footwear /

Adidas (hip-hop relationship)

Hip-hop origin: Run-DMC and Aerosmith release 'Walk This Way' — rap's first crossover #1

Adidas AG active

Hip-hop relevance

Run-DMC's 1986 'My Adidas' (off Raising Hell) — and a Madison Square Garden moment that summer in which the Queens trio held their unlaced Superstars aloft for the crowd — produced the first major endorsement deal between a hip-hop act and a non-music consumer brand. Adidas signed Run-DMC to a roughly $1.6M deal that established the template for hip-hop's now-routine relationship with footwear and apparel companies.

Endorsements & deals 2

  • 1986
    Run-DMC · Endorsement
    First major hip-hop / brand endorsement; reported around $1.6M.
  • 2003
    missy-elliott · Endorsement
    Respect M.E. line.

Linked moments 3

External

Citations 2

  1. B
    Wikipedia — My Adidas Retrieved 2026-05-24.
  2. B
    The New York Times — Adidas signs deal with Run-DMC Retrieved 2026-05-24.

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