Kendrick Lamar x Reebok “Ventilator” sneakers with mismatched red and blue insoles. Kendrick Lamar wearing his own Kendrick Lamar x Reebok “Ventilator” sneakers at the world premiere of Universal Pictures’ “Straight Outta Compton” held at The Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, on August 10, 2015.ĭetails of the “BLUE” and “RED” texts on the back of the Kendrick Lamar x Reebok ‘Ventilator’ sneakers. The underlying message? Desired unity between two of LA’s biggest rival gangs, the Bloods and Crips.Other mismatched red-and-blue details include the shoelace stripes, the insoles, and Kendrick’s signature and his record label, Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), stitched onto the tongue tags. These cream sneakers feature the words “red” and “blue” contrasted with the word “neutral” on the tags on the insides of the tongues. Kendrick kicked off his Reebok “Red and Blue” Capsule Collection with the release of the Kendrick Lamar x Reebok “Ventilator” in July 2015. Kendrick Lamar promoting the Reebok Classic “Club C 85 Tonal Gum” sneakers in the Spring/Summer 2017 campaign shot by music video director Nabil Elderkin. Here, we take a look at all of Kendrick’s sneaker collaborations, and how his designs are not only fashion statements but are also symbols of ending gang violence.
The Compton rapper has collaborated with brands like Reebok and Nike, which have given him a wider audience and an even farther-reaching influence.
With sneakerheads giving us heel-holics a run for the title of Most Shoe Obsessed, we’re sitting up and taking notice of what our fellow shoe-loving group is into right now. In a culture driven by hip-hop artists, 12-time Grammy winner Kendrick Lamar seems to be at the steering wheel.