One of hip-hop’s leading figures is bringing his talents to Nike. Top Dawg Entertainment superstar, Kendrick Lamar, has reportedly signed a partnership deal with the massive athletic brand for an unknown but likely impressive sum. The Grammy Award winning rapper turned to social media to tease the upcoming collaboration, posting a photo that shows him wearing the Nike Cortez. Kendrick, who recently released the critically acclaimed album, DAMN., this past April, seems to have cut his ties with Reebok.
The aforementioned company famously signed Lamar to a sponsorship deal back in 2014, and since then, have released a number of highly coveted pieces including the Ventilator, Deconstructed Classic, and Leather Lux. Reebok’s most recent capsule with the Compton artist was in January of this year, when the two launched an acid-washed take on the Club C. There has yet to be any official word about a cease in partnership, but the blatant Nike advertising on Lamar’s Twitter timeline more than confirms this notion.
On Saturday afternoon, Kung Fu Kenny claimed that he was “Team Nike” and that he has been a “day one” fan of the Nike Cortez. Once a popular silhouette in the streets of Los Angeles, the Cortez has been quickly gaining traction in mainstream streetwear thanks to the likes of YG and Kamaiyah. As for an official Kendrick-approved release: we’ll just have to wait and see. But judging from the emcee’s tour merch numbers, expect the forthcoming Nike sneakers to be a smash hit.
Cortez. Since day one. #teamnike #TDE @nike @nikelosangeles pic.twitter.com/HEfReKy6zd
— Kendrick Lamar (@kendricklamar) August 26, 2017
