Your average artist merch capsule won’t quite cut it for Drake and Nike. Just two months after delivering a collaborative capsule of Certified Lover Boy merch for the artist’s forthcoming 2021 album, Drake and Nike have returned with their new sub-label, NOCTA. The announcement of a full Nike sub-label provides the deepest level of collaboration yet between Drake and the activewear brand and with its release, it’s become clear that the artist has been foreshadowing this moment for some time. Earlier this year, Drake released his “Laugh Now, Cry Later” music video which took place entirely at Nike’s World Headquarters. We should’ve known better than to assume the product placement would be anything less than a hint at some kind of major partnership.
Nike officially announced the NOCTA line through a Drake-penned love letter to the activewear brand on their news site on December 2nd, 2020. In the note, Drake details the collection and what it means for him to be working in an official capacity with his activewear brand in Nike. “NOCTA is about creating something for people on the move,” the artist writes before explaining the purpose of his new collection. The Nike x Drake NOCTA line is for people like Drake, those who spend most of their time grinding and who accomplish their goals without taking any shortcuts as the artist explains in his letter. In terms of apparel, the collaboration delivers lightweight high-quality Puffer Jackets and refined Tech Fleece Hoodies; basically the elevated versions of the Nike staples that Drake’s been wearing for years. The collection isn’t super flashy – a yellow jacket with minimal branding is the collection’s craziest piece – and it isn’t supposed to be. In his letter, Drake made it clear that this collection is meant to hold a sense of uniformity, delivering the team apparel of a new collective of grinders, working day and night to achieve their dreams.
Unless they have something else up their sleeve, on Nike’s side, the Drake NOCTA collaboration delivers the final blow of a knockout year. Nike’s extensive list of collaborators includes Virgil Abloh, Drake, Olivia Kim, and sacai, spanning nearly the full spectrum of “Who’s Hot?” in 2020. From Fear Of God and Cactus Plant Flea Market to Supreme and Stussy, Nike has dominated the streetwear collaboration. If anything has held true this year, it’s been the effectiveness of that Nike collaboration, which is beginning to feel instrumental in the success of any burgeoning brand in the streetwear world. With the NOCTA sublabel, Nike has added to their arsenal of genre-defining artists for the long-term future. After all, no one alive could possibly stop a brand fronted by the likes of Travis Scott, Virgil Abloh, and Drake, among others.
This collaboration sets Drake up for a big year in 2021. Despite releasing the merch for it already, Certified Lover Boy, Drake’s forthcoming album, doesn’t release until early next year. Though it hasn’t been announced yet, we’re speculating that the artist drops even more merch once the album actually releases, meaning there could very well be another Drake merch drop in the near future. On the NOCTA front, the Nike x Drake sub-label’s second drop is already confirmed for February 23rd, 2021. That release will feature tactical jackets, vests, t-shirts, hats and more new NOCTA pieces. With an album on the way and a newly minted Nike partnership that’s already promised a second release, we’d bet Drake is doing a whole lot more laughing than crying as 2020 comes to a close.
Shop the Nike x Drake NOCTA collection on StockX below!
