Cardi B gets pulled into conversations about cultural appropriation so often, that she feels as though she has to give a history lesson every few months. The rapper is Dominican and has long embraced her Afro-Latina roots, continually noting that nationality is different from race. Now, the singer aims to take the conversation off Twitter and into the beauty market with her own line of hair products that will educate consumers on various hair types.
Cardi has long been open about her hair care methods, which oftentimes involve natural DIY hair masks. But after being pulled into yet another Twitter conversation about race and nationality, Cardi wants to take her beauty secrets to the public while also educating people about Afro-Latina culture. “Hair texture def don’t make you a race however I am Afro Latina,” she responded to someone on Twitter earlier this week.
Hair texture def don’t make you a race however I am Afro Latina .Being Afro Latina don’t mean you have to amara la Negra color https://t.co/Y3ygkak7sW grandmother from my mom side is not Latina at all & her father is light ass fuck so my mommy is light but her sibling are dark https://t.co/kOROVPt2pO
Detailing her new endeavor in an Instagram post, the rapper wrote that she has been working on at-home haircare for her and her daughter for some time now:
“This year I will be coming out with a hairline that I been working on at home for my hair and my daughters however,I think is time for people to educate themselves on nationality,race and ethnicity.Being Hispanic/Latina don’t make your hair long , don’t make your skin light or don’t make your face features slim specially Latin countries from the Caribbean islands. Dna have something to do with your hair not your nationality but guess what you can always maintain your hair …..and one more things not everyone that speaks Spanish is Mexican.”
Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
“Coconut Oil,” Lizzo’s 2016 self-love anthem, is the subject of a lawsuit recently filed by a church elder who claims his voice was sampled on the song without his permission, causing him “anguish, embarrassment, and outrage,” according to The Detroit News (Lizzo was born in the Motor City). Detroit resident Orlandus Dunning demands $750,000, saying that Lizzo sampled him singing a hymn at a mutual relative’s private funeral.
The lawsuit reads, “(Dunning) had a reasonable expectation of privacy and that his voice would not be heard publicly, as the funeral where he sang was held privately and open only to family and close friends… When Plaintiff sang the devotional, it was at a private funeral and done for the specific purpose of uplifting his family and friends during their time of bereavement.” Dunning says that he wouldn’t have consented to the use of his voice because of his beliefs; he’s an ordained elder in the Church of God In Christ and feels that the song’s messaging runs counter to his position — although he doesn’t say exactly how. The song’s mostly about Lizzo learning self-care, although she does say “sh*t” once on the record.
You can hear the song for yourself below.
Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
When asked about how he’s been handling the last year of pandemic, Sacramento rapper Caleborate paraphrases Bruce Lee: “What I’ve been doing to keep things all together is just being like water.” The quote, which implores the listener to be flexible, malleable, and to go with the flow, aptly describes Caleborate’s music style as well. Although his new album, Light Hit My Skin, is ostensibly a hip-hop album, it’s also a genre-fluid affair that allows Caleborate to transform according to his whims and needs of the lush production. And yet, while water can fill a container or run like a river, it remains water — that’s a lesson Caleborate puts into practice here, as well.
So, while he tackles straightforward, storytelling rap on “Contact” with fellow indie rap stalwart Kota The Friend, he also spends several of the interludes — titled “Light 001,” “Light 002,” and “Light 003” — vocalizing like a praise leader on Sunday morning. He calls these his favorite tracks on the album. He demonstrates his versatility throughout; there’s the house-inspired, synth-pop experiment “Homecoming” with Duckwrth, the soft-rock ballad “Untitled (Hit Record),” and the post-hyphy intro “Cliquot Shower.” Each emanates authenticity — there’s no major label-mandated push for algorithmic ambivalence. Instead, Caleborate is like the titular light on his skin — a full spectrum of wavelengths and colors — all of them are not always visible, but they are the same beam of light.
Over the phone with Uproxx, Caleborate reflects on his unique artistic philosophy, other lessons he’s learned over the past year, and questions why, with such a multifaceted array of lights to choose from, mainstream hip-hop continues to constrain itself to just a few shades of red.
