Kanye West took a jibe at Adidas for 'blatant copying' of his Yeezy slides after nearly a decade of collaboration.
According to Billboard, Adidas originally showed their new Adilette slides, which will retail for USD 55, earlier this month, and the 45-year-old rapper isn't pleased.
On Monday afternoon, West turned to his Instagram handle and shared a post to criticise the shoe manufacturer and its CEO, Kasper Rorsted, for the 'fake Yeezys.'
He captioned the post and wrote, "THIS IS YE driving down the same street Kobe passed on Maybe I feel that Mamba spirit right now."
West fired a direct shot at Rorsted, stating, "To Kasper, I'm not standing for this blatant copying no more."
He continued, "To all sneaker culture To every ball player rapper or even if you work at the store This is for everyone who wants to express themselves but feels they can't cause they'll lose their contract or be called crazy".
"Bravery is not being afraid Bravery is overcoming your fear for your truth This Ye with the blue paint on my face These shoes represent the disrespect that people in power have to the talent This shoe is a fake Yeezy made by Adidas themselves I'm not talking to DC about this either Kasper come to talk to me Happy Monday," he added.
The apparel and shoe collaboration between West and Adidas was officially announced in December 2013, with the first collection arriving in February 2015, as reported by Billboard.
The Yeezy Slide was released in 2019, and thanks to the Eva Foam rubber, the lightweight slip-on style footwear exploded in popularity due to its simple, non-sweaty wear, especially in the summer. In 2020, sales for Yeezy sneakers reached nearly $1.7 billion in annual revenue, netting Yeezy $191 million in royalties, according to Bloomberg.
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