Kendrick Lamar’s new Reebok sneakers try to unite gangs

Kendrick Lamar Gets Deep In The Video For “Alright”.

Set to retail for approximately $140, the shoes feature Kendrick Lamar’s signature and the TDE logo on the tongue and insole of each shoe.

The nod to rival gangs the Bloods and Crips – as well as Lamar’s perspective on the ongoing gang battles – couldn’t be clearer.

Lamar’s Reebok collaboration, the Ventilators, are an extension of this idea.

The ascendant rapper’s lyrics are shot through with references to his beloved Compton hometown and the violence that often fragments its streets. He explicitly mentions both groups in “Hood Politics”, off To Pimp a Butterfly: “Ain’t nothin’ new, but a flu of new Demo-Crips and Re-Blood-licans / Red state versus a blue state, which one you governin’?” Exuding minimalism at its finest with a neutral tone, notable contrasting hits of Blue and Red are applied on the sockliners, tongue tab and heels, which feature the words Blue and Red respectively.

Another look at the Reebok x Kendrick Lamar Ventilator. I saw what the brand was doing, and I wanted to be a part of it and make it even stronger.

Watch Lamar’s Reebok commercial below.

This is not the first time Lamar has advocated this type of message.

Check out some more pics of the pretty great looking sneaker below.