Lil Nas X has had a big weekend. First he dropped his new single, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” alongside a barn-burning video, which climaxes with him seducing Satan before snapping his neck and taking his horns. But there was more: He was teaming with the viral company MSCHF to create a line of Nike Air Max 97s that have been dubbed “Satan Shoes” — not only due to their crimson design but because, well, they also contain a drop of blood in them. The shoes have drawn a mixed response. One of the naysayers? Nike itself.
As per The New York Times, the shoe giant put out a statement distancing themselves from the shoe and from the young rapper himself. “We do not have a relationship with Little Nas X or MSCHF,” the statement read. “Nike did not design or release these shoes, and we do not endorse them.”
Though the Consumer Product Safety Commission has yet to weigh in on the line’s legal issues, MSCHF appears to be rolling full steam ahead anyway, with a limited number of the redesigned shoe — 666, of course — being sold for the high, high cost of $1,018.
As for the blood, it’s just a drop, mixed in with the ink that comprises the shoe’s air bubble. And where did it come from? From the MSCHF’s small staff, who each contributed enough to fill the large-ish order. (When asked who procured the blood, one of MSCHF’s founders, Daniel Greenberg told the Times, “Uhhhhhh yeah hahah not medical professionals we did it ourselves lol.”)
As for Lil Nas X, he responded to the controversy with a sarcastic video, in which he begins to apologize for helping create “Satan Shoes,” only for it to abruptly segue into the climax of his new video, right when he’s begun to gyrate in the Devil’s lap.
(Via The New York Times)