Frank Ocean has shared a touching message of reflection regarding the death of Virgil Abloh.
In an Instagram Story update on Sunday night, Frank said he and his family were proud of what Virgil had accomplished. The Blonde artist also mentioned his younger brother Ryan, who died last year in a car accident.
“When my brother passed I never said anything because it was way too much but he loved you and really looked up to you,” Frank wrote. “He was going to fashion school and everything. He wanted to be a designer. My fam was proud of you like you were our family. I know grief is love that you don’t get to express so this is an attempt at expressing it. Love you V. You’re a hero.”
See Frank’s full message in text form below:
![Kanye West and Virgil Abloh after the Louis Vuitton Menswear Spring/Summer 2019 show](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 203 115"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
“In 2018 I believe it was I called V and asked him how it was possible to play hundreds of shows a year and do numerous fashion collections a year and be a father and a husband and return EVERYONE’s texts with enthusiasm and emojis and encouragement and seemingly..with ease. I cannot remember how he responded verbatim but I’m sure it was quotable whatever he said..he was always quotable. But the gist of his response was that he was interested in living and living to the maximum extent of his level..which proved to be impossible today because he was BEYOND.
I’ll miss you. When Ryan went to his prom you got him some pieces from your new collection at LV and he was GEEKED. Couldn’t get him to take it off. When I went to Miami and you played a set on the beach in 2016 you played White Ferrari – a song with no drums or bass anywhere to be found lol – and started a sing along. When I played you demos of shit I was working on or showed you Homer way before it was ready you put the battery in my back. When my brother passed I never said anything because it was way too much but he loved you and really looked up to you. He was going to fashion school and everything. He wanted to be a designer. My family was proud of you like you were our family. I know grief is love that you don’t get to express so this is an attempt at expressing it. Love you V. You’re a hero.”
Virgil Abloh died Sunday at the age of 41. In a statement shared to his Instagram account, it was revealed that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive and rare form of cancer in 2019. Marc Jacobs, Pharrell, Ben Baller, Cole Bennett, Kim Jones, and more mourned the death of the massively inspirational artist with reflections on the unique power present throughout his work.
In memory of his friend and frequent collaborator, Kanye West’s latest staging of his ongoing Sunday Service project was dedicated to the “loving memory of Virgil Abloh, the creative director of DONDA.”
Virgil—whose all-in approach to living the art life should prove to be a continued inspiration for future generations—is survived by his wife Shannon, children Lowe and Grey, sister Edwina, and parents Nee and Eunice Abloh.
Rest in power.