Nike gives Drake his own sub-brand: 'NOCTA'

Have you really made it if you don’t have a collab? While Kanye has his Gap deal and Rihanna has Puma, there’s nothing more exclusive than teaming up with Nike and its iconic Swoosh. Even Travis Scott, who’s had a Nerf gun, McDonald’s meal, and a Reese’s Puffs collab couldn’t pass up Nike’s appeal. Now, Drake, a Jordan Brand collaborator since 2013, has announced the launch of a new Nike sub-line dubbed NOCTA.

NOCTA, named for Drake’s nocturnal creative process, is a rare Nike occurrence. Champagne Papi isn’t an athlete by any means, yet Nike has given him something similar to Michael Jordan’s brand — his very own label. The collection doesn’t go by Drake x Nike or NOCTA by Nike; it’s just NOCTA. “I always felt like there was an opportunity for Nike to embrace an entertainer the same way they had athletes,” Drake wrote about the collection on Nike’s website. “I thought about how crazy it would have been and what it would have meant for an artist to have a flagship Nike deal.”

Drip like Drake — According to Drake’s interview with Nike on the capsule, NOCTA will put a heavy emphasis on functionality as well comfort, almost serving as a uniform for the grinders, hard workers, and people who, from the description given, use the 100 emoji unironically. In fact, Drake says the inspiration behind the collection was his own “uniform” he’s worn in Toronto, London, and Paris: “Nike Tech Fleece, the gloves, the hat.”

In terms of how that uniform will look, only a few photos have been shared of the styles. NOCTA’s initial offerings seem to consist of tonal-colored puffer jackets and sweatsuits, coming in yellow or black. The yellow jackets feature a black “NOCTA” spell out on the right chest and a black “CL” on the back — likely a nod to Certified Lover Boy, the title of his upcoming album and his previous co-branded merch with Nike. Each jacket features a large Swoosh outline on its backside.

There’s a small hint at a hoodie and matching sweatpants in the promotional photos, seemingly following the yellow and black colorway. A mini Swoosh can be seen in the center of the sweatshirt, while black drawstrings indicate it’ll continue the contrasting effect of the yellow jackets. We can’t wait to see the full uniform.

These hoes are loyal — For the haters, I’d like to point out that Champagne Papi is one of Nike’s most loyal fans, almost insanely so. Though he had a brief fling in 2018 with Adidas, Drake has photoshopped Adidas’s logo out of pictures, rapped about “checks over stripes” on his “Sicko Mode” feature, and made references to his Jordans in the “In My Feelings” video. “This opportunity is something that I’ve been waiting on for a really long time,” Drake wrote in his note alongside the launch. Clearly.

The NOCTA collection drops December 18 on its very own website, nocta.com, and you can follow NOCTA on Instagram for updates in the meantime. This might be Drake’s biggest “started from the bottom” moment ever, but we’ll judge once we see the full collection. That's great and all, but let's hope that in the future, NOCTA will have something for Champagne Mamis, too.