Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine Bring Their Expertise to the Classroom Through a Partnership With Pensole and Adidas

variety.com:

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.The next generation of shoe designers aren’t wasting any time jumpstarting their careers, thanks to entrepreneurs Dr.

Dre and Jimmy Iovine, who are bringing their creative expertise to Southern California high schools through a partnership with Adidas and Pensole.Last fall, the Beats co-founders organized a series of “Wood U” workshops through the Iovine and Young Academy – an educational startup that the pair started at University of Southern California in 2013 – where students from Inglewood were able to design their own sneakers all the way up through production.

Through the six-week long course, other creatives such as the West Coast rapper D Smoke dropped in to offer their support and guidance. Read More: Beyonce’s Ivy Park Valentine’s Day Collection Is Finally Here The final products, which launched at select Adidas stores on Feb.

7, were showcased at an outdoor pep rally at Audobon Middle School last weekend, where Pensole founder Dr. D’Wayne Edwards took the stage to explain the creative process and his own mission to empower young kids to pursue a career in design.“When you have less than 5% African Americans in the entire field of design, that’s disgraceful, considering the economic power we have as a consumer,” Edwards tells Variety. “And for us not to be in the corporations designing the product that we want to buy, it’s hypocritical — because our industry promotes black folks in ads telling these kids that they can be successful but only if they have a ball or a microphone in their hands.