A$AP Rocky is the lucky recipient of the Virgil Abloh Award.
via: Complex
Taking the stage at the Apollo to accept the award, Rocky was quick to note that he hadn’t prepared a speech. Instead, he wanted his remarks to “come from the heart,” similar to a freestyle.
“For y’all who don’t know, Virgil discovered us, ASAP, as a bunch of kids before I got my record deal or any of that,” Rocky told attendees, per TMZ-shared footage. “We was downtown in SoHo just cooling and we wasn’t old enough to get into this club.”
As Rocky recalled, Abloh—who died in 2021 after a private battle with cancer—recognized Rocky and his crew while they were trying to sneak in.
“Virgil peeped us and unbeknownst to us—and we ain’t know that he knew who he was—he’s like, ‘Wait, y’all are those Harlem kids, the trendy ones,'” Rocky said. “And we was tripping like, ‘Wait. Virgil knows who we are, the fashion world knows about us?'”
A year later, Rocky said, he fully “became ASAP Rocky” and enlisted Abloh for his debut studio album Long. Live. ASAP and its tour.
“It’s crazy because to be a trendsetter it takes a lot of balls, excuse my French,” Rocky added. “You really gotta be brave.”
The award was presented by LVMH CEO Anish Melwani and LVMH North America Chief Human Resource Officer Gena Smith. See more below.
Favorite moments from tonight — HFR 16th Annual Style Awards & Fashion Show ? pic.twitter.com/nxGqC5WV2Y
— Ni Spade (@BigTimeAllStar) September 6, 2023
The Virgil Abloh Award was first handed out as part of last year’s Fashion Show & Style Awards event, with Issa Rae selected as the inaugural honoree. In a press release at the time, the award was described as being intended to celebrate “like-minded individuals who embody Virgil’s spirit, brilliance, and vision, through invaluable contributions to culture, community, and innovation.”
Rocky, meanwhile, recently spoke with Complex’s Jordan Rose about his upcoming album (his first since 2018’s Testing) and much more. Revisit the full conversation here.
