Kendrick Lamar is known as one of the best, and often most controversial, rappers of our generation.
After forcing truth to America during his “Black Lives Matter” inspired performance at the 2016 Grammy Awards, it’s undeniably evident through his art that Lamar wants justice and equality in the US. Lamar has taken his passions to a new level through style, using fashion to mend the gap between major gangs. His latest collaboration with Reebok reinvents Reebok’s Classic Leather shoe and he finds a clever way to deliver his message through the sneakers.
Kendrick Lamar teamed up with designer Ian Paley to reinvent Reebok’s Classic Leather Shoe and attempt to unite the gang masses in the country. The shoe is designed with a split seam that runs from the toe to the heel and separates a blue half of the sneaker from a red half. According to Contact Music, the seam in the middle is meant to signify the “unity and neutrality between warring gangs as well as referencing the crossroads and hurdles the Hip Hop star has experienced throughout his life.”
Lamar wanted to make a shoe that embodies his own beliefs and create something that wasn’t only about the aesthetic of the shoe. Damion Presson, Director of Entertainment Marketing at Reebok Classics says, “Kendrick represents an authentic voice within today’s pop culture… He is taking a different approach with his capsule, as he’s building a purposeful product that has a message of unity which transcends the Bloods and the Crips…. This shoe reflects the sentiment of youth culture globally.”
The Compton rapper started the collection with Reebok last year and this is the third sneaker in his capsule collection.
