Kanye West penned a scathing note to take aim at Adidas for plagiarizing his Yeezy slides.
Taking to Instagram, the Donda 2 rapper slammed the company’s CEO Kasper Rorstad on Monday. “THIS IS YE driving down the same street Kobe passed on. Maybe I feel that Mamba spirit right now,” the 44-year-old rapper’s latest rant read.
“To Kasper, I’m not standing for this blatant copying no more. 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 feel they can’t cause they’ll lose their contract or be called crazy,” he continued. “Bravery is not being afraid. Bravery is overcoming your fear of your truth. This Ye with the blue paint on my face,” he added.
“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 talk to me,” West concluded before writing, “Happy Monday.”
West’s gripe may not be without merit. While it’s commonplace in the sneaker industry for brands to release derivative “take down” variations of their own popular models, Adidas has been dropping Yeezy-adjacent footwear since the line’s early days. Sneakers like the Tubular Invader and Tubular Shadow were reminiscent of the Yeezy Boost 750 and Yeezy Boost 350, respectively, and new Adidas foam shoes have drawn comparisons to the Yeezy Foam Runner.