Drake kicked off his It’s All a Blur Tour alongside 21 Savage by paying tribute to Virgil Abloh in a big way.
The Toronto native began his first trek in five years at the United Center in Chicago on Wednesday night (July 5), which came in support of his and 21’s joint album Her Loss.
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During the show, Drizzy introduced a giant statue of Abloh on stage, which was a fitting move as Illinois was the late fashion designer’s home state.
“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.”
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He added: “Our brother, our family, he goes by the name of Virgil Abloh. Let’s pay some respect.”
Drake also shared a photo of the statue on his Instagram Stories and wrote: “Our brother is watching.”
The statue was a recreation of an iconic photo of Virgil Abloh throwing a kite down the runway at a Louis Vuitton show during Paris Fashion Week in 2018.
Drake also has a tattoo of the image on his forearm and previously dedicated his 2022 solo album Honestly, Nevermind to the Off-White founder.
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Virgil Abloh died aged 41 on November 28, 2021 after battling cancer for over two years while serving as Men’s Creative Director at Louis Vuitton.
“My plan is to touch the sky 1000 more times for you,” Drake wrote in tribute following his death. “Love you eternally brother thank you for everything.”
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Elsewhere during his tour opener, Drake performed a career-spanning set that included early hits like “Over” and “Headlines,” as well as more recent favorites such as “Way 2 Sexy” and “Sticky.”
21 Savage later took the reigns for a 12-track set of his own, before the pair joined forces for a five-song finale featuring some of their biggest collaborations.
Drake opened the show by walking through the crowd to the stage and performing “Look What You’ve Done” on a couch next to a hologram of his younger self.
At one point, he dropped another hint about his forthcoming album, For All the Dogs, which he announced last month to coincide with his new poetry book Titles Ruin Everything.
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“I look around at all these faces. I know it’s summertime, I gotta give you shit!” he said to a roar from the crowd. “I don’t know about these guys that go away for three, four, five years and wanna chill out and all that shit. That’s not me.
“With that being said, I got an album coming out soon for y’all. It’s called For All the Dogs. I always hear people talking about, ‘Damn, we miss that old Drake.'”
He continued: “I understand what you mean. You need more music so that you can, you know, feel good about your new lover, shit on your exes, get fly, get drunk, show love to your family, show love to your friends.”
Drake and 21 Savage’s It’s All a Blur Tour is set to continue on Thursday night (July 6) with another show at Chicago’s United Center.
The massive North American run will see them hit up Detroit, Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Toronto and many other cities until early October.
Check out the full setlist for Wednesday’s show below:
Drake:
Look What You’ve Done
Marvins Room
Say Something
Shot For Me
Can I
Feel No Ways
Jaded
Jungle
Over
Headlines
The Motto
HYFR (Hell Ya Fucking Right)
Started From the Bottom
Energy
Know Yourself
Nonstop
SICKO MODE
Way 2 Sexy
BackOutsideBoyz
Jumbotron Shit Poppin
Laugh Now Cry Later
God’s Plan
Childs Play
Wait For U
In My Feelings
Nice For What
Controlla
Too Good
Find Your Love
Fountains
Work
One Dance
Calling My Name
Massive
Sticky
Search & Rescue
21 Savage:
Red Opps
Don’t Come Out the House
10 Freaky Girls
Who Want Smoke??
Peaches & Eggplants
Rockstar
A Lot
No Heart
X
Runnin
Mr. Right Now
Bank Account
Drake & 21 Savage:
Knife Talk
On BS
Spin Bout U
Jimmy Cooks
Rich Flex
Drake (Encore):
Legend
