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Rihanna Times Artists With Their Own Sneakers Sneaker Collaboration
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Sneaker culture owes much of its existence to Hip Hop. Run-DMC helped make Adidas as iconic as it is today, and Nelly gave Nike’s Air Force 1s its own anthem. Quite frankly, it’s tough to picture what people would be wearing today if rappers hadn’t made such a mark on the shoe game.
Their influence also shows up in music, like Drake’s “checks over stripes” bar on “SICKO MODE” or Kanye West declaring, “Yeezy just jumped over Jumpman” on “Facts (Charlie Heat Version).” Singers, including Teyana Taylor, Rihanna and Beyoncé, also get in on the fun.
“My relationship [with Nike] started when I was a kid, even if they didn’t know it at the time,” Travis Scott, arguably one of the genre’s biggest sneakerheads, told Complex.
With West’s Yeezy Adidas partnership in the rearview and artists like Scott and Rihanna constantly solidifying their place in the sneakerhead community, Rap-Up looked back at some of the most iconic footwear collabs in Hip Hop and R&B. Check them out below!
1. Kanye West
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Ye’s Nike collaboration virtually redefined sneaker culture. Launched in 2009, Air Yeezy introduced details like a midfoot strap and a glow-in-the-dark sole, and its second-generation design arrived only a few years later. Sadly, the Air Yeezy II only came in three colorways: “Red October” — which goes for upwards of $10,000 on reseller platforms like GOAT and StockX — “Pure Platinum” and “Solar Red.”
After parting ways with the footwear company over royalty disputes, West brought his Yeezy line to Adidas. In addition to clothes, the German label helped rollout some of the greatest sneakers of today’s generation: Boost 750s, Boost 350s, Yeezy Slides and Foam Runners, to name a few.
2. Tyler The Creator
Tyler, The Creator’s partnership with Converse kicked off with their 2017 update on the One Star via GOLF le FLEUR*. From there, they debuted several colorways — some monotone, others with color-blocking elements and different materials like fuzz — throughout the next few years. The footwear brand also helped him launch two new silhouettes: the Gianno and the Darryl Chuck 70, the latter being a rework of the brand‘s classic Chuck Taylors with an Airedale terrier motif on the heel.
3. Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj’s debut into the sneaker world culminated in a partnership with LØCI, of which she’s also a co-owner. Launched in April, the Trinidadian rapper’s collection introduced 11 pairs across five silhouettes: the FUSION, APEX, ATOM HI, NEO and ATOM. It featured an array of colorways, predominantly utilizing a rich palette of pink shades to echo the release of Pink Friday 2 as well as the musician’s Barbie persona.
4. Travis Scott
Adding to the list of celebrity hype is Scott’s collaborations with Nike and the Jordan Brand. After releasing a DIY-like Air Force 1 with the first-mentioned label, he joined forces with the latter to debut the Air Jordan 4 Retro Cactus Jack in 2018. The shoe featured a dusty blue suede upper with red accents, which became a hallmark in subsequent launches. Since then, the ASTROWORLD creator has partnered with the footwear giants on a number of silhouettes: SB Dunk Lows, Jordan 1s, Air Max 1s and the Air Max 270 React ENG.
5. Drake
Drake and Air Jordan have teamed up on a number of occasions, including the White OVO 12s, Drake/Raptors 4s, and Black OVO 10s, to mention a few. The Toronto star turned the heat up a notch with NOCTA, his sub-label in partnership with Nike. The Hot Step Air Terra launched with a sleek, aerodynamic design and various monochromatic colorways.
6. Pharrell
Having already seen success with Billionaire Boys Club, Pharrell Williams’ partnership with Adidas arguably produced one of the most distinguished and enduring collaborations in sneaker culture. Although they may have kicked off with the Polka Dot Pack, which included renditions of the Adidas Stan Smith, the subsequent release of the NMD Human Race (Hu) is what truly captured global attention. The pair put out over 200 models, several of which were tied to his own N.E.R.D. band and Billionaire Boys Club.
