The Recording Academy is being criticized for calling Virgil Abloh a “hip-hop fashion designer” during Sunday’s “In Memoriam” segment at the Grammy Awards.
In November last year, Abloh, who founded Off-White and served as creative director for Louis Vuitton‘s menswear line, died after a private battle with cancer. Though he was very prominent in hip-hop, people took issue with being called just a “hip-hop fashion designer.”
In addition to his extensive list of achievements, many people pointed out that he worked for a wide range of luxury fashion brands and mainstream brands like Nike and IKEA.
Before entering the fashion industry, Abloh earned a Master of Architecture degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Furthermore, he was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package for his work on Jay-Z and Ye’s Watch the Throne, which was not mentioned during the ceremony.
Several people claimed the label was given to him simply because he was Black.
