*André 3000 hit up Instagram this week to announce the launch of his new capsule collection featuring a sketch he did of an ant reading a book.
The design, he explained, is only being used in this new project while he gets the trademark situation sorted out.
“This is a sketch I did a while ago and I am told I have to use it now in the market place or it stops being mine. So I’ve made a few things with it. All the shirts are ethically-produced/made from recycled materials. Hope you enjoy,” he wrote in an Instagram post. Check out the merch below.
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“According to the trademark people, in order to retain control of your trademarks, you have to actively use them,” Andre said in a handwritten note shared on his official website. “The trademark office also [has] deadlines and lots of rules to defend your IP (intellectual property). So here are a few things that I hope you and the good people at the trademark office will enjoy.”
The collection, per Complex, features t-shirts, hoodies, and posters emblazoned with the rapper’s original ant sketch. The t-shirts cost $45, the hoodies are $150, and the poster is $25. The shirts are ethically produced and made from recycled materials, according to Andre.
Click here to order.
Last year, Andre dropped a collection of merch inspired by the jumpsuits he designed for OutKast’s 2014 reunion tour.
The t-shirts featured messages such as, “Ok, hand over the cure and stop playing,” “I pray there’s a god at the end of all this,” “Can one rest in peace & violence?” and more.
Proceeds from the limited collection funded the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL).
“Something very important is happening all over the world and it is happening to all of us,” he wrote upon announcing the shirts on Instagram.
“How does it make you feel?” Andre added “For 3 days, a selection of shirts inspired by a collection of my jumpsuits will be sold and 100% of net proceeds will be donated to Movement for Black Lives @mvmnt4blklives to aid in their fight to end police brutality & racial injustice against Black people.”
The hip-hop star also noted that “this is only piece in the war against systemic racism,” and “BLACK LIVES MATTER … at a minimum.”
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