Vince Staples stars in Jayson Tatum’s new Jordan sneaker ad, which casts the Long Beach rapper as the Spike Lee to the NBA star’s Michael Jordan.
The 25-second clip, which premiered on Instagram on Thursday (October 10), finds Vince channeling his inner Mars Blackmon while Tatum shoots hoops in the background.
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“Ayo! It’s a shoe commercial, we gotta talk about the shoe,” Staples says, pestering the Boston Celtics forward to put his salesman cap on and highlight the features of his new Tatum 3 signature sneaker.
“Tell me about the foam that — what’s the foam you were talking about earlier? Aye, look. I’m really not trying to bother you, dawg, but we gotta talk about the shoe. Talk about the tech benefits!”
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After largely ignoring his co-star, Tatum eventually stops what he’s doing, turns around and replies: “Tech benefits?”
“Fuck the tech benefits!” Vince then vents to the camera, breaking the fourth wall.
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The short ad has even more Hip Hop flavor as it ends with a brief instrumental snippet of JAY-Z‘s “Success” collaboration with Nas from his 2009 album American Gangster.
The comedic clip, of course, pays homage to Michael Jordan and Spike Lee’s classic sneaker commercials from the late ’80s and early ’90s in which the famed director carried over his basketball junkie character from She’s Gotta Have It.
Vince Staples isn’t the only rapper that Jayson Tatum has an affiliation with as he is clearly a fan of Kanye West — specifically, Ye’s self-belief.
The Boston Celtics won their 18th NBA championship — and first in 16 years — this past summer, defeating the Dallas Mavericks four games to one in the best-of-seven series.
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During the post-game celebrations, the five-time All Star drew inspiration from Kanye’s iconic acceptance speech for Best Rap Album (The College Dropout) at the 2005 Grammys.
“I know everybody will wonder what would happen if we didn’t win,” Tatum said while holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy as the crowd cheered him on. “I guess we’ll never know.”
Meanwhile, Vince Staples is set to star in more than just sneaker commercials in the coming months.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Netflix had renewed The Vince Staples Show for a second season following the success of its debut season.
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“The Vince Staples Show is back!” Staples said in a statement. “The people have spoken and the most riveting, captivating, and polarizing show on Netflix is returning for season 2. Get ready for hijinks that only a mother can love. Thank you, Netflix!”
The “Norf Norf” MC had publicly campaigned the streaming giant to extend his acclaimed comedy series, even getting the support from fellow rappers like Killer Mike and N.O.R.E.
