Source: iOne / Getty
Name: La Mar C. Taylor
Occupation: Creative Director
How You Know Him: Crafting all things image for The Weeknd and XO records.
Why We Chose Him: Taylor’s vision has made a huge imprint in pop music.
What’s Next: Creating new flock of hits with the brands.
Location: Toronto
IG: @lamarctaylor
The Weeknd burst onto the music scene in 2011 with a few singles that will change the course of R&B. But music aside, the vision was always there. The aesthetic of the album covers, the social media presence, the set design– none of that is possible without a top notch creative director. Enter La Mar Taylor, the creative force behind The Weeknd, born Abel Tesfaye. The two met as freshman in high school but had dropped by the time they were 18 in an effort to put all their attention to making it in the industry.
“If we really wanted to live our dreams, we felt like we had to live the lifestyle non-stop,” Taylor told Complex in 2017. But it wasn’t easy at first for the XO crew.
“We were all living off welfare checks at the time,” Taylor added. “That experience really shaped us, inspired us, and gave us everything we needed to start working on our first project, which wound up becoming [The Weeknd’s 2011 debut mixtape] House of Balloons.”
But the crew’s music began to take off, the melancholic, masochistic music vibed with the streets of Toronto and spread to 20-somethings around the world. Now, as The Weeknd’s career grows, as has the XO’s influence. Taylor has spearheaded a Toronto based “think center” dubbed HXOuse that provides influence, mentorship, and opportunity for people want to take their creative talents and make it a career. With past educators at the center like Metro Boomin, Swizz Beatz and Halsey, some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry and dropping game.
