Cardi B might have been just a kid in the '90s, but the rapper just went back to the era that brought us Reebok's Aztrek sneakers for the brand's newest campaign. Cardi B's Reebok '90s-themed ad has the Grammy winning artist playing with fax machines, dancing the Macarena, and wearing the burnt orange Aztrek sneakers that were iconic during that decade.
The rapper first partnered with the sneaker giant in Nov. 2018, and right from the beginning the collaborators focused on nostalgia. Cardi B went into Reebok's archives and helped resurrect a '90s throwback that is the Aztrek sneaker. Originally launched in 1993 as an all-terrain runner, the shoe has been on a 25-year hiatus. It was the first Reebok shoe to feature Hexalite cushioning, which is a shock absorption technology that makes running easier. You can wear it everywhere from mountain tracks while hiking, gravel roads while running, and uneven sidewalks while taking your Instagram photos.
Christian Tresser was the original designer behind the shoe, and he wanted to create a runner that was different from anything on the market. In an interview with Reebok, Tresser shared that the style during the early '90s was "curvy and flowy," and he went in the opposite direction.
"I used my ruler and drew a lot of straight lines, and even diamond patterns. I kind of went against the grain" Tresser explained. "If you look at the shoe it doesn't look like any other shoe from Reebok in that period."
With the rising popularity of dad sneakers, Cardi B's first collaboration with Reebok was bringing the Aztrek shoe back. They updated it with a chunkier look and brighter color selections.
In the new '90s-centric campaign for the shoe, Cardi B is repping the all-new burnt orange Aztrek sneaker. Seeing how the runner was created in '93, the "Money" rapper went head-to-head with the period that created the original heritage runner. Shot in the Bronx, her original burough, Cardi revisits some of the most nostalgic '90s trends.
The video starts with Cardi opening a drawer of plastic slap bracelets. She is tasked to see how many she can get on her wrist within a matter of seconds. Cardi picks up a bunch of different wild colors and patterns and adorns her arms with the childhood accessory.
Afterward she is challenged to dance the Macarena. With a roll of her eyes, she gets up and does the arm moves and wiggle. Towards the end of the campaign video, Reebok asks her to decode some '90s slang phrases, translating them into modern times.
One of the phrases is "I'm all that and a bag of chips." Cardi B explains, "I'm all that and I'm more. I've got boobs, ass, brains. All that and a bag of chips and a soda."
Another throwback phrase is "oh snap." Cardi B takes a stab at it, explaining, "Oh snap is like, 'Oh snap, you got them new Reeboks. You wavy.'"
If you want to be wavy yourself, you can try out the new Cardi B-approved Aztrek runners. After all, you can never go wrong when mimicking a rap legend.
