Darryl “DMC” McDaniels and Run had a dream of owning every color Adidas in the world, because of their style and color coordination, rather than comfort. People wanted to be true to hip-hop but also didn’t want to commercialize it in “pop” form. In 1983 Run-D.M.C, straight out of Queens, NY refused to conform to pop standards and decided that they were going to dress on stage the way they dressed on the streets. And thus the hip-hop, sneaker revolution began.
One of the trends adapted to hip-hop fad arose from the streets as a result of felons from jail returning home and bringing the prison shoelace-less style with them. Jam Master Jay considered it cool and nowadays it is trendy amongst this subculture.
The Adidas Superstar was dead until Run-D.M.C. single-handedly brought the shoe back. They would tour and travel the country and see the contribution their music had on the street style elsewhere. The inspiration for the song “My Adidas” came, simply, from writing about something they genuinely loved and what was important to them.
Run-D.M.C invited the executives of Adidas to one of their concerts in New York at Madison Square Garden to show them how popular their shoes became with their fans. During the concert they asked the crowd if they were wearing them, to hold up their pair of Adidas. Almost every one of the 20,000 people in the crowd then held up their Adidas, while singing along with Run-D.M.C.
It led to the first-ever endorsement deal between a music act and an athletic company, for $1.6 million. As a result, big corporations began to find trust and luck in this up and coming hip-hop revolution.Run-D.M.C’s deal with Adidas was the first non-athletic deal with a sneaker endorsement. They legitimized the company, starting the wave of integrating and collaborating athletic companies with the hip-hop community. This song proved that rap was not just a form of music, but a lifestyle. It was one of the first songs where MC’s rapped about their clothing choices and showed that they have a strong influence on trends and change.
“My Adidas and me both askin P
We make a good team my Adidas and me
We get around together, rhyme forever
And we won’t be mad when worn in bad weather
My Adidas
My Adidas
My Adidas”
“My Adidas” Run-D.M.C.