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Behind the design, Kendrick Lamar's Nike Cortez Basic Slip

With the announcement, that Kendrick Lamar will be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his record “DAMN,” the reaction of the publishing-world was similar to when Bob Dylan received the Nobel Prize in Literature, overdue but unexpected. The renowned writer is the first hip hop artist to win the prize, and with a collection of giant trophies as well as being one of Raps most accomplished figures, the Compton-born lyricist makes no secret of his childhood, in every rhyme he writes he represents his roots.

Image by Paola Kudacki via GQ

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With LA in his DNA, it is not farfetched that Kendrick has been influenced by West Coast style, and in particular the L.A. uniform: khakis, white tees and flannel shirts paired with a pair of Nike Cortez (or Chuck Taylors). Born 1987, K-Dot grew up during a time when Snoop Dogg and the whole NWA cultivated an outfit that is as relevant nowadays as it was back then. It’s his birthright to wear-, desire and now design the Nike Cortez, to say it in his own words from his infamous “Control” verse: “And I ain't rockin no more designer shit, White T's and Nike Cortez, this is red Corvettes anonymous”

First released in 1968 under the name TG-24 Mexico by Onitsuka, a brand Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight worked for as distributor, designers and sort of consultants, the Nike Cortez debuted in 1972 at the National Sporting Goods trade show and later during the Munich Olympics with the Nike Swoosh, after the partnership between Onitsuka & Blue Ribbon Sports ended. The Nike Cortez was dubbed the “most comfortable shoes ever” and is named after Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conqueror.

“They just classic — something I’ve been wearing since day one”

When Kendrick signed with Nike in 2017, the story became full-circle. Besides being the oldest Nike running shoe, the Nike Cortez has an alternate life, repping a life on the streets of Los Angeles, and who better to make the face of the new Cortez wave then Kendrick Lamar? During a “Nice Kicks” interview he once said *"The Nike Cortez. I don’t know how it is around the world, but in LA I was influenced by the ’80s. My uncles wore Cortez – the type of gangster, OG vibe. They’re the originals, you can’t ever go wrong with them.” *

Kendrick's take on the classic silhouette (similiar to the first Nike Cortez' he designed) has always been his past, and approaching it the same way he approaches writing his music. With his latest Cortez, Kung Fu Kenny takes it to the next level, a slip-on design, inspired from house shoes and slippers, like him, his friends and community like to wear them. The lining boasts a “Preferably Wear With Shorts And Tall Socks” slogan, just to give you an impression of how to wear them.

“I just like all my laces to be short like that”

Don't worry Kenny, with this one you don’t even have to worry about long laces.

Following images via Nike

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