Despite his opposition to sidestepping brand partnerships, NAS just inked a one-year partnership with Fila apparel. Fila will offer reciprocal financial support for Nas’ print and TV ad campaign as well as his upcoming tour in support of his untitled album, due July 15 via Def Jam. In return, the MC will wear Fila products and co-create an apparel line that draws from fashions of the late ’80s. Thats hot!

“My best friend Will and I loved Fila,” Nas tells Billboard. “It represented prestige and everything that was cool to us. When Will passed, we buried him in a black Fila sweat suit, so doing a deal with them has a lot of significance for me.”

According to Fila president John Epstein, it was a great marriage.  “One of my executives spotted Nas shopping in our Manhattan store and struck up a conversation with him,” Epstein says. “Nas isn’t interested in selling out. He’s interested in being true, and that fits with our brand.”

Some may have thought that Fila’s president would be apprehensive to partnering with a rapper who pledged to unpack America’s racial struggles.

“I had some trepidation, and then I started talking to 16- to 20-year-old kids in focus groups,” Epstein says. “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.”