Lenny Kravitz honors his late mother Roxie Roker and accepts victory at the MTV VMAs

Lenny Kravitz celebrated his win at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards with a special tribute to his beloved late mother.

Kravitz, 60, won the award for best rock at this year's ceremony for his song “Human” and dedicated the award to his mother, Roxie Roker, who died of cancer in 1995 at the age of 66.

“Wow. This is incredible. I'm so grateful. Thirty-one years ago my mother was with me at an awards show, at the VMAs, so I dedicate this to her,” he said in a pre-show interview on MTV. “I thank God for this journey, this incredible journey. I thank Jesus for life.”

The rocker who wrote in his 2020 memoirs Let love rule that he was “a mama's boy”, Roker accompanied him to the 1993 MTV Video Awards. She was best known for her role as Helen Willis in the classic sitcom The Jeffersons.

Kravitz, who will perform later in the evening, then thanked his manager, his publicist and others, including director Joseph Kahn, who shot the video for “Human.”

Last week, Kravitz recounted sharing that moment with his mother on social media in 1993. “Having my wonderful mother by my side at my first #VMAs 31 years ago is a moment I will always cherish,” Kravitz wrote alongside footage from those VMAs. “I look forward to walking the stage all these years later where she will be in my heart.”

Find PEOPLE’s complete coverage of the MTV VMAs here.

The musician will kick off his Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live at the Park MGM in October, performing five nights of concerts that he told PEOPLE will be a “celebration of life, music, love and rock 'n' roll.”

“We've been touring. We started in Europe this summer, so this show is together,” he said in a pre-show interview on Wednesday. “We're there to amplify the love. We're there to exchange energy with the audience. It's very free. And it's all about the energy and the exchange of love. And all the hits!”

Kravitz released his latest album, Blue electric lightin May, and said at the VMAs that his artistic skills are similar to those of a painter.

“I play what I have to play. I play all the instruments on most of the songs, and Craig Ross plays guitar on some of the songs,” he said. “That's how I've always done it. I feel like I'm painting; I'm a painter. I paint with sound… I've had great role models like Stevie Wonder and Prince, so that's the school I come from.”

The 2024 MTV VMAs will air live from the UBS Arena in New York on September 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.