S. Samuel
Rap mogul Nas has partnered with popular clothing line Gap for the holiday shopping season, uniting with his "Bridging the Gap" father Olu Dara.
Nas showed off the promotional advertisement to his 886,000-plus Twitter followers this week.
“Me & Pops for The Gap. #LifeisGood http://instagr.am/p/RvcoesJEmD/,” he tweeted November 7th. (Nas’ Twitter)
Despite numerous collaborations, this is reportedly the duo’s first time in a print ad together.
This is the first time the two have been featured in a print ad but have collaborated on wax several times. Dara played the background cornet on Nas’ “Life’s A B*tch” and “Dance”, but by far their most famous track is ‘”Bridging The Gap”. (The Grio)
Additional celebrities involved with the campaign include actor Michael J. Fox and Jack Huston.
This is a clear example of what Steve Stoute calls ‘Tanning’. Having an African-American father-son duo as part of Gap’s campaign is sending a very positive message for the African-American community. In his ‘Behind The Music’ special onVH1, Nas admitted that there was a time when his father was not part of his life but he made up for it after his mother passed. Since then, they have collaborated on music and repaired their relationship. Other stars appearing in Gap’s campaign include Michael J. Fox, Jack Huston, Rufus Wainwright, and Francis Ford Coppola. (Examiner)
Back in September, Nas spoke on the importance of fashion and style in today’s society.
“To me, that’s inspirational. That’s bringing things full circle and is the kind of independent triumph that will allow artists to create freely and reap the full benefit of their craft. It is this same type of innovation that has defined and revolutionized the landscape of Silicon Valley, especially within the confines of e-commerce. I truly believe we are at an incredible inflection point in the consumer retail experience: Just how Amazon and eBay opened the railways to a new universe of available products, and Groupon allowed for the discovery of local activities to become accessible and affordable, new resources are changing the entire game once again. We now live in a world where, instead of subscribing to a GQ or Vogue to read about what’s new, everyday people can substitute this reading for experiencing, and have goods delivered to them based on their likes and personality. It’s style-made-easy, and will change the way we shop forever. Companies like Five Four Club and Trunk Club are taking the difficulty out of discovery by making personal styling a painless and fun exercise in exploration, expertise, and a bit of surprise. [sic]” (Tech Crunch)
Check out some recent Nas footage:
