SporstWear brands have a slew of endorsees in just about every category nowadays. This includes music and entertainment, where Hip-Hop is now the most mainstream of genres. When this year’s nominees list went public, the sneaker titans were involved as we saw mainstays such as Drake and Kendrick Lamar dominate with a handful of nods to their work. While those two are the biggest of the bunch, the Best Rap Album category is where things got interesting as we saw endorsers of Puma, adidas, Reebok and Jordan Brand in the mix. Take a look below and check why each of the nominees should take home the coveted award.
Reebok kicks things off as Cardi B leads the pack with perhaps the best selling/streamed album of the group (Invasion of Privacy). While Cardi has yet to reveal a signature shoe, her deal with the Vector brand definitely made waves as she did not waste time and got things underway with her campaign. She got behind the Aztrek model and pushed apparel strongly. We hope to see more personalized kicks and gear soon from the Bronx native and the Boston brand. Cardi’s chances of landing the Best Rap Album are strong as her debut effort remained in heavy rotation most of the year with jams such as “Bodak Yellow”, “Be Careful” and the party starter “I Like it” which features Latin music monsters J.Balvin and Bad Bunny. Don’t be shocked if Cardi kicks down the Grammy door and takes this one from her male counterparts.
The 3 stripes step up next with Pusha T and his luxury street rap (Daytona). Often self-described as your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper, Mr.Thornton came firing out with the adidas EQT Cushion 2 model which was released as a limited run during ComplexCon. If that wasn’t enough, he continued to lend his support to other models and gear, mostly EQT silhouettes. The sneakers weren’t his only focus as he put out music that exceeded the expectations of the most ardent fans. His long brewing beef with Drake came to a head as a diss record (“Story of Adidon”) was full of bars and revelations (both sonically and visually with its cover art). Right after that, his album (lead by the heavy hitting “Infrared” track) came through and shattered the mold as it continued G.O.O.D music’s string of 7 song efforts, which made it even more impressive as not one song was a miss. Pusha may have left us wanting more (in the best way possible) and this is exactly why he may come up the big winner tonight. Minimal number of songs, nothing went to waste. All hitters no filler.
The other German brand creeps up next and punctuates what was one of their biggest years. With the resurgence of their basketball line, the numerous yet delightful RS-X models and their focus on keeping their stars in the spotlight, Puma was in the public’s eyes constantly. Crenshaw’s Nipsey Hussle was one of those stars and he surely made the most of his year. Getting behind the renewed effort for the Puma California, Neighborhood Nip was seen any and everywhere with nothing but the big cat on his feet. Other classics such as the Suede and the GV Special were also graced with his touch while also collaborating with custom kings Alexander John and Mache on special make-ups of RS-X models. Just like the classics he endorsed, Hussle’s debut album (Victory Lap) stood the test of time as its release came exactly a year ago this month and is still gaining steam. A lead single that was chosen for a rival brand’s ad campaign (“Rap N!—-S”), a monster follow up with “Last Time That I Checked ft YG” and a subsequent follow-up with Kendrick that brought in new and fresh listeners (“Dedication”), this body of work left no stone unturned and it is easily our dark horse pick in the Best Rap Album category. Put this one on your list to listen to.
Last but not least is H-Town’s own Travis Scott. He truly defined what having a monster year is. Having a baby, an awesome album, a wildly successful tour and one of the most highly anticipated kicks were just the icing on the cake. The powder blue Air Jordan 4 was an obvious homage to his hometown’s Houston Oilers squad (now known as the Texans) and two pairs of Nike Air Force 1’s allowed the owners to customize them at will. With a slew of releases on deck both musically and in the sneaker world, Travis is on track to have another unrivaled year. His Astroworld album and accompanying tour left nothing to be desired and for fans to want more. The album’s biggest hit was the Drake assisted “Sicko Mode” but that wouldn’t be all as tracks like “Stop Trying To Be God” put an awesome feeling and message into the air while “R.I.P Screw” and “5% Tint” were nods to his home town. The overlooked “No Bystanders” brought listeners back to the sound of the heavily influential Three 6 Mafia, making this a body of work that looked to the past in order to shape the future. Travis may be the youngest of the group, but he comes in making big noise, thus a win for him is not out of the question. He already was the winner of the sneaker wars from a very strong group, maybe he can go two for two.
