Fashion icon André Leon Talley died on Tuesday at a hospital in White Plains, N.Y. at the age of 73. While the cause of death has not been revealed, it has been confirmed on his personal Instagram page.

A beautiful black and white image of the influencer staring out into the abyss was accompanied by the following caption:

“It is with great sadness we announce the passing of André Leon Talley on January 18, 2022, in New York. Mr. Talley was the larger-than-life, longtime creative director at Vogue during its rise to dominance as the world’s fashion bible.

Over the past five decades as an international icon was a close confidant of Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, Paloma Picasso, Diane von Furstenberg, Bethann Hardison, Manolo Blahnik and he had a penchant for discovering, nurturing and celebrating young designers.

His byline appeared in Vanity Fair, HG, Interview, Ebony and Women’s Wear Daily and he was the editor of Numero Russia. Mr. Talley wrote several books, including Valentino, A.L.T.: A Memoir, A.L.T. 365+ and Little Black Dress for Assouline, and contributed to Valentino: At the Emperor’s Table and Cartier Panthère. He was the subject of the documentary The Gospel According to André and his recent memoir, The Chiffon Trenches became a New York Times Best Seller.

In 2014, he was named artistic director of Zappos Couture, and he has been on the Board of Trustees of Savannah College of Art and Design since 2000. Mr. Talley was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Republic in 2020 and the North Carolina Governor’s award for literature in 2021. He was a long-standing member of Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church.”

He leaves to mourn of a legacy of Black fashion children, some that he knew and some he did not.

There has been a lot of conversation about the state of New York City Hip Hop over the last 20 years. While there have been mainstream breakout NYC stars like A$AP Rocky, Cardi B, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, and Lil Tjay, the Atlanta scene has still mostly dominated the era.

Veteran New York rapper Jim Jones apparently believes his hometown is recharged for the new decade. Jones joined NYC-based radio personality Ebro Darden on Apple Music 1 to discuss his Gangsta Grillz: We Set The Trends collaborative project with DJ Drama.

The Apple Music interview also included the Dipset member talking about New York Hip Hop. Jim Jones shouted out Fivio Foreign, the Brooklyn Drill rapper that earned a Gold plaque for his “Big Drip” single featuring Atlanta’s Quavo and Lil Baby.

“I feel like we’re coming back wholeheartedly with the Fivios and all the young energy that they’re putting out there,” Jim Jones told Ebro Darden about the state of NYC Hip Hop. “With the Drill music and how the Drill music is starting to move further down south into the west coast. We took something from Chicago and made it our own. Now it’s New York Drill.”

Jones continued, “It’s a sound that we’re known for, it’s just so much going on. So I like the way that the music industry is going in as a whole. The money is better, the stream’s work in our favor. New York, we back on the rise. No disrespecting nobody else, but we been in a black hole for a long time and people have been throwing stones at us. So now to see us rising above that black hole makes me feel very good.”

Jim Jones and DJ Drama’s Gangsta Grillz: We Set The Trends arrived on January 14. The project hosts the “Crunk Muzik” track with Fivio Foreign and Ditta. We Set The Trends also boasts features by Dave East, Fabolous, Maino, Migos, and more.