What have you been doing over the last year of quarantine?
I’ve been doing some Caleb work, some Caleborate work, some Mr. Parker work, you know what I mean. All different facets of me. Some work as a brother, as a son, as a businessman.
I’ve had a lot of time to reconnect with my family because before COVID and everything popped off, I was really planning to move to LA. My manager and I were about to move in together, he had found an apartment. We literally had gone to go see it the day before I came back to live in the Bay with my mom.
COVID kicked off right in March, so I ended up staying in the Bay. My manager ended up staying where he was located out in Pennsylvania. My workflow changed drastically. My plans changed drastically. Performances: Gone. And certain things that I had going in process for the album shifted up. So, I just kind of had to adjust my workflow and sort of catch my rhythm in the water. I just had to catch my rhythm.
That’s really what we’re here for is for the album, which has a very interesting title, Light Hit My Skin. Obviously, there’s probably a lot of layers to that. Why don’t you kind of give me a little bit of an overview of what inspired this title and the concept of the album?
It’s so many different types of light. We were listening to “The Madness” and we just keyed in on that line. We’re driving in the car and everybody keyed in on that line. It’s so multi-layered, it has so many different meanings. And I have a lot of different versions of the light that hit my skin, whether it’s on stage or out in the street or whether it’s cop lights cascading over our car or it’s phone flashlights taking pictures with people.
Or even the light in me if you want to get metaphorical. The light that I can shine is who I am and enlightening people. All the different forms of that word really hit me at that moment and it’s something that I referenced a few times in the album. So to me, it’s just all the different situations in which light hits my skin. I’m about to go into the grocery store right now and lights are about to hit my skin, they got fluorescent light in there, and that’s a setting for a story, a moment of life.
I love that you can find so many different ways of looking at such a simple phrase, that really speaks to your gift as a writer, which is one of the things that drew me to you as an artist. Speaking of lines that jump out, one that hit me was about how you used to wear hoop shorts under your jeans on “We Make.” It just sent me right back to my own high school experience.
Oh man, bro, man, that was a thing that we did back in middle school and high school, we stopped sophomore year of high school because we got real lockers. We would hoop before school, you would literally come to school dripped out, shorts on underneath your jeans, come to school a little bit early, take your jeans off.
You might put hoop shoes in your backpack or over your shoulder, the next thing, you’re hooping. And then we hoop for 15 minutes, put your jeans on. We had to buy our jeans a couple of sizes higher. You have to buy thinner shorts.
Those moments help teach you a little bit about who people are. And when you have a confrontation on the court and disagreements or you’re picking teams or you have to take initiative or share with teammates. It was just kind of these young man moments that I had reminisced on that I sometimes see the matured version of them in our culture.
So as an independent artist, you have a lot more control over what you put out and how you put it out. But because it’s coming out of your pocket, you don’t have the budget of a bigger artist. How do you go about executing without really having the same resources as major label artists?
Well, for me, it’s relationships. Keeping those relationships is invaluable because we’re the artists and whether you’re signed to a label or not, real artists can see each other. And so I’m blessed. There are other people that I meet that are blessed to do it that way, musically, whether it’s production or writing or singing or whatever, for the sake of music, I’m keeping them relationships.
I have a very strong core of artists that I’ve been working with and people that support me. And it’s definitely all based on music. Money is secondary, but money has come because of that. As far as reaching out to newer artists like Deante Hitchcock or working with Cantrell or working with Tone Sinatra or working with Duckwrth… I make sure that they’re compensated and make sure that their time is valued.
But first comes first, do they like to record? Do they want to be in this thing? Are they down for the ride of this record? And everybody featured on the project, man, they’re real artists. And so it’s just an honor to work with other people like that.
How have you adapted to not having a tour life over the last year? What’s something that you miss about touring and what something you don’t miss about touring?
