Since Grime MC Legend, DJ, Producer, Actor and artist Skepta’s Nike contract ended earlier this year, he has wasted no time in finding another brand to keep his feet laced. What may at first have seemed like an unlikely partnership may actually have been the best move for the newly found music label and German footwear company.

We firstly got hints at a possible Nike collaboration way back in 2014, before any SK Air logo hit the streets of London (lots of people thought this was a Sadiq Kahn collab which could have been lowkey fire). Skepta and a few BBK members donned what looked like an exclusive all black Nike Tracksuit on stage at Red Bull Culture Clash, a subtle large swoosh across the chest.

This was before the Swoosh was coming out with clothing encompassing large logos and about two years before Virgil had released his The Ten collection. I mention this collection to say, after witnessing the consumers reception, there was a huge directional change in terms of design philosophy, adopting their ethos from someone who birthed brands such as Off White and Hood By Air. The tracksuit BBK members were wearing on stage at Culture Clash was supposedly designed by Skepta himself and had tapped into something different before the brand itself had even realised it. The MC even had a bit of a Kanye moment a year or so down the line in 2015 suggesting in an interview that the brand had been difficult to work with and were being finicky when it came to the contract details.

As we all know now, Skepta’s run of Air Max’s all did exceptionally well with is first release, the 97 arguably being the best of the bunch. All of his shoes had its own unique spin, even the “No Sleep on Tour” inspired Air Max Deluxe. Unfortunately this one felt most like Nike’s attempt to add much-desired traction onto a silhouette they had retro’d for that year (2018) only to receive a mixed reception.

After the release of the Tailwind 5’s in the two colourways, Skepta’s five shoe deal was over and he was a free agent once again. This was also made clear by the abundance of Prada America Cup’s and other high end fashion shoe’s he was rocking on his socials. Whilst he is by no means alien to high fashion, he made it abundantly clear that no sportswear brands were getting any unpaid shine till a cheque was cleared. Much to everyone’s surprise, he debuted the announcement that Big Smoke Corp was signing a deal with Puma. Whilst a large portion of his fans don’t see this as a wise idea, I beg to differ.

We’ve recently seen New Balance blow up the last two years with their solid releases of old models and great roster of collaborations. However, in my opinion this hype train can only go on for so long before it eventually gets slowed down by the ever-changing trends. Puma is a brand that has not been ‘on top’ since the Puma Suede’s had a moment back in 2012. This was the precursor to the Stan Smith moment that occurred shortly after that. You know for a fact that every teenage girl and boy were hitting up Schuh and Office walking out feeling funky fresh in their new Stan Smith’s. Many PE lessons were seldom filled with Bethany arguing her pair was better than Tallulah’s because she had pink lace tips, a detail she looks back on now as the birthing of her wokeness. #Slay?

Ten years have passed  since then, with brands like Asics having their Gel Lyte era, adidas Boost doing its thing and now New Balance with their current reign. All have basked in their temporary time in the Sun, only to be eventually blocked out by Nike, once they had figured out how to catch up. With this logical pattern in mind, I think Puma is set to have a rise within the next two to three years. They have shown some promise with silhouettes such as the Thunder Spectra selling out back in 2019, a shoe which provided sneaker heads with a more accessible alternative to the Wave Runner 700 which debuted back in 2017. They also had steady success with their RS Runner lines which can be seen on foot in your local City if you pay close attention. Puma has proved they can successfully collaborate with celebrities as we’ve seen with their majorly successful Puma x Fenty line. Rhianna clearly does a lot to sell this product through the sheer weight of her name however the marketing for the shoes were also a huge factor behind its success. The partnership ended after the 2018 summer collection but this was after a few years of consistently high sales.

I see no reason why Big Smoke Corp’s collaboration can’t do the same. Skepta clearly has proven himself at Nike with the ability to resonate with sneakerheads both in the UK and across the pond. Whilst his choice of Air Max silhouettes was backed with personal attachments and memories, this was only a partial factor in the success of his shoes. Whilst Skepta’s history with Puma as a product may be sparse, it is no problem for him to paint a picture (pardon the pun) when it comes to storytelling. For example, it’s not like Stormzy was rocking Gazelles during Northampton away at Rochdale, whilst on the piss with the lads and tucking into a Pucka Pie (don’t compromise). Yet he still managed to make the adidas tracksuit massively popular again with his Fire in the Park music video. Both him and Kanye made the black adi Tracksuit bottoms practically uniform back in the run of 2015 to 2017. This just goes to show how an artist can adopt an entirely new product or brand and make it their own. If you want another and more direct example of this simply look at Skepta’s Ed Hardy era of style and how he embraced that brand. This was a total 180 compared to the 2015 That’s Not Me era of a simple white T shirt and black tracksuit combinations. The guy can undoubtedly switch it up without anyone blinking an eye. This being said, there is a whole lot more attention on the artist now than there was even back in 2015 so his moves are being increasingly watched.

He recently took to the art world with his debut painting, Mamma Goes to Market. This was sold, along with a curated collection from friends and artists, in London’s Sotheby’s. The painting went for double its max expected sale price at £80,000 pounds. It is almost as if everything he touches turns to gold and I can’t see that changing for in relation to his current footwear deal.

Now we don’t know about the final ins and outs of the contracts at the moment. For all we know it could be like the UFC’s previous Reebok deal in which we saw Dana’s athletes obligingly wear the product for cage walks and press events. This could be the same for the Big Smoke Corp deal as artist under the label may have to wear a certain amount of Puma product in order to be part of the musical umbrella. Think signing your contract with BSC, receiving the silver razor blade chain, then getting handed a pair of Puma Suede’s and having to remove your pair of high-end kicks you bought in anticipation of your contract signing. Goals? I mean I wouldn’t mind, throw me some Puma Rockets instead and we’re sound.

We can see Skepta already appearing in Puma shoes and clothing over on his Instagram. He wore a simple black and white colourway when making the short walk to his private jet and also during his performance at New York Fashion Week. Whilst the brand is small compared to the likes of Nike and adidas, it has got an extensive catalogue and rich history to tap into. Take a look in Sneaker Freaker’s Soled Out and you can not only see the history for yourself, but how popular the cat was too.

If Skepta and Puma work together to hit the right notes, there is no way they can fail. All they need is a release of meaningful collaborations and excellent marketing, the rest is up to sneakerheads to realise once again how cool Puma is as a brand. I do however realise this is easier said than done. With the support of his english fanbase alone, I think the people are more than ready to back him on yet another venture. Here’s hoping Puma’s new deal with Big Smoke Corp is a success for everyone involved and we get great products as a result.