Abloh was one of the first to recognize Rocky and his crew's style, and the award is a testament to his impact on the rapper and the fashion industry.
ASAP Rocky was honored with the Virgil Abloh Award at Harlem's Fashion Row's annual Fashion Show & Style Awards on Tuesday.
Taking the stage at the Apollo to accept the award, Rocky made it clear 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 passed away in 2021 after a private battle with cancer - recognized Rocky and his crew as 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.