Man, touring is this very bittersweet thing, absolutely love and miss traveling in general. The number one aspect of touring is being out with friends — three, four like-minded individuals — experiencing life together at a new point in time. And then when you compound making money and having a reason to be here, it’s amazing.
Traveling is great, but it’s also not great, it’s tiring. Also, “traveling while Black” is a thing, just like “traveling while a woman” is a thing — especially international travel. People look at you, look at what you’re wearing… That could be kind of draining, so that part of travel I don’t miss.
God took it away from all of these artists, all of us for a reason. So we’ll never forget it. That’s how I feel. But, yeah, I miss that and what I’ve been doing to keep things all together is just being like water and learning more to be like water.
The change in sort of workflow for the whole world really has sort of allowed for, I think, me and people like me maybe to focus on what’s in the now. “What can I actually do? What do I need to do? What’s something I need to be doing, what stuff I want to be doing? And how can I get what I need to get done in spite of what’s going on in the world?” And I’ve been learning a lot of stuff through just approaching stuff with that mentality.
As we wrap things up, I always like to ask artists this question because you have to get asked the same questions over and over again. What’s something that you want to talk about that you wish somebody had asked you?
That’s a really good question. I almost want the right person to ask. I want somebody to ask me, or even once someone to have a real, everything-on-the-table conversation about the history of hip-hop and rap music and its impact on the Black community, as far as things that are promoted in the music and how they correlate to health, violence as promoted in the music and how it correlates to crime rates, and trends that occur in the music industry as far as artists who perpetuate certain themes in their music.
Because I believe over time, hip-hop has gotten bloodier and bloodier and there’s been more money put into bloodier and bloodier music. And I don’t have anything against bloody music. It’s not my preferred genre. It’s not my preferred experience. But when something has been systematically controlled by capitalistic entities like major corporations that do billions of dollars in revenue every year and can invest hundreds of millions or 20 to 50 million into the specific genre of music… Maybe you can have conversations. I would just be interested in having that conversation.
Light Hit My Skin is out now on TBKTR. Get it here.
It’s been just a few months since Jazmine Sullivan returned to release her critically acclaimed album Heaux Tales, which detailed all that the singer learned about herself in the six years since her last record. Continuing to share her new music, Sullivan brought her soulful track “Pick Up Your Feelings” to a captivating performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
Joined by a full band, Sullivan belted out each lyric with candor while showcasing her powerful vocal range. Her performance follows a busy couple of months for the singer. Not only is she on the heels of her Heaux Tales release, but Sullivan was also invited to deliver the National Anthem at this year’s Super Bowl game.
Ahead of her late-night performance, Sullivan sat down with Uproxx for a conversation about all she learned while recording Heaux Tales. Sullivan said the process helped her understand that she doesn’t have to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders as a woman:
“Especially as a woman, because we feel like we have to do everything perfectly and just be perfect. We have the world on our shoulders normally anyway so we feel like we have to live up to a certain standard and, as a woman growing up, I always felt that way. This process and making the project helped me to do that by listening to the tales of other women, my girlfriends, and older women. And, just knowing that we’re human and we don’t have to be perfect and just allow ourselves to figure things out.”
Watch Sullivan perform “Pick Up Your Feelings” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! above.
Just when you thought “Whoopty” mania had reached its peak, Staten Island rapper CJ comes out of nowhere with a surprising new remix to extend the shelf life of his breakout hit. This time around, he offers a “Latin Mix” of his runaway drill smash featuring two of Latin music’s hottest stars in Anuel AA and Ozuna.
Rather than write a new verse for this version, CJ talks a little smack in Spanish then steps back to let his guest stars hold the limelight. Both Anuel and Ozuna go on extended, rapid-fire, bruising lyrical runs, with Anuel name-dropping Kobe Bryant and claiming he’s a real son of a gun while Ozuna flexes his watch collection and delivers a fatalistic outlook on life. The video, meanwhile, takes place at an underground fight club, which apparently has both male and female divisions for its brutal, bare-knuckle brawls.
