own site, PolkAudio.com. The price is also $149 and Polk offers free delivery and a 60-day return period.

Billboard is picking a weekly deal to share with our readers. Check billboard.com each week for our Billboard Buys product.

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