Koffee
Written by staff user on April 29, 2021
Koffee & Protoje On What Clarks Mean To Them And Jamaican Culture
Clarks Originals join forces with the likes of the Original Koffee and Protoje to celebrate the beautiful tradition of the international shoe brand on Jamaican soil.
Koffee is not alone in commemoration of the brand’s legacy, as other stars and brand ambassadors such as Jamaican-born Manchester City footballer Raheem Sterling, In.Digg.Nation Collective massive Protoje, Sevana, and Lila Ike, “Sheppie” Shepherd and Everaldo “Evie” Creary of The No-Maddz, and British rapper M1llionz are also all featured throughout the 10 minutes production shared on Clarks’ official Youtube channel.
The production follows the launch of Clarks “Jamaican Pack” a few weeks ago, which was preceded by Raheem Sterling’s endorsement some months prior.
On Sunday, April 18, Clarks Originals first announced the collaboration on their Instagram page, posting a trailer for the 10-minute mini-documentary featuring images of the “Toast” artist.
“The connection between Clarks and Jamaica goes back a long way. To celebrate this special relationship, we spoke to some of the biggest names in Jamaican cultures to find out what Clarks means to them,” they wrote.
In the documentary, Koffee declares, “the word Clarks literally means to me culture.”
In addition, Sterling, Lila Koffee, and Protoje mention Dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel’s contribution to the culture of Clarks in the Dancehall space. Nevertheless, the Gaza Nation was not particularly fond of the move, as they accused Clarks Original of disrespecting the artists who were actually behind the popularity of the boots in Jamaica.
One person commented, “No Supercat? No Little John? Jus the youngers? How you gonna explain a story without the originals. Plus Vybz is the reason for the modern revival around Clarks.”
Other fans were quick to point out what they say was Clarks’ poor choice of artists who they believed played little to no role in the popularity of Clarks in Jamaica, either in the 1970s and ’80s or modern times.
Clarks has been a favorite in both the Jamaican Rastafari community and Dancehall community from as far back as the ’70s. However, the brand was further glorified in Vybz Kartel’s 2010 “Clarks,” featuring Popcaan and Gaza Slim, Jahvillani’s 2019 “Clarks Pon Foot,” among others.
The dominance of Clarks in Jamaica over other brands even attracted the attention of international broadcasting company BBC in 2012 when they visited Jamaica to interview Popcaan about his preference for Clarks.
Protoje explains that, “There may not be another international brand that is as deep-rooted in Jamaican music, fashion, culture, as Clarks.”
https://urbanislandz.com/2021/04/21/koffee-protoje-on-what-clarks-mean-to-them-and-jamaican-culture/
