will.i.am partners with Mercedes Benz on “The Flip”

will.i.am and Mercedes announce new partnership, created to support access to education.

Black Eyed Peas frontman and entrepreneur will.i.am has once again partnered with Mercedes, this time to create a custom Mercedes-AMG, which was revealed last weekend in Miami during the Formula 1 Grand Prix event. 

will.i.am and “The Flip.”

“The Flip” represents Mercedes and will.i.am’s sixth project together, as they work together to push boundaries and drive forward with new ideas. The car itself is based upon the Mercedes-AMG GT four door coupe, though will.i.am worked with West Coast Customs to extensively modify the car to his liking.  

“The Flip.”
“The Flip.”

“I grew up in a ghetto. I grew up with hip hop. I watched legendary hip hop artists rap about Mercedes, so it was always a dream to own a Mercedes,” says will.i.am. “For a lot of inner-city kids, owning a Mercedes is a symbol of progress and advancing out of struggle. Now I’ve reached my goal and pushed even higher by re-imagining and creating my own vision of an AMG model.” 

The collaboration also brought about a limited-edition apparel line. will.i.am reimagined the iconic Mercedes star logo by making it look almost bear-like, thus inspiring the name of the collection: BEAR WITNESS. The logo is the focal point of the collection, which includes t-shirts, hoodies, hats, and letterman jackets.  

A letterman jacket from the BEAR WITNESS collection.

A portion of the proceeds will go to the i.am/Angel foundation, will.i.am’s charity which helps give children from disadvantaged communities access to education. The true mission of the partnership is to help the foundation expand their STEAM access opportunities, giving kids necessary education in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. 

The BEAR WITNESS collection is available exclusively on will.i.am. Prices range from $145 to $2,484.  

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