As a child, I awaited for February to come. It meant one thing: Air Jordans. It was that time of the year that Mike released another roman numeral to succeed the last. You knew a commercial would come; you would only guess what type of theme he would use. Would it be funny? Maybe it would be one of inspiration, highlighting his magnificent career. All I knew was once All-Star weekend came around, I had to beg for a pair to be the coolest at school. The sad part was my parents couldn’t afford them, so I had to see years and years of releases pass me by.
Like him or not, Fat Joe has an ill sneaker collection, lots of platinum, plenty of cars, nine studio albums, and of course, front row courtside Knicks tickets. Joe’s Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) released in 2001 and went platinum. J.O.S.E. 2 dropped today and will likely sell more than any record that you made! Don’t hate the rapper, hate politics. Don’t hate on his collection, hate that you envy it. We are all Sneaker Heads, sneaker connoisseurs, sneaker collectors… whatever. Joe’s an aficionado like us and we should respect his art and hustle… Plus what he’s done for hip-hop culture.
Who cares if he’s not the only one with Kobe Jordan VII PEs?! Do you have them? Respect was Joe’s first hit record and it’s only fitting. Jealous people are weak. Congrats to Joe for the release of his 9th studio album. Props to Cool Bob, who recorded this sneaker interview for ESPN a few years back. Read More »
I came across this David Banner throwback with the basketball background with guys putting in that hard work on the hardwood. In an era of hoop heads and hip-hop heads, the two married in a perfect match where we saw throwback jerseys, mentions of streetball legends like Pee Wee Kirkland in lyrics, and even music videos like below.
What’s your favorite memory of hip-hop culture infused with the basketball world?
Today I found a pair of shoes I missed dearly. I was about 14 when I got them; they were the first shoes I bought with my first paycheck. They were the Jordan X. Jordan Brand retroed them in 2005 as a recreation of the original Jordan X. I remember actually having the originals when I was in Kindergarten. They are my favorite Jordan of all time, so it was big for me to actually buy my own basketball shoes to ball in. I played in them so much that the stats on the bottom of the shoe disappeared. A friend of mine heard me talk about my Jordan X’s, and showed me a pair of his favorite basketball shoes. He had some Nike Force ¾ highs from 1991. He wore them so much that now the leather is cracking. Age did not help, making the midsole dry and brittle. He got them as a present from one of the hustlers around the way because he could not afford Nikes at the time. To him, he felt like the man lacing them up on the court. The shoe meant more since it was a nice gesture from someone close to him.
I talk about this because I feel every baller who reads Bounce has a story just like me. Tell us about your favorite pair of shoes.
Last Sunday at Together We Chill Park in Spanish Harlem some old school heads got together and put pure hip-hop on display. It was good – saw AG, LoveBug Starski, b-boys, a graf artist and a hot show-car display. But as the “Mexican” instrumental was playing and top rocking b-boys were on the cardboard, my mind shifted to the hood tradition of watching a good game from a chain link fence… Read More »
Snippets of The Way of the B-Boy documentary/tutorial, featuring Fever One of the Rock Steady Crew, Jeromeskee, and Massive Monkees, will be airing this week on MTV. Peep the trailer below to get a glimpse of the freshness! For more info, check www.thewayofthebboy.com
