For many of us, 2020 hasn’t exactly been kind on our finances, so revelations that Kanye West intends to drastically reduce the cost of some of his upcoming designs should be music to the ears of most sneakerheads.
Appearing on Joe Rogan’s podcast late last week, Ye revealed he and adidas intend to dramatically reduce the cost of the next iteration of the Yeezy RNNR.
“So, for me, I’m gonna make this shoe be $20,” West told Rogan on the UFC commentator’s podcast. “Money isn’t real, so the world should eventually be free,” he added.
Sticking to the subject of his Yeezy collections, West went on to discuss the wider sneaker culture and the role his shoes play on the resale market, which can see some of the more exclusive designs fetching into the thousands, something he appears to have grown uncomfortable with.
“We talk about hype culture and shoes being sold on the resell market, and Yeezy lives in that place. But I don’t love the idea that some of the reasons why people buy Yeezys is just for hype culture.”
Welcome to 2020 Kanye, glad you could make it! For Kanye to criticise sneakerheads for chasing some of the most hyped designs when the Yeezy marketing machine – of which he’s an integral part – is responsible for that hype in first place does seem rather strange.
When they began capping the production of some colourways at 10,000, the idea was to ramp up the exclusivity and make fans even more desperate to cop a pair once the numbers had been limited. To now complain about that, after playing such a key role in the creation of the resale market we’re all familiar with today, does have us scratching our heads a little – although that’s nothing new for anyone familiar with the weird and wonderful world of Kanye West.
But aside from the odd complaint here and there, for sneakerheads looking to cop some cheaper Yeezys the podcast made for great listening. With the RNNR set for a price drop, let’s hope some of the other designs follow suit and the price coms down with those too. Lord knows, after the year we’ve had most of us would welcome a discount or two!