After nearly a decade of collaborating together, Kanye West has shot Adidas for “blatant copying” of Yeezy slides.
Adidas first revealed its new Adilette chips earlier this month, which will retail for $55, and the 45-year-old rapper wasn’t thrilled about that.
West took to Instagram on Monday afternoon, blasting the shoe company and CEO Casper Rorstad for the slides he called “fake Yeezys.”
Shots fired: After nearly a decade of collaboration together, Kanye West has fired a shot at Adidas for ‘blatant copying’ of Yeezy slides
Fake Yeezys: West took to Instagram on Monday afternoon, slamming shoe company and CEO Kasper Rorstad over the slides, which he dubbed “fake Yeezys.”
Real Yeezys: The real Yeezys chips Kanye West sold through his deal with Adidas
This is driving down the same street as Kobe. Maybe I’m feeling the Mamba’s spirit right now, ‘West kicked off’, perhaps hinting that his deal with Adidas is about to expire.
NBA legend Kobe Bryant signed a six-year contract with Adidas just before he enlisted in high school in 1996, but Bryant bought himself out of his contract with Adidas in 2002.
After waiting an entire year as part of his no-participation clause, he signed a new contract with Nike in 2003, where he would remain for the rest of his career.
Hint: ‘This is driving down the same street that Kobe passed. Maybe I’m feeling the Mamba’s spirit now, ‘West is starting,’ perhaps hinting that his deal with Adidas is about to expire.
West fired a direct shot at Rorstad, saying, “As for Kasper, I no longer stand for such blatant copying.”
He continued, “For every sneaker culture to every ballplayer rapper or even if you work in the store, this is for everyone who wants to express themselves but feels they can’t cause them to lose their contract or call them crazy.”
Courage is not afraid. Courage is overcoming your fear for who you really are. This Yi with blue paint on my face, he added.
Kasper: West fired a direct shot at Rorstad (above), saying, “As for Kasper, I don’t stand with that stark copy”
These shoes represent people in power’s disrespect for talent. This shoe is a fake Yeezy shoe made by adidas themselves, I’m not talking to DC about it, either Kasper comes over and talk to me. Happy Monday, West concluded.
The West and Adidas apparel and footwear deal was first announced in December 2013, with the first collection launching in February 2015.
That line included his first shoes called Yeezy Boosts, which were limited to just 9,000 pairs in New York City… which sold out within 10 minutes.
Disrespect: ‘These shoes represent people in power’s disrespect for talent. This shoe is a fake Yeezy shoe made by adidas themselves, I’m not talking to DC about it, either Kasper comes over and talk to me. Happy Monday, wrap up West
The deal: The West and Adidas apparel and footwear deal was first announced in December 2013, with the first collection launching in February 2015
It is unclear whether Adidas or Rorstad plan to publicly respond to West’s post, although they have stuck to his side in the past.
Back in 2018, when West made controversial comments about slavery being a ‘choice’, Rorstad defended West.
Kanye has been and continues to be a very important part of our strategy and he’s been a great builder, and that’s where I’m going to leave him. Rorstad said in Bloomberg Interview in May 2018.
No response: It’s unclear if Adidas or Rorstad plan to respond publicly to West’s post, although they’ve stuck with him in the past
Defend it: Back in 2018, when West made controversial comments about slavery being a ‘choice’, Rorstad defended the West