7. Cardi B
Though she’s mostly moved on to high fashion nowadays, Cardi B’s early career was heavily focused on making a statement in a sportier way. Two years after becoming an ambassador for Reebok, in 2020, the “Bodak Yellow” hitmaker launched the Club C Cardi, a chunkier take on the footwear label’s silhouette with an elongated tongue. The debut colorways — white, red and black — featured a semi-translucent rubber midsole and “Cardi B” written on the inside of the shoe.
“Taking cues from her recent iconic fashion moments, Cardi was inspired by bold, transparent design, taking the simplicity of the infamous Club C silhouette to the next level,” the brand wrote at the time.
8. J. Cole
In 2020, J. Cole debuted the RS-Dreamer through his partnership with PUMA. The sneakers were designed specifically for performance and basketball, featuring a sleek build that supported both on-court play and casual wear. It included a mesh upper atop RS foam, with options ranging from multicolored to monochromatic colorways.
Following its success, and an exciting Super Mario 64 collab, the North Carolina-based artist and PUMA released the Dreamer 2 in 2021. The move more or less aligned with J. Cole’s brief stint with the Rwanda Patriots Basketball Club for the Basketball Africa League. It’s also worth mentioning he parted ways with the footwear label to establish his own line. During his “Might Delete Later, Vol. 2” video, the artist debuted a prototype of the Dreamer Indie 5000s.
9. Teyana Taylor
Teyana Taylor and Jordan Brand launched the “A Rose From Harlem” edition of the Air Jordan 1 Zoom CMFT 2 in June 2023. The sneaker featured a gym red, black, white and earth brown color scheme, with a rose-themed Swoosh and special lettering on the tongues. Both the design and name were a nod to the singer’s 2018 hit “Rose In Harlem.”
Although it was her first effort with this particular famed brand, Taylor is no stranger to footwear collaborations. In 2017, she and Reebok remixed the Freestyle Hi for its 25th anniversary by introducing two colorways: teal and candy pink.
10. Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar’s foray into footwear began with Reebok in 2015. Most notably, the pair updated the Ventilator sneaker with split colorways of blue and red to symbolize unity between the Bloods and Crips. It also incorporated subtle details like the words “Blue” and “Red” stitched over each heel, reinforcing the shoe’s underlying message of reconciliation.
“I saw what [Reebok] was doing, and I wanted to be a part of it and make it even stronger. It’s as simple as that. Kids that listen to my music are looking for inspiration. It’s important that I continue that message in anything I represent,” the lyricist said of the partnership.
Expanding his footprint in sneaker culture, Lamar subsequently partnered with Nike to rework the iconic Cortez silhouette. The Kenny IV was released in October 2018 with comfort and ease in mind. It boasted a laceless structure, plush padding, and a basic color palette that emphasized wearability and simplicity.
11. Doja Cat
In September 2023, Doja Cat and Skechers united for a unique take on the brand’s D’Lites silhouette. As the inaugural artist-in-residence, she revamped the shoes using premium leathers, subtle patent leather accents and mesh elements. In addition to the monochromatic color schemes, which ranged from classic black to lavender, each pair included a Skechers x Doja Cat logo on the insole.
“It feels really cool to be able to create my own shoe,” the California rapper shared via a press release. “To design something inspired by the iconic sneaker my peers wore back in the day — Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera — I feel like I am a part of history.”
12. Rihanna
Rihanna’s collaborations with PUMA are nothing short of iconic. In 2015, the collaboration introduced the Creeper, which reimagined the classic PUMA Suede with a punk rock twist and elevated platform sole. The updated silhouette won Shoe of the Year at the 30th Footwear News Achievement Awards, and at one point, it was virtually impossible not to see female sneakerheads wearing it.
Although the multi-hyphenate stepped away for a few years to focus on motherhood and her Fenty empire, she returned to the shoe game in 2023 with the Creeper Phatty. According to her, it’s similar to the OG but “bigger and badder.” That same year welcomed the Avanti, which boasted a sleeker design and fold-over tongue branded with the FENTY x PUMA logo.