The Latin mix is the second remix of CJ’s popular hit after the New Yorker shared a Big Apple-centric remix earlier this month featuring French Montana and Rowdy Rebel. The infectious beat for “Whoopty” has also provided the backdrop for a wide-spanning array of colorful freestyles from the likes of Compton’s Westside Boogie, Chicago’s Polo G, and Philadelphia’s Tierra Whack.
Watch the video for CJ’s “Whoopty Latin Mix” featuring Anuel AA and Ozuna above.
Over the past few days, Lil Nas X has gone all-in on Satan, going as far as to give him a lap dance in the “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” video and to sell controversial “Satan shoes” themed after him. Reactions have been predictably mixed, but through it all, it turns out the Church Of Satan is on board with with Nas is up to and they’re a fan of the new sneakers.
TMZ spoke with David Harris — magister for the Church Of Satan, a high-ranking position — and notes the shoes “are getting a ton of love from the Church because they embrace the essence of Satanism” and that “Satanists are digging the way Lil Nas X is turning against religion to market” the shoes.
Harris also spoke about the “Montero” video with Rolling Stone for a recent feature and said, “He obviously did his homework. Whether he consulted with us directly or did his own research, he clearly put a lot of effort into this video.” He also describes the end of the clip, when Nas kills Satan and wears his horns as a crown, as “the most Satanic part of the video” and added, “We view ourselves as the most powerful beings in the world. The fact that he crowned himself as Satan — now, that’s Satanic.”
Ice-T remains an institution throughout the various realms of pop culture, going strong for over 30 years now. From his earliest 1980s solo rapper days to his heavy-metal stylings with Body Count (the group recently won a Grammy), his influence cannot be underestimated. Nor has his career remained predictable, although once Ice-T makes a move, he does not waver, which is precisely why Law and Order: SVU fans have dug him as Fin Tutuola since the year 2000. He’s done reality TV and tells it to everyone straight on Twitter, and the man has never been anything but consistently entertaining.
Such a reliable nature might work to Ice-T’s advantage with his new ad campaign for Tide alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin. You’d probably never expect to see him associated with a laundry detergent brand, but he’s on board to educate people (through the #TurnToCold campaign) about the environmental (and money-saving) benefits of washing clothes in cold water. Not that Ice-T actually does the laundry at home, which is something that he had no problem admitting while he was cool enough to chat with us. We touched upon plenty of topics during our discussion, including when he’ll tour again, how he feels about working with Chris Meloni on the Law and Order: SVU crossover with Organized Crime, his approach to Twitter, and other assorted odds and ends.
Is this really the O.G. Original Gangster on the line here?
Hey! How you doin,’ Kim?
I should tell you that Law and Order: SVU was once a go-to syndicated show while I did cardio at the gym. Now we don’t go to the gym, and it’s a little bit sad!
Can I tell you a funny story?
Please do.
I was in Miami one time, and this lady walked up to me, and she goes, “I was on the treadmill, and I said I would go off when Law and Order went off, and it was a marathon, so I ran 26 miles.” I was like, she did a TV marathon and a marathon at the same time, okay yeah, be careful with that.
It’s strangely motivational to watch you guys take down the indisputably bad guys, and you’ve been on the show for over 20 years at this point.
Yeah, 22 years. I technically came in during the first episodes of the second season, but they shot it during the first season, so I try to claim the first season, but there’ll be arguments. [Laughs] But I’ve been on it a long time.
You’re a pretty fit guy. With gyms being closed and all that and touring not happening, are you still getting your workouts?
I stay in shape. I have a little mini-gym in my house, so I do my dips and my calisthenics, so I’ve always pretty much been in shape. You can get out of shape very easily as you get older, so I gotta stay on top of it. Since I’m on television all the time, I don’t wanna look at myself and say, “Look at yo’ fat ass!” I’m forced to be vain in that respect, but when you marry a swimsuit model, it’s not smart to get fat, so I’ve got a lot of motivation around to stay slim and trim, but I’m doing okay.
You’re SVU-ing it on an April 1 crossover episode, which is the premiere of Chris Meloni’s Organized Crime spinoff. What’s it like to have him back in the saddle?
Well, it’s fun for me. The thing of it is, the difference between me and the fans is that I’ve been in touch with Chris over the last ten years while he’s done his movies and while he had his show, Happy. Me and Chris kinda became friends because we worked together twelve years, so when we got back and we did our scenes together, it’s just like old times. We’re glad to have him back, but Chris wanted to do other things. A lot of actors, well, you don’t become an actor to just play one role for twenty years. It’s about being able to be different characters, and that’s what actors love to do. So, now he’s back, he’s happy, and he’s got his own show, so when you see this reunion, it’s gonna blow everybody away because it’s written well, and it’s good.
Speaking of blown minds… dare I ask how you got involved with your new Tide commercial?
I got cold-called. When people want you to do commercials, the first thing you do is ask, “Does the shoe fit?” “How am I gonna be connected to Tide?” Although I use Tide already, so they told me that cold washing helps the environment, it saves money, and also, it doesn’t ruin your clothes, which is smarter. And Tide does not require hot water to activate. It cleans just as well in cold water, so I thought that was cool. I was like, “Okay, okay, got that!” And then I figured out, “Oh, it’s because my name is Ice.” And they said, “The campaign will be you and Stone Cold Steve Austin,” so I was like, “I’m in.” I’m a fan of Stone Cold Steve Austin, so we went and did the campaign, and it’s a really cool campaign. We’re cold-calling people and telling them about the benefits of using Tide in cold water. We cold-called Mr. T, and it’s kind-of a cool commercial.
And does Ice-T do the laundry at home?
No, I don’t do it. Coco does the laundry. We’ve got a very old-school family situation, so she loves doing laundry, and she’s like, “I’ve got this.” Because she knows that if I do the laundry, I’m gonna half-ass do it.
You know what people say: you can’t be good at everything.
But I told her, and she got the memo that we no longer have to use this hot water, from what I understand, to clean it. And I don’t have to shrink my clothes up and have the colors running and all that stuff, so it’s great.
You’re out there lobbying for an “edit” button while saying that you’ve heard all of the comments for and against one, but dammit, you want one.
I think it’s stupid that they don’t have one! I mean, Instagram has one. People are so concerned: “Oh, you could say something, and then you could take it back!” You can screenshot, and all the reasons they don’t want an edit button are negative. It’s just based around catching someone saying something and then trying to deny it. It’s based in negativity, it’s not based to help people. There’s a million different ways they could do an edit button. They can make it so that if you edit it, it says it’s been edited — it could have a little symbol. What they don’t understand is that I’ll put up a tweet, and it might get 2000 likes, and then I’ll realize that something’s spelled wrong, and then you don’t wanna take that one down. Because I’ve had times when I’ve had a bunch of people like something, and I took it down, and they got offended. But you know, it’s Twitter, and maybe Twitter’s just not wanting to be like IG, but you know, whatever. Then don’t comment on my spelling! All the spelling Nazis, stop.
Twitter is for bursts of 240 characters. Typos happen that way.
And also, Twitter’s something you’re doing on your phone! Your thumbs are moving, and they won’t have an edit button, but they’ve got autocorrect. So why do you have autocorrect if I’m talking slang? So whatever, it’s nothing… I just had a moment when I felt like saying it because I just tweeted something where I didn’t put an -ing on a word, and I felt like, “Man, why can’t I just edit this stuff?” Whatever, who cares.
There was quite a reaction to that saga on Twitter and on the news.
It was stupid. You’ve got real crimes and all that going on, and as far as arresting me? Yeah, I think they overreacted. They could’ve given me a ticket. A lot of times when a cop arrests a celebrity, it gives them the chance to be famous. They never arrested anyone, but they arrested JLo. So now, they get to say, “Ahhhh, I put JLo in handcuffs.” It’s something that they do for themselves. You know, as many crimes as I’ve committed in my life, and you’re gonna bust me for running a toll? It’s funny to me. If there’s nobody in the trunk, I’m not sweating, so I’m not really worried about it. The thing is, I was on my way to go play a cop! on TV! And you guys are busting me.
