Yxng Bane is an artist who is known as much for his fashion sense and style as he is for his music—and that’s no bad thing. He himself describes it as being “very, very important”, and “another way of expressing yourself”, and in this modern age, it’s the norm for musicians to have more than one string attached to their bow, but in Baney Boy's case, he has multiple.
Having only been in and around the scene since 2015, the rapper/singer has already achieved two Top 40 singles in “Rihanna” and “Vroom”—with both going gold and silver respectively—as well as featuring on two Top 10 singles with Yungen’s catchy “Bestie” and Banx & Ranx and Ella Eyre’s “Answerphone”. No small feat, but that’s just the music: earlier this year, he modelled at London Fashion Week while also putting out a clothing collaboration named after his recent project HBK (Heartbreak Kid).
With his ears to the streets and his trendsetter tendencies, it’s not hard to see why Bane and Timberland are a match made in heaven. “It’s a blessing, you know,” he tells Complex. “It takes a lot of hard work, and so much has been done in such a short time—you can imagine how much work has been put in. Nothing comes for free.” It’s this focused mindset that has allowed Bane to reach the heights that he has, and he’s only getting started. Celebrating the 45th anniversary of Timberland’s iconic yellow boot, which features prominently in Bane’s latest music video “Slip n’ Slide”—taken from the aforementioned HBK mixtape—he says that “Timberland are still a huge part of the hip-hop and R&B scenes and continue to inspire artists today so partnering on this video felt like a natural continuation.”
The art of being able to reinvent yourself while not straying too far from what people expect from or love about you is a hard line to walk, but both Yxng Bane and Timberland are experts at this. “I just label myself as a musician,” Yxng Bane explains. “If I was to say I’m a rapper and then you go on HBK and hear singing, you would say he’s a singer. So I’m fine with the label of being an artist or musician.” Meanwhile, Timberland have curated a special collection for their yellow boot (among other styles), which have been reimagined with sapphire highlights—a symbol of the 45th anniversary—and features premium details like two-tone yellow-and-sapphire laces, a dedicated hangtag, and a tongue embossed with the 45th anniversary logo.
The shoe is available in-store and online right now.
