Friday, May 29, 2009

Sneaker feelings

In an industry that has sold out imo, here are 2 viewpoints that echo my feelings very closely.

JKISSI : These days the term “sneakerhead” has been used excessively as people use it describe themselves. The summer of the year 2000 I laid my eyes on the Air Jordan 6 Infareds in Footlocker I knew I had to somehow purchase them. Unfazed by the price tag of $120.00 I saved every dime I received and saved my lunch money just to get them. I know you guys know that feeling you buy a pair of sneakers you loved, try them on at home and just stare at the design of the sneaker for minutes on end.(lol) The next years of my life would change drastically as I became an addict to this. Now in 2009 I’m older and dress completly different from when I first started to collect sneakers. The art of sneaker collecting will always be a piece of a puzzle in my life, still browsing for my holy grails.   I have been wanting to do a post on this for a long time after Phil from The Award Tour posted a similar post. Its humorous that streetwear