Kid Cudi Spoke to His Friend, Fashion Designer Virgil Abloh, the Day Before He Died: ‘I Think About Him a Lot’
Fashion designer Virgil Abloh had a meaningful friendship with Kid Cudi, and the designer’s death continues to weigh on the rapper‘s mind. Recently, Cudi reflected in an interview on the circumstances that keep his friend in his thoughts. Notably, Cudi spoke to him the day before he died, and the memory of that interaction stays fresh on his mind.
Virgil Abloh left behind a legacy of success
In the late 2000s, Abloh’s impression on the fashion industry became indelible. After an internship at Fendi in Rome — alongside none other than rapper and designer Kanye West — Abloh’s influence grew at a rapid pace.
As he formed both a professional collaboration and personal friendship with West, Abloh was often seen as West’s protégé at a time when West was at his most successful.
His work on West and Jay-Z’s Watch the Throne earned him a Grammy nomination, and he landed such lauded roles as the artistic director of Louis Vuitton and the creative director of West’s creative content company Donda.
The designer amassed an estimated fortune of around $100 million from his work, and he seemed poised for a truly remarkable run as an influential staple in the industry. As a groundbreaking Black designer with high-profile celebrity friendships, his time in the spotlight was bright and purposeful. Unfortunately, his fame was cut short when he died from cancer (a battle he had kept very quiet) in November 2021.
Kid Cudi mourns the death of his friend
Abloh’s death was shocking to fans and many within the industry. His family took to Instagram to share the news and reflect on his legacy: “Virgil was driven by his dedication to his craft and to his mission to open doors for others and create pathways for greater equality in art and design.”
That’s a passion that his friends now feel a responsibility to uphold and reflect upon. Among those friends is rapper Kid Cudi. Speaking to Esquire, Cudi reflected on his friendship with Abloh. In particular, Cudi is comforted to know that he spoke to his friend shortly before his death and told him how he felt about him and his work:
“I’m happy I had contact with him, that it wasn’t months since I’d talked to him, and then this happened. Then maybe I’d be destroyed. Over the months, I found peace with it because I got a chance to tell Virgil how I felt about him, and he knew. It gets hard sometimes. I think about him a lot. I get emotional. But what pushes me through that is knowing.”
Kid Cudi has overcome his own tragedies
Abloh’s death has a personal connection for Cudi as Cudi’s own father died from cancer when Cudi was only 11 years old. By his twenties, Cudi entered what he considers his “Hulk period,” a time of anger and — unfortunately — drugs that took away his control. Facing “depression and suicidal urges,” Cudi checked himself into rehab in 2016.
Following the experience, Cudi has put mental health front and center. As Esquire writer Clover Hope puts it, “In a landscape overflowing with celebrity mental-health advocates, Cudi has become an ambassador in the most intuitive way: through his music.”
It was that protection of his mental health that led him to make a very public break from Kanye West, who had posted negative comments about Cudi after Cudi posed for a picture with Pete Davidson (who was, at the time, dating West’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian). “I’m at a place in my life where I have zero tolerance for the wrong energies.”
How to get help: In the U.S. and Canada, text the Crisis Text Line at 741741 to reach a crisis counselor for support.
