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by Abe Schwadron / @abe_squad
Yesterday some new photos surfaced of the Reebok Kamikaze, courtesy of CounterKicks and Kicks On Fire. You’ll remember the Kamikaze as part of the Swizz Beatz-inspired collection Reebok is releasing in hopes of recapturing legitimacy in the sneaker community, beyond John Wall’s on-court kicks.
The two colorways featured above are Black/Team Dark Royal/Steel and Silver/Excellent Red, to go along with the “Feather Blue” colorway that hit sneaker blogs a while back. The shoes are a departure from Reebok’s conservative approach in recent years, and are clearly, based on association with a rap mogul, an attempt to re-energize its presence in the street shoe market.
In a recent interview with High Snobiety, Swizzy discussed—among other things—the Kamikaze, and his involvement in the design:
H: The Kamikaze is the one product that best shows your involvement until now. A well designed shoe and a surprise coming from Reebok. How did you work with Reebok on that shoe?
S: I was looking for something that was innovative for the launch of our partnership. Everything is about setting a tone. Me going from Aston Martin to Lotus is the same. People might not understand at first, but these moves give me more space to be creative and to come out with something that the other companies would not allow me. Its more challenging, more fun and it shows my worth. What I come out with Reebok and Lotus is ground-breaking and if its not, than I am not interested, because than its just like another endorsement deal.
Mr. Beatz also spoke with Sneaker Freaker Magazine about his involvement with Reebok, and what we can expect from the brand going forward.
With Swizz designing casual kicks and a budding superstar on the basketball side, there is a path, at least, for the company to succeed in its proclamation that “Reebok Back.” Boss!
