Should Nike counter adidas and collab with more Hip-Hop figures?

If you have been paying attention to the sneaker landscape in the last 5 years or so you know how important a co-sign or endorsement from the right name or figure can be even to a brand as big as Nike or adidas. You can go all the way back to the 80's and the originators of this sneaker endorsement thing we know today and thank RUN DMC for it all. Their ground breaking sound, style and movement caught the attention of the three stripes and the rest is literally history.

Back to more current times you can go back into the late 2000's and what Nike did with signing Kanye West to a shoe deal in what was a first of its kind for the swoosh. It was obviously one of the brands best moves in decades as it brought in a whole new wave of sneakers that have undoubtedly changes the sneaker landscape we know today in more ways than one. From a pure design aspect, to general hype and even the astronomical resell prices each and every Yeezy shoe still demands today its something that may never be matched again.

The crew at adidas scooped up Nike's missed opportunities in signing Kanye to their current roster and than swooping in on Pharrell, Nigo, Big Sean, 2 Chains and now even Pusha T enters the co-signed sneaker realm with his own shoe dropping in just days and already generating quite a buzz around it.

The real question that needs to be asked is does Nike see the writing on the wall and need to get something brewing with a strong counter punch and bring someone else on board? While we know there might not be a name respected enough to fill Mr. West's void at the brand one has to wonder if there is someone who can move this specific lane in the sneaker culture forward for Nike.

It's a specific aspect of the sneaker culture that adidas has been killing ever since the 80's and even to this day they are strong as ever bringing entertainment figures that matter in today's landscape together with the sneakers we buy day in day out. I know Nike may feel like they don't "need" to use this same format but with the void left by Kanye's departure and his eminent return now with the three stripes on the horizon its an interesting question to ponder and will be interesting to say the least to see what is in store as we head into 2015.

Artwork by Aditya Chhatrala