Rapper Nas Gets Fila Endorsement

Def Jam recording artist Nas signed a one-year partnership Monday with sports clothing company Fila, Billboard reports.

The 34-year-old MC has avoided brand partnerships in recent years, but said he agreed to co-create an '80s-inspired line with Fila because of his own memories of the brand.

"My best friend Will and I loved Fila," Nas told Billboard. "It represented prestige and everything that was cool to us. When Will passed, we buried him in a black Fila sweat suit, so doing a deal with them has a lot of significance for me."

Nas, born Nasir Jones, sparked controversy last fall by announcing that he planned to title his latest album "N-gga."

His label initially stood behind his decision, but after many delayed release dates and much protest in the blogosphere, the rapper announced that his new album would be untitled. The untitled album is set to release July 15.

Fila President John Esptein said the company decided to partner with Nas despite the artist's controversial views.

"I had some trepidation, and then I started talking to 16- to 20-year-old kids in focus groups," Epstein told Billboard. "They looked at me like I was crazy for not understanding his message of positive change. Nas is relevant to his followers and I don't have to understand it as long as they do."