Westside Gunn’s first Saucony collaboration was far from understated, but his second is dialing up the call for attention with an abundance of animal prints.
The Westside Gunn x Saucony Grid Jazz 9 “Awesome God” features pony hair paneling in a wide variety of animal prints both natural and unnatural. Coats of zebras, deer, cheetah and cow are all represented, and additional patterns answer the question, “What if there were a tie-die creature?” The toe box even takes a turn toward iridescent, while the rapper’s signature scorpion mark is embroidered onto the heel and imprinted onto the leather insole.
Griselda, the name of his record label co-founded with Conway the Machine and Benny the Butcher, is incorporated into the midsole’s Grid tech, which takes on the appearance of amber. Two sets of laces give you the option of traditional black and white leather rope.
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Following the lead of fellow rapper-turned-designer Jae Tips, who’s now decamped for Nike, Westside Gunn made his Saucony collab debut late last year with the ProGrid Triumph 4 “Super Flygood,” which is coated in neon colors and glows in the dark. Future collabs have also been previewed with an all-red Grid Jazz 9 featuring snakeskin texture and a “Spider-Man”-themed OriGrud Ombi 9 Web.
As the ninth iteration of the Jazz franchise that launched in 1981, the Grid Jazz 9 debuted in the early 2000s and was brought to prominence last year through Jae Tips’ blue, pink and yellow “I Love You But I’m Busy” collaboration.
The Westside Gunn x Saucony Grid Jazz 9 “Awesome God” will release Aug. 28 — the same day Buffalo recognizes Westside Gunn Day — through a Saucony EQL raffle, Westside Gunn’s website and select third-party retailers. Pricing is set at $225.
