Drake and Nike have been promising some extra exclusive for a while now. Drizzy revealed his latest Nike sub-label, NOCTA, following the success of his Certified Lover Boy album merch.
NOCTA is a direct reference to Drake’s night-time creative process. To announce the collection, the Toronto rapper wrote a letter that sheds light on the spirit of the project.
Drake started the piece by sharing his intense affinity for Nike from an early age, becoming fascinated with everything related to Swoosh, even those sponsored by the sportswear brand.
“I remember watching all these athletes repping Nike — each doing the unthinkable — and how inspiring it was,” he said. “I always felt like there was an opportunity for Nike to embrace an entertainer the same way they had athletes. I thought about how crazy it would have been and what it would have meant for an artist to have a flagship Nike deal.”
Lately, artists have been recognized in particular by numerous sporting businesses. The list continues on and on from Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and Beyoncé at adidas, to Travis Scott and Drake at Nike, Rihanna and Big Sean at PUMA. However, Drake has entered rarified air, gaining his own sub-label for the world’s most prestigious sportswear brand.
According to Champagne Papi, NOCTA is all about comfort and functionality for those on the move.
“But as much as it’s about what we make, it’s also about a mindset: an unforgiving drive, a relentlessness. Characterized by the type who are on the road all day all night — the grinders, the hard workers — trying to accomplish their goals and taking no short cuts,” he said.
By reflecting from the culture in which he grew up, NOCTA seeks to make “the hardest jacket, the hardest tracksuit, the hardest gloves. Just the best of that world,” Drake proclaimed.
Learn more about Drake’s NOCTA collection by visiting Nike. The first release will be available on December 18 worldwide.
