Pusha T is a risk-taker. In the realm of music and couture, the G.O.O.D. Music president is championing innovation, creativity and change without losing sight of his sui generis nature. This is all evident in his ongoing collaboration with adidas Originals, especially his latest “King Push” EQT Grayscale silhouette that was officially unveiled this past November. In 2014, he released his inaugural sneaker with The Three Stripes that saw crisp, off-white iteration of the EQT Running Guidance 93 and his signature fish scale motif embellished on premium leather. Two years later, the supreme dope dealer conjured his second collaboration with adidas—tackling the same model with an all-black rendition aptly entitled the “Black Market.” Now, Pusha T’s latest output is a handsome concoction that fuses his preceding collaborative efforts with adidas’ groundbreaking technology of today.
HYPEBEAST recently touched down in Miami for Art Basel 2016 to interview the renowned recording artist. After mazing through the M Building in the Wynwood Art District, we were graced with an intimate tete a tete with King Push himself. Unfettered by the mania and goings-on of the occurring international art fair, the Virginia rapper easily relayed his thoughts regarding the EQT Grayscale. The artist journeyed back to the ‘90s where the EQT originated, enamored in the Primeknit fabric as well as the BOOST technology inherent in the Grayscale model as well as touched on his special photo project with Ari Marcopolous.
Read on to learn more about Pusha T’s unfiltered impressions of his third collaboration with adidas Originals. The adidas EQT Support Ultra Boost Primeknit ‘King Push’ is now available for purchase at select retailers for approximately $200 USD.
What are your general thoughts on EQT technology?
In regards to this particular EQT, it’s the first time that my collaboration has ever had BOOST technology and Primeknit. I’m super happy about that because I feel what a lot of brands are missing today, adidas has mastered. The look is just as great as the comfort. As I’ve gotten older and been more into function of shoes and comfort, things that I buy and purchase, I notice that a lot of brands gave up on comfort for the idea of aesthetics. adidas has totally hit the mark in regards to matching both.
“It’s synonymous with my brand, being able to transcend, change up, still be modern, but be from an era that was known for one thing but really challenge that norm.”
What makes this the mainstay of your past two collaborations with adidas thus far?
It’s simply because this was the risk-taker. I feel like the OG collab was me putting my nuances on an existing silhouette that you can fall in love with; the story, the packaging. However, you’d already fallen in love with the silhouette to be honest with myself. I feel like this, this is the hybrid, this is new. It’s new for me, it’s new for EQT.
What made you want to apply features such as Primeknit, BOOST technology, reflective panels, etc?
I think BOOST technology is one of the strongest and functional technologies we’ve seen in sneaker culture. Primeknit is of today. The reflective panels still gives the sneaker some ’90s feel. The blend of past and present is really what I feel like as an artist today. It’s synonymous with my brand, being able to transcend, change up, still be modern, but be from an era that was known for one thing but really challenge that norm. Look at the game now, it’s changing. To be able to bob and weave through all of that and still stay relevant? I feel that’s sort of mastered in this shoe. All in all, it’s a culmination of greatness, presence and nostalgia.
How do the textiles fit the Pusha persona?
If you want to go with color palette first of all, gray man, it’s the concrete, it’s the corners, it’s the streets. The grayscale is the fishscale nuances, everybody knows that’s a great play on the street culture.
What’s the key differentiator with this model than the other two?
I feel like this model, as a whole, was more of a risk-taker, it’s different. It’s not what we know as the OG EQT silhouette. I feel like the whole thing is an upgrade. It’s of today.
Can you tell us a bit more of your special EQT photo project with photographer Ari Marcopolous? Did it take a lot of patience since it was shot in analog?
He’s super dope. He’s fast. He’s really sharp and knows what he’s doing. If you check out his discography, you know you’re in good hands. I don’t think that I’ve ever been that comfortable with a photographer, ever. Not a first-time photographer or who’s first-time to me.