Their adidas

[sg-gallery]

by Matt Caputo

Few individuals are as closely associated with a specific pair of kicks as hip-hop trio Run-DMC is tied to the adidas Superstar. “My Adidas,” a single from the group’s triple-platinum 1986 album Raising Hell, redefined what it meant to don a pair of adidas. The song’s success earned Run-DMC a lifetime partnership with the brand and cemented shell tops in fashion and pop culture forever.

“We had no intention of having a relationship with adidas, we just loved our adidas,” Darryl “DMC” McDaniels says. “Somebody at adidas heard about it and came to our show at Madison Square Garden, and Run said, ‘D, take it off.’ I took it off and held it up and 20,000 people held theirs up.”

Released in ’69, the Superstar was being worn without laces and with tongues lifted by Run-DMC in the ’80s, inspiring droves of hip-hop heads to do the same. Through the years, the Superstar has been popular with celebrities, but it still appeals to the every man. Today, DMC is most proud of how the song has empowered those who wear the Superstar. “Adidas put our community on the map and they changed people’s lives,” DMC says. “Something good happens when you have your own pair.”

In honor of the 25th anniversary of “My Adidas,” adidas Originals has cooked a limited edition Superstar. To honor the year of the song’s release, only 1,986 pairs—with design features like a gold rope-chain lace lock—are being made.

“Other people’s brand of sneakers are just sneakers, but adidas is a statement,” DMC says. “It’s a statement about lifestyle, and it’s a good thing.”

Click through the gallery above to see images—courtesy of adidas—of the kicks, which are in select stores today.