The Shoes We Skate
Source: Lakai x Public Enemy – Lakai Limited Footwear
The skate brand Lakai has gone through a number of iterations due to ownership issues and some amazing people leaving the company, but in the skate world the brand is one of the few smaller options hanging on in a culture where Nike SB and New Balance Numeric has encroached and soaked up most of the bandwidth. Most sneaker enthusiasts have never heard of Lakai. Even my immediate response to seeing this collab was “Why?”.
I’m a big Public Enemy fan, but admittedly I don’t listen to the band as much as I used to. I recently built an old school playlist and forgot to include the music there (I’ve since changed this…). I do realize the importance of PE to American Music culture and Hip-Hop. I also recognize that it’s the 35th anniversary of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing a film which resonates more every year and has always been bolstered by Public Enemy’s Fight the Power. I also know this is the 30th anniversary of the album Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age which had the song Give it Up, a song that dropped in the same year that The Chronic dominated rap music completing a transition from the golden age of Hip-Hop which was built on Public Enemy, KRS-One and lyricists rooted in 5% knowledge, which also shared space with an array of styles and flavors showing the diversity and power of the music… to the money and gangster era of the culture.
Public Enemy is important to me, but I have to wonder, just who this collab was created for. They still tour at a level on par with rock bands and the group has staying power. The track coach and sports enthusiast in me celebrates the fact that Flavor Flav supported the USA Women’s Polo teams during the Olympics and was a prominent promoter of fitness and sport who also showed up at the Athlos NY track meet. Flav has gone from being a comic presence in a serious Hip-Hop group, to a respected elder statesman considered as a seriously talented musician and prominent voice in supporting women’s sport. Public Enemy has aged well, but I wonder if people are willing to drop dollars on this collection.
I don’t skate and I don’t own a pair of Lakai, but I’ve always had the site bookmarked and have considered on several occasions purchasing some of the kicks. They are cost effective, and I recall kids rocking them skating the quad when I was a coach, but they never moved me into the purchase funnel, until now.
The Timing Couldn’t Be Better
A divisive political election just took place, bringing Chuck D’s voice back to the forefront. He really hadn’t gone anywhere. He’s been a speaker on various media outlets and PE has been making music consistently: What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down Digital Album – Public Enemy Official Store. On a lighter note, It’s hoodie season and Lakai included PE apparel that is dope asf.
Older Hip-Hop artists are dropping new classics. LL Cool J, Common, Eminem and Rakim have all dropped new albums which are outperforming new artists. Lakai may have delivered the perfect collection at the perfect time. Lakai may have created the most underrated collection of the year. At a time when collections from JaeTips, Bricks & Wood, ALD and Salehe Bembury will get selected as sneaker of the year candidates, this collection fits the bill for consideration but won’t get any serious press in sneaker media. A look through these pictures should change that and for the first time I’ve added Lakai to my basket. I’ll let you know if I pull the trigger, will you?