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One of hip hop’s sharpest minds, Nas notoriously shuns brand name collaborations – until now. Billboard reports the rapper has signed a one-year partnership with Fila, contracting him to wear and endorse Fila products in exchange for financial backing from the apparel company.

Fila is getting behind the print and TV campaign for Nas’ forthcoming album, due out mid-July through Def Jam. The record, originally due to be named Nigger, is currently untitled. “One of my executives spotted Nas shopping in our Manhattan store and struck up a conversation with him,” Fila president John Epstein told Billboard. “Nas isn’t interested in selling out. He’s interested in being true, and that fits with our brand.”

Epstein was asked if the team-up made him a little nervous, given Nas’ reputation as a political agitator. “I had some trepidation, and then I started talking to 16- to 20-year-old kids in focus groups,” he answered. “They looked at me like I was crazy for not understanding his message of positive change. Nas is relevant to his followers and I don’t have to understand it as long as they do.” You gotta trust the kids John…

Nas is reported to be co-creating an apparel line for Fila that “draws on fashions from the late �80s”.

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