Skepta Pauses Joyner Lucas Beef to Announce Blacked-Out PUMA Skope

As the diss tracks fly and more bad blood spills between UK Grime deity and US alt-hip-hop vocalist Joyner Lucas, the former has taken a second away from the beef to announce a blacked-out Skepta x – the follow-up to his

Firstly, here are your crib notes on the rappers' rhythmic stoush. In what was, it turns out, astonishingly good timing for his 'White Pack' PR, Skepta started the fracas with Joyner Lucas back in early July when he released standalone track 'Friendly Fire'. Its lyrics crowed about UK rappers' superior authenticity next to their US brethren – and poked fun at Joyner Lucas specifically. At this point, Canadian vocalist tapped the feud as one he might join and reliably come out of with some dignity intact – a result that has lately proven out of reach for the grievance enthusiast. Drake publicly endorsed Skepta's claims during a performance at the Wireless Festival, after which Joyner Lucas finally responded with his own track, Nobody Cares. Suffice to say that each camp have flung more tracks over their ramparts, and the story is still unfolding.

But back to the Skepta x PUMA Skope, which initially as Big Smoke's debut signature shoe. A -, the all-black version will shortly arrive in a mid-cut iteration which flips the tables on the summer's striking 'White Pack'. PUMA's design maestros have eschewed the model's usual mesh panelling to instead clad the entire silhouette in premium leather, which gleams in a deep, dark black. The hexagonal 'PUMA SKEPTA' logo with the tongue, with the only squeak of colour coming on the lateral vamp-edge's tiny green-lettered 'PUMA' tab.

The Skepta x PUMA Skope in sleek black is set to unleash on August 14, retailing for a cool $160.

For more on Skepta's storied sneaker history,