Making Custom Jordans for Kid Cudi

We’ve been blessed to work on shoes for some of the biggest names in the world, but this custom might be the biggest of them all. When world-famous rapper Kid Cudi announced the Footprint Center in Phoenix would be one of his "To the Moon" Tour destinations, we knew we had to make the Man on the Moon something special. 

Are you excited to see what Vick Almighty came up with? Let’s go behind the scenes of this out-of-this-world Custom Jordan 4 for Kid Cudi. Ready? 

3…2…1…LIFT OFF! 

The Inspiration

Vick spent hours agonizing over how this custom sneaker should look before settling on the inspiration. The custom sneaker features color schemes and design elements from two Kid Cudi’s albums & the ‘To the Moon’ Tour artwork. 

The two album covers that Vick used as color references for this custom Jordan 4 were Man on the Moon: The End of Day and The Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. Both of these album covers and the ‘To the Moon’ Tour artwork are rich with iridescent tones of purple, pink, blue, red, and teal. This color palette can be seen throughout the custom sneaker. 

The Process

Dyeing the Sneaker

The most crucial step in this customization process was the dyeing of the sneaker. Everything else in this project hinged on whether the base shoe, the Military Black Jordan 4, would take the dye. 

Vick used a combination of pink and purple Rit Dye to give the sneaker a delicate purple tone. The suede took the color nicely, as did the wings and netting. You only get one shot when dyeing a sneaker, but you know by now that Vick never misses! 

Galaxies and Gradients

As time-consuming as paint jobs can be, the different techniques that Vick used on this Kid Cudi custom Jordan really set the shoe off. Two things really stand out from the paint job; the galaxy print and the gradient across the upper. 

Vick’s been mastering the art of creating gradients for a long time, largely thanks to the plethora of Phoenix Suns-inspired customs he’s been tasked with creating. Using a bunch of iridescent tones of purple, pink, red, and blue, Vick created the perfect gradient pattern along the leather upper of the shoes. Vick finished the upper with a color-shifting coat to add to the effect. Now the color appears to change depending on how you look at the shoe.

The galaxy print idea comes directly from the Man on the Moon II album mentioned earlier. Vick laid down a base gradient on the midsole using some darker teals and blues. Then, he finished off the galaxy print with a metallic gold speckle. 

Tongue Tags and Logos

A Vick Almighty custom wouldn’t be complete without custom tongue tags and laser engraved logos. The decision to add both to this custom Jordan 4 for Kid Cudi was a no-brainer. Each shoe was laser engraved with Kid Cudi’s logo, and each shoe received a custom tongue tag from our guy D-Nice Customs. 

The custom tags turned out to be money! On one, you have the Jumpman and “Man on the Moon” underneath. On the other, you have the exact artwork from Cudi’s “To the Moon” Tour. 

Custom Lighting

Vick has turned into quite the electrician over years of making custom sneakers and decided to put his lighting knowledge to good use for this Kid Cudi custom Jordan. The best part about the Jordan 4 is the visible Air unit in the heel…which just so happens to serve as the perfect window to house LED lights. 

After using a drill to hollow out the Air unit, Vick wired up 6 LEDs per shoe, complete with a power source and a switch for easy on-and-off action. The LED lights tie the entire custom together and provide the wow factor that Vick was looking for. 

The Finished Product — Kid Cudi Custom Jordan

The mark of a good custom sneaker isn’t how many views it receives, what kind of attention it draws on social media…it’s the recipient's reaction that counts for the most. Kid Cudi is the only person whose opinion on this custom Jordan 4 matters…and it’s safe to say that he was blown away by what Vick came up with. 

We’ll chalk that up as a W. This entire project came together better than Vick could have imagined. From start to finish, this custom sneaker required so many creative elements and techniques that it’s hard to fathom how they came together so perfectly. 

What are your thoughts on this custom sneaker for Kid Cudi? Did Vick do the Man on the Moon justice with this custom creation? We’d love to hear your comments. Head over to Youtube and let us know in the video.