It seemed like only yesterday when Aubrey "Drake" Graham came onto the scene with that signature letterman jacket in his Best I Ever Had music video. That video, combined with his verse on Lil Wayne's Every Girl track, have become the warning shots to the industry of what was soon to come from the Canadian superstar.
Fast forward to the here and now in 2016 and the world of Hip Hop has become a playground for the almighty 6 God. From his mixtape collab with Future, to his Hotline Bling music video that has generated over 675 million views on Youtube. And just for time constraints we won't even mention Drizzy's upcoming album Views From the 6, his fourth studio album that already has generated enough buzz online to plug thirteen artists.
Yet if anyone has followed Drake's timeline in his rise to stardom, they would know he loves being around other influential and productive people in the world.
From rising up and firing shots at Kentucky's annual Big Blue Madness, being courtside during Raptors' playoff games in the camo jacket, and being spotted at In-N-Out with NBA MVP Steph Curry and company, everywhere Drake goes he influences those around him.When it comes to the world of sneakers this is especially true in regards to Drizzy. In order to fully understand the impact Drake has made in a short amount of time we need to rewind the clock and look at the timeline for Drake's rise to sneaker supremacy.
2013: The Signing, The PEs, and the Start
When Drake signed to Jordan Brand in December of 2013 it changed the landscape of how shoe companies and artists dealt with each other in the past. Drake, who had a concert in Portland the night before Jordan Brand officially announced the deal, called it "one of the best days of my life".The signing came off a bitter divorce from Kanye West and Nike, which had problems with how West felt disrespected at times by the company and in how Nike felt they had been disrespected in numerous rants on West' Yeezus tour.
What occurred in both Jordan Brand and Drake's situation can be summed up in two words:
A link
Growing up Drake, like many kids, watched Jordan do amazing things on the basketball court. Just like those same kids Drake dreamed of wearing the same sneakers he'd see in the shoe shops. The first of those sneakers was the Jordan 15, a gift from his Father (story confirmed in the Jordan commercial seen below this).
On the other side of the fence the Jumpman saw in signing Drake an ability to link the past to the certain future. Drake symbolizes those numerous kids who grew up loving the shoes Jordan Brand made and the desire to wear them. Yet what Drake also represents is an artist who can be seen almost everywhere and is recognizable to almost everyone in the world. Why not let him represent the brand? Why not let those who see him in concert, television, and other pathways of connectivity in a Jordan sneaker, pullover, headband etc.? This way of thinking has led to other artists and celebrities with no connection to athletics getting their own shoe deals such as Big Sean, 2 Chainz, and Tyga.
Drake wasted no time in showing the world what he and Jordan Brand were up to when he took to his Instagram in the very same week he made the announcement of signing with Jumpman. There the 6 God gave the world the first sneak peek at what would soon become the Air Jordan "OVO" 10s and 12s in both their black and white colorway. Having sneakerheads everywhere in anticipation for when these particulal pairs of Js would drop.
2014-5 - OVO Fest, OVO Night, Jumpman, Jumpman, Jumpman, Jumpman
Drake started off the New Year of 2014 with a bang. On January 11th the Raptors held the first ever "Drake Night". There the entire OVO camp sported the 10s and 12s courtside. Amir Johnson rocked the 10s on court, with Drake handing out a few special pairs to lucky fans who were in attendance. Not to mention, the woman who received a pair during Drake's halftime set in the video below made $100,000 on her eBay bid of the shoes. Talk about a come up.
Later that year in August at the 5th annual OVO Fest Drake rocked a pair of Gold 'OVO' Air Jordan PE 3s. The concert alone was crazier than ever just based off the list of acts such as YG, J. Cole, DJ Khaled, Lauryn HIll, Usher, and G-Unit. But when people saw those 3s the internet went abuzz. To this day no one has seen that pair on the market and the only other person who has been seen in a pair has been Usher.Yes life was certainly beginning to look good for Drake and Jordan Brand. Drizzy had people clamoring for pairs that weren't even scheduled for release yet, and he was beginning to expand the limits of the brand like wildfire.
And then in 2015 he and Future dropped their now cult classic mixtape What a Time to Be Alive.
"Jumpman, Jumpman, Jumpman, they gave me my own collection wooh!"
The track Jumpman on the mixtape became a solid hit. It went platinum in the US and became an instant track that has become thrown into every DJ's set across clubs worldwide. With references to famed NBA shot blocker Dikembe Mutombo and one-third of the Spurs famed big three Manu Ginobli the song became beloved in basketball circles eveywhere. If 2014 and 2015 were good years, then 2016 was about to have everything come full circle for Drake and Jordan.
Three years from that December night in Portland where he had announced his deal with the Jumpman, Drake took the crown during his stint as host of the NBA All-Star Weekend in Toronto. The fact that Toronto was hosting All-Star Weekend in part you could make a huge argument for was behind Drake's impact as an ambassador to the Raptors. He received the key to the City of Toronto before the Celebrity Game (where he served as Coach opposite of Kevin Hart).For a lot of guys that could've been the apex. Not for Drake, he was just warming up. It was during the Skills Competition where Drake, decked out in a pink and white OVO varsity jacket, sported a pair of white and blue Jordan 8s. If the OVOs were something new back when he first snapped them on his Instagram, then the blue and white 8s were like witnessing something new and never before seen.
It was one thing to break out a new pair of shoes no one had ever seen before, but to break out two pairs never before seen was something exotic. Drake had literally won the weekend without even trying and had stamped his legacy in sneaker history. Combined with his own kicks, the 23 and 6 pop up shop in Yonge for All-Star Weekend featured a store full of the latest drops for the Jumpman from Chinese Low 5s to PSNY 12s.
So what does the future hold for Drizzy Drake? Whatever it does might just be the icing on an already loaded cake.
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