Speaking of your SVU character again, there was a Cameo you did for some John Mulaney fans, and they got you to poke fun at Fin Tutuola — that time that he took a long time to grasp the concept of sex addiction — and you played along, and that Cameo clip went viral. People ask you to say some really odd stuff.
I don’t even remember that one! On Cameo, most of the people just want you to say “hi” and “happy birthday” and anniversaries. There were some people who had a sixty-second wedding anniversary. When I first started Cameo, I didn’t think that was as cool as it was until I saw the reaction. When I saw the way that people reacted to cameos, I thought, “Oh, this is cool.” So there’s “tell my brother to stay in school,” or “congratulate my teen” for this or that, it’s a cool platform, and I enjoy doing ’em.
We are almost out of time here, but I’m a Body Count fan, and you guys won a Grammy this year. You once talked about your heavy metal influences, like Black Sabbath. Do you dig any particular contemporary metal bands?
We based our band off of Slayer and Suicidal Tendencies, and of course, Black Sabbath. I like Lamb of God and Fit for an Autopsy, which is the band of my producer (Will Putney). We’ve been out with so many bands. Of course, I like Power Trip, but it kind of sucks because this past year, we couldn’t tour. We put out Carnivore, and then the pandemic hit, so we dropped an album, and we haven’t been able to do a single show.
Do you know when touring will likely resume for you?
Everybody’s saying 2022, so we’re gonna come up with some other ways to get the music out to the fans. Right now we’re doing an EP to connect to Carnivore because we don’t wanna just step over that album like a dead body. We got a Grammy for it, so we’re trying to keep our fans entertained, so we’re thinking of different options. We just did a fan video for “The Hate Is Real.” Have you seen that, the one with the puppets?
Oh, I saw it on Twitter and did not click on it yet, so I’m doing fantastic here.
You’re gonna bug out on that one. I had a concept where I said, “The fans are gonna make the video,” and this one was the winner. It’s outrageous.
I’ll go watch it now, and it’s been real talking to you.
Well, keep following me and stay on Twitter. You never know what’s gonna happen, day by day. Someone might pop off, and I might need to let ’em have it.
‘Law and Order: Organized Crime’ debuts on April 1, and find out more about how to #TurnToCold via Tide’s website.
Odds are, you have no idea who FastMoney Goon, Spinabenz, Whoppa Wit Da Choppa, or Yungeen Ace are. But the odds are, you probably know Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles,” so the probability that you’ll soon learn about this crop of hot, young rappers shot up exponentially with their savvy sample of the 2001 pop hit for their new single “Who I Smoke.” Thanks to the chopped-up loop, the song is as inescapably catchy as it is ludicrously violent, and it’s got fans on social media amused and befuddled in equal measure, even though it isn’t the first time a rapper has cheekily appropriated the buoyant hit.
I feel terrible for all the people that gotta hear they dead homies dissed over a Vanessa Carlton sample but I’m sorry that shit is incredible.
For one thing, the song’s cartoonishly reckless threats of violence clash so much with the bubbly mood of the original sample, it’s hard to figure out if we should be taking these kids seriously or laughing them off. Whoppa’s verse contains an extended riff on enemies he’s supposedly sent to meet their maker, while Yungeen Ace straight up croons about the deaths of foes, with both rappers naming names. It’s so beyond disrespectful that you almost hope they’re just, like, naming Gamertags and referring to Call Of Duty shootouts instead of real ones.
Getting threats over a Vanessa Carlton sample is WICKED
However, that hasn’t stopped the track from becoming a viral hit and inspiring a raft of memes, jokes, and bemused commentary on Twitter pondering the ridiculousness of the situation. As for who these four rappers are, Google has few answers for any of them except for Yungeen Ace, an up-and-coming rapper from Jacksonville who I’ve covered before in passing. Let’s hope that their joyful breakout doesn’t turn out to bite them as it did the members of GS9 back in 2014. For now, enjoy the song above and the memes below.
someone needs to write the definitive history of dudes you’ve never heard of having a great time rapping over the vanessa carlton song https://t.co/xA46mzqErK
To everyone perplexed at seeing Yungeen Ace rapping over Vanessa Carlton, I say welcome to the era where Flint/Detroit, South Florida, and the DMV have been getting weird for the last 4 or so years.
