We shot Earthquake-causing (geddit) hitmaker Labrinth for our Reebok Classics story in our last issue. Read the full feature here and check out our video of the shoot, where the London boy tries to bust a few moves with our professional dancers.
It Takes A Lot To Make A Classic. So goes the tag line for the latest campaign from Reebok Classics who, having made iconic footwear and apparel since the 80s, should know a thing or two about timeless street-tinged style. For latest brand ambassador, Labrinth, it’s a mantra he is fully able to relate to. Having first appeared on the music scene back in 2010 on Tinie Tempah’s Number One smash “Pass Out”, scoring his own top five hit with “Let the Sun Shine” later the same year, Lab (real name Timothy McKenzie) has been painstakingly working on his debut album Electronic Earth – originally due in Summer last year but finally seeing the light of day this April.
“I wanted to make sure I had something worth listening to instead of throwing out loads of tripe,” the 23-year-old musician and producer laughs, explaining the delay. It’s actually hardly surprising that it’s taken a bit longer than expected, given that he played all the instruments on the album as well as composing, producing and laying down the lyrics. “There were those days where I thought, ‘I can’t do this anymore!’ he says. “But this is my first offering to the industry and I wanted to be able to say, ‘I did it.’”
His partnership with Reebok began last year and it has been mutually beneficial – the sportswear brand supports his music video and tour projects, while Labrinth brings the latest designs to his legions of fans. “I couldn’t ask for better,” he says of the collaboration, which incidentally has finally allowed him to get one up on his older brothers. “When I was younger, they used to have stacks of Reebok trainers and I was never able to wear any of them. And now I have a room full! But I have given some to them. You can’t hold a grudge.”