Many fans remember A$AP Rocky’s unforgettable performance with Rihanna at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, but not everyone knows that, according to the Don’t Be Dumb artist himself, he “grabbed her ass for Harlem.”
The two stars, who are now a couple and share three children together, performed “Cockiness (Love It)” at the ceremony, with Rocky making a bold move during the performance that has remained a topic of conversation among fans ever since. Rihanna also looked back on the viral moment in 2024.
Rocky has now revisited the unforgettable moment during a wide-ranging interview with Jason Lee, explaining that the performance felt like a major moment for Harlem — comparable to the excitement of a Knicks victory.
“I was like, damn, this bitch, she remind me of like a Harlem bitch or something like that, right?” Rocky said in the interview. “She was just fly. And that night, we did the MTV shit and I ain’t gon’ hold you. I don’t know, like, I did that for Harlem.”
Lee then stepped in to confirm if Rocky was saying that he “grabbed her ass for Harlem,” and the rapper quickly agreed.
“I grabbed her ass for Harlem,” Rocky stated. “You would have thought the Knicks won.”
Rocky went on to explain that the moment became a source of pride for people in Harlem, describing it as a victory that represented the entire community.
“I did that for Harlem,” he said. “You gotta realize, people was banging on they walls and tables like, ‘Yeah, let’s go!’ [and] clapping like the Knicks won. I did that for Harlem. I had to. You know what time it is.”
While RiRi has made appearances in several of Rocky’s music videos, including his self-directed “D.M.B.” in 2022 and the Virgil Abloh-directed “Fashion Killa” in 2013, “Cockiness (Love It)” remains the only official musical collaboration between the couple.