Admitting various felonies that could potentially put you in jail over a Vanessa Carlton sample is just wildly hilarious to me. https://t.co/nd1f4UPmnT
Over the weekend, Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth speculated that Nike might have grounds to sue Lil Nas X collaborator MSCHF over its “Satan shoes” — customized Nike Air Max 97s supposedly featuring a drop of blood mixed with red ink in each of the 666 pair’s Air Max units — made to promote Nas’ new single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).” Well, it looks like the sneaker giant really has done just that, with New York Times Sports reporter Kevin Draper posting a copy of the first page of a lawsuit filed in New York’s Eastern District for trademark infringement, false designation of origin/unfair competition, and trademark dilution.
It’s not an entirely unusual move for Nike, which jealously guards its trademarks but usually allows for customizers and collaborators to sell limited runs of its sneaker models. Just recently, Nike settled a lawsuit with streetwear brand Warren Lotas, which sold a lookalike sneaker it collaborated with Jeff Staple on. The “Illegal Fake” sneakers toyed with the design of the Nike Dunk, transforming the trademark swoosh into a hockey goalie mask a la Jason Voorhees of the Friday The 13th franchise. However, rather than going to court, Warren Lotas agreed to cease production and sale of its shoe and refrain from creating similar designs in the future.
As MSCHF and Lil Nas used Air Max 97s to create their controversial sneaker and judging from the confusion displayed on Fox News and in other outlets, something similar could happen here, although there are some differences as well. MSCHF didn’t create a new sneaker similar to Nike’s, it simply bought and customized several pairs of the existing shoe. Still, MSCHF may not want to go toe-to-toe in court with the behemoth brand and choose to settle as well. However, they won’t have to pull shoes from any shelves; according to Lil Nas X, all 666 pairs sold out within a minute of availability.
Lil Nas X’s collaborator on those controversial “Satan shoes,” MSCHF, is living up to its name. The design collective’s marketing for the customized Air Max 97 has certainly riled up a fair number of commentators, including Fox News’ Pete Hegseth. The Fox & Friends anchor bit the bait hard, censuring Nike over the shoes and making a false equivalence to a planned pair of Air Max 1s that was discontinued and recalled by the shoe giant over its use of the original, 13-star version of the American flag.
Of course, Hegseth missed the part where Nike wasn’t directly involved in the creation of MSCHF’s limited-edition pair and was promptly fact-checked by none other than Adam Klotz, the show’s weekend meteorologist. He pointed out that “they’re not really Nike. They’re Nike shoes, but there’s a middleman who bought Nike shoes and turned them into these.” To save face, Hegseth posited that the manufacturer could file a lawsuit against the customizer, which … no, man. Just, no.
Missed this from yesterday’s Fox & Friends: they were talking about Lil Nas X and the satan shoes thing. Pete Hegseth had to be corrected by the weather guy. Just A+ all around. pic.twitter.com/7ZbVBj1gJv
As far as the story behind those Betsy Ross Air Max 1 goes, those were discontinued by the brand itself after Colin Kaepernick, one of Nike’s most prominent spokespeople, reached out to the company’s leadership with concerns about the old flag’s repurposed connotations. He wasn’t the only one; users on social media also called on Nike to reconsider the design, pointing out how its behind appropriated by some white supremacist groups due to its connection to the nation’s early history when slavery was still legal.
Meanwhile, Nike had just taken flak from conservative groups, including Fox News, over partnering with Kaepernick after his protest of the national anthem at football games. In both cases of conservative backlash, the targets of their complaints would appear to be the victors; not only did Nike boast a 4% sales increase in 2019, Lil Nas X’s customized sneakers sold out within a minute of going on sale.
(@LilNasX) 