Bally collaborates with J. Cole on boot and short film

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Aug 12, 2015

Rapper J. Cole and Bally have collaborated on a new boot and backpack. To promote the collection, they released a short film of J. Cole exploring Jamaica, one of his inspirations for the pieces.

 The two items, the JC Hiker and the Trek Backpack, nod to exploration and Bally’s connection with hip-hop culture. The JC Hiker is available in 7 different suede and leather styles in colors like beige suede, dark grey, mustard, grey suede, dark brown, caper and white. The Trek Backpack is a green nylon backpack that was selected for the collaboration.
 
The short film follows J. Cole, who’s real name is Jermaine Cole, in Jamaica to pay homage to the late Bob Marley. In the beginning stages of the collaboration process, Cole was drawn to a portrait at the brand’s London office of Bob Marley wearing Bally hiking boots. The portrait led them to the country where they found further inspiration for the collection.

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J. Cole joins a number of hip-hop talents in recent years that have collaborated with reputable brands. The most notable collaboration is Kanye West’s with Adidas that has proven to be very successful thus far. Pharrell Williams collaborates with Timberland and is another that partners with Adidas. He recently released a transformation of the iconic Adidas Superstar model called the Adidas Supershell, a sculpted collaboration collection with artists Todd James, Mr., and Zaha Hadid. Rappers Big Sean and Pusha T also collaborate with the company; Kendrick Lamar released sneakers with Reebok, a company that has also partnered with producer and rapper, Swizz Beatz, and rapper Rick Ross; and Chris Brown announced a collaboration with Asics.