Nike Unveils 2015 Black History Month Collection

Sports.  An industry infused with black athletes and black culture celebrates Black History Month with Nike's 2015 BHM Collection.  A black and white color palette with varying patterns dawn 12 styles of footwear including Nike's LeBron 12, Kobe 9 Elite, KD7, Kyrie 1, Air Jordan XX9 and many more.  The collection will be available at select Nike retailers and Nike.com beginning on January 17.  Part of the proceeds will benefit the Nike  Ever Higher Fund, which supports organizations that leverage the power of sport to maximize the potential of underserved youth.

27-Year Partnership with Nike Terminated

In 1987, the University of Miami and Nike agreed to a deal that would change the entire landscape of college sports forever.  An all-sports apparel contract, which is now the standard among the NCAA, outfitted the inventors of swagger in Nike gear all throughout their cataclysmic championship runs--but now, no more.

This week, adidas and the Miami Hurricanes will announce a new agreement in which the company out of Herzogenaurach, Germany will become the school's new all-sports apparel supplier.  Make no bones about it, this deviation from a 27-year partnership stems from the decision of athletic director Blake James to test the Hurricane's athletic value in the open market.  According to sources, the adidas deal is worth several million dollars more per year than the previous Nike contract.

adidas took away another Nike contract just last month when it agreed to terms with Arizona St. to sponsor their athletics for an eight-year $33 million deal. The Miami contract would mark 11 out of the 65 Power 5 conference schools that adidas sponsors.  Whether Nike ultimately loses its control over the college football market remains to be seen, but it is apparent that the German company is investing more money than it ever has into advertising (approximately $239 million).

A Town Divided by Sneakers

Did you know athletic brand behemoths adidas and PUMA were created by a pair of German brothers?  Originating out of Herzogenaurach, Germany, adidas and PUMA were the result of a falling out by the Adolf and Rudolph Dassler brothers during World War II.  The town of 22,000 people, which both brands claim as their hometown, has been divided by the rivalry.  "The city of bent necks" for the way everyone would first glaze at another's shoes has been so polarized by this divide that its mayor balances out his wardrobe with adidas and PUMA apparel  equally.  The feud that has isolated the northern and southern parts of the town has supposedly come to an end with the proposal of joint practices between the "pumeraner" and "adidassler" soccer clubs.  Officials from both brands say the feud is over, but history of the divide is evident in these visuals provided by Wall Street Journal.

Snoop Dogg x DaM-FunK Release Two New Tracks

Pittsburgh Steelers fan by night, OG rap legend by day; Snoop Dogg has teamed up with Dam-FunK to bring us two new tracks with guest vocals by Daz Dillinger and up-and-coming artist Shon Lawon.  The songs "N My System" and "It's Not A Secret" return that retro 'G-funk' flavor to the funky West Coast tracks that are sure to start the New Year off right.  You can listen to Snoop and Dam's latest tunes now on OfficeVibes.

Kanye West featuring Paul McCartney - Only One

And the first post of 2015 goes to Kanye West. Right as we brought in the New Year Kanye released his wonderful song with Paul McCartney we have been hearing rumors about for a while, "Only One". Along with the styling from The Beatles legend, Kanye sings with love in his heart from the perspective of his late mother, Donda West. In a tweet Kim said, "People always ask me what my favorite Kanye song is and it's Only One. Kanye feels like his mom sang thru him to our daughter." It certainly seems that way, but hear the emotion in his voice for yourself as you can stream "Only One" below.