SoleGRIND
J Balvin is not slowing down with Jordan Brand. Four signature shoes in and he just keeps getting louder. The Air Jordan 4 “Lemonade” is his latest, and it might be his boldest yet.
Let me start with the material because that is the story here. The upper is built from croc-textured leather. Not a print. Not an effect. Actual textured leather layered in yellow tones that run from pale and washed out to a deeper golden shade. This is not a safe shoe. It is loud, textured, and unmistakably Balvin.
Underneath the collar there is a glossy finish that plays against the matte croc leather. The heel carries two logos. A debossed Nike Air mark on one side. Balvin’s upside-down smiley on the other. Both done in metallic silver. The dubraes are bilingual. “Just Do It” on one side, “Solo Hazlo” on the other. The Spanish nod to his Colombian roots is a detail that matters. It is not a sticker. It is pressed into the hardware.
The color story is where things get interesting. Jordan Brand is listing the colorway simply as “Lemonade/Lemonade” for now. Some sources say it is strictly yellow. Others are pointing to a wider mix that includes green, pink, blue, and brown. Balvin reportedly pulled inspiration from Medellin sunsets and the vivid colors of Cano Cristales, the Colombian river known for its seasonal rainbow of aquatic plants. If that multi-color approach is real, this shoe is going to look completely different in hand than it does in early photos.
Style code is IW2872-700. Release date is currently penciled in for September 25, 2026. Jordan Brand has not made it official yet, so the date could shift. Sales will go through SNKRS and select Jordan Brand retailers.
This is Balvin’s fourth solo project with Jordan Brand. He already has an Air Jordan 1, an Air Jordan 2, and two Air Jordan 3 “Rio” colorways. The progression makes sense. His AJ1 was colorful but relatively tame in construction. The AJ2 and AJ3 pushed further. The AJ4 Lemonade is the biggest swing yet. Croc leather on a Jordan 4 is not something anyone else has done.
Balvin first showed off the colorway during his performance at the opening ceremony of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. That is a massive stage. If you are going to debut a shoe, doing it in front of the entire world is one way to do it. Eagle-eyed fans also caught him in an unexplained Air Jordan 4 late last year, which in hindsight was almost certainly an early sample of this pair.
What I like about Balvin’s run with Jordan is that he is not trying to make shoes that look like other Jordans. He is making shoes that look like him. The colors, the materials, the bilingual details, the smiley. You can spot a Balvin Jordan from across the room. Not many collaborators have that kind of visual identity.
If the Lemonade colorway lives up to the early images, it will be one of the most collectible Jordan 4s of the year. Croc leather, Colombian inspiration, and a September 25 release. Keep your eyes on SNKRS.
