VP RECORDS, the independent reggae label that helped break dancehall music internationally 20 years ago, is eyeing one of the hippest markets in the United States, by hooking up with California skate-shoe company, Vans.

The Queens, New York company recently launched its Dub Rockers subsidiary which, along with Vans, have created the Dub Rockers sneaker.

According to a feature story in Billboard, 120 pairs of the shoes are to be released during the summer as part of a campaign to get VP in the thriving skateboard/surfer scene on the US West Coast.

The Dub Rockers footwear is described in Billboard as “a black mid-top accented with the Ethiopian/Rastafarian colours; red, green and gold”.

Vans has worked on similar projects with hard-rock bands Bad Brains and Metallica.

Dub Rockers’ first project, scheduled for an August 27 release, is also part of the campaign. It is a 10-song album that pairs acts such as Inner Circle, Morgan Heritage and Tarrus Riley with popular West Coast and Pacific artistes.

The set will be available digitally, as well as on compact disc and vinyl. Its lead single, Only Man In The World, is done by Riley and Hawaiian singer Anuhea.

Morgan Heritage teams with journeyman American band John Brown’s Body on The Gold while Inner Circle and another American group SOJA, recorded No Cocaine.

“We are all doing reggae but for totally different fans,” Morgan Heritage lead singer Peetah Morgan told Billboard. “Both sets of artistes are interested in crossing into each other’s territories and this project is a great tool for that.”

Mike McGraw, VP’s director of New Media, commented on what the campaign means for the company.

“Our goal is to expose Jamaican acts to an audience that may be unfamiliar with them, but also legitimise in a sense what the American guys are doing because Caribbean audiences can be un-receptive to outside acts playing reggae,” he said. “This is something new for VP; ultimately, we hope to sign Jamaican and non-Jamaican bands to the Dub Rockers imprint.”

VP sponsored the May 24-26 California Roots Music and Arts Festival, which drew an estimated 30,000 patrons. Some of the performers are California bands who are part of the Dub Rockers project: Slightly Stoopid, The Expendables and Rebelution.

Dub Rockers represents a reversal for VP, which was established in 1978 by husband-and-wife team of Vincent and Pat Chin. Vincent was founder of the Randy’s label and studio in Jamaica.

The label came to prominence in the US during the 1990s when it became the largest distributor of contemporary reggae/dancehall in that country.

VP helped put artistes such as Sean Paul, Wayne Wonder and Beenie Man on the US mainstream map.