S. Samuel
New York rapper Fred the Godson recently reacted to the pulled Adidas Jeremy Scott shackled sneakers and admitted, minus the slavery implications, the kicks are hot.
Fred said he could only hope Adidas and fashion designer Jeremy Scott did not have an ulterior motive behind the sneakers.
“I ain’t gonna lie man, those joints are hot,” Fred said in an interview. “But I can understand what they’re saying but I’m hoping that they ain’t do that on purpose. I’m not thinking that nobody would do that on purpose. I’m trying to give people the benefit of the doubt. So I’m just gonna judge the sneaker. I like the sneaker, but, I mean, it does look like it though. [laughs] … You know us black people don’t play, man. We look for anything — they made these sneakers, so these sneakers are somewhere. I ain’t gonna put ’em on. [laughs] N*ggas probably get jumped. [Would I wear them?] I would wear them because I don’t believe they really did that to disrespect us. It’s just that some people get the wrong idea.” (Sneaker Watch)
Last month, Jeremy Scott defended his kicks amid the controversy.
“MY WORK HAS ALWAYS BEEN INSPIRED BY CARTOONS, TOYS & MY CHILDHOOD…,” he tweeted June 19th as a caption to a stuffed animal monster who appears to have similar shackles as the shelved Roundhouse Mids sneakers. (Jeremy Scott’s Twitter)
Less than a week after they were previewed, Adidas ceased the sneakers’ production.
German sports apparel maker Adidas has withdrawn its plans to sell a controversial sneaker featuring affixed rubber shackles after the company generated significant criticism when advertising the shoe on its Facebook page. The high-top sneakers, dubbed the JS Roundhouse Mids, were expected to be released in August, according to the Adidas Originals Facebook page. “Got a sneaker game so hot you lock your kicks to your ankles?” a caption below a photo of the sneakers read. The June 14 post prompted plenty of criticism from around the Web, with many of those commenting saying they felt the shackle invoked the painful image of slavery. (CNN)
New York rap veteran Talib Kweli publicly went after Adidas over the kicks last month.
“WTF @adidas sneakers with SHACKLES? Which morons approved these? Do better. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2160977/Adidas-unveiling-new-trainer-orange-shackles-like-worn-black-slaves.html,” he tweeted June 18th.
“@NickNoir @adidas the sneakers are historically ignorant. Are their more offensive things in the world? Certainly”
“@NickNoir @adidas aggressively markets to urban. They should know better & be more sensitive. So should the artist. Wack.” (Talib Kweli’s Twitter)
Check out Fred the Godson’s interview below:
