Elijah Patrick Williams, an 11-year-old cancer patient, FaceTimed three of his favorite artists — Drake, The Weeknd and J. Cole — before he died last week.
His cousin Michael Watson II confirmed the news Sunday via Instagram, where he posted a video of Elijah’s face-to-face conversations with the three R&B/hip-hop hitmakers. “Over the past 3 years, my 11 y.o. cousin, Elijah, has battled cancer with the utmost resilience,” Watson wrote. “Elijah’s physical fight is now complete, as he transitioned to heaven on Friday. He didn’t leave this world without knowing how much he was loved though. Last weekend, Elijah got to ‘meet’ 3 of his favorite artists — The Weeknd, J. Cole, & Drake. Incredibly grateful for these 3 super-humans being so caring for my family during this time. We’ll hold onto these moments forever.”
Biz 3 Publicity owner Kathyrn Frazier and Krystal Miles, executive assistant director of Anderson .Paak’s .Paak House, organized the virtual meet-and-greets. Elijah’s mother Kiara Swope praised the artists, as well as NASCAR driver Joey Logano, for “showing my baby some love these last difficult days of his life,” according to her own tear-jerking social media tribute.
In both of his family’s posts, Elijah’s eyes shoot open the moment he realizes J. Cole is on the line and exclaims, “Whoa!” when he gets in touch with The Weeknd. Although there’s no video recording of his conversation with the “God’s Plan” rapper, Swope included photos of her late son holding the phone to talk to him.
See the emotional posts dedicated to Elijah below.
