Icewear Vezzo and the Detroit Rappers Organization hosted a shoe drive in Detroit over the weekend

While the new school season may have rolled in smoothly for some families, Detroit rapper Icewear Vezzo wanted to make sure that people in the community received fresh pairs of kicks and bundles of healthy food on Saturday.

Vezzo hosted the “Walk a Mile in My Shoe Drive” at the Kingz and Queenz Royal Palace on Gratiot Avenue on the east side, partnering with the Detroit Rappers Organization, a community outreach program run by his mother. Other partners included Clean Sneaker Care by Foir and the Kicks 4 Kids Foundation, among many other local sponsors.

With the help of the community, volunteers, and donations, hundreds of shoes were collected and given back to the people of Detroit. A wide variety of new and clean shoes were spread out across many tables and available in every size for attendees, in addition to healthy food.

“As far as our food selection, we decided to give out the essentials,” Vezzo said. “I want people in the community to start eating healthy. Today, we’re giving out food like tomatoes, wheat rice, grain, corn, zucchini, asparagus.”


Vezzo said he got the inspiration to do the event about a month ago.

“I woke up and I was mad about something, but I realized that there’s nothing for me to be mad about,” he said. “I have enough and I’m supposed to be happy. Not only did I have enough, I had too much. I woke up and took all of the clothes out of my closet, took it downtown, and gave it to the homeless.”

Vezzo said he was also inspired by his nephew. “One of my nephews didn’t want to go to school because he felt he didn’t have the proper attire,” he said. “I asked him, ‘What’s the proper attire?’ He said, ‘I don’t like my shoes.’ He felt as if he needed something more to go to school. It made me think about how many kids may not be going to school for that one reason: Because of their shoes and because they feel insecure about their looks. I know how I felt when I was able to go to school in new shoes.”

Vezzo's partnering with Kicks 4 Kids for the shoe drive made for a smart collaboration, as the foundation has a track-record for providing shoes to the community year after year.
Founder Che’keita Jones said the group started in Pontiac and gives shoes to inner-city youth in metro Detroit.

“We give out about 600 brand-new shoes annually, which is our goal,” she said. “Our mission is to boost self-confidence through providing dope footwear. Kids need shoes, but we give them shoes that they love to wear.”

In addition to performing acts of community service, Vezzo is continuing to roll out new content, as he recently dropped music videos for his tracks “Walk Down,” “Old Me,” and “Big 6” following the release of his Robbin Season mixtape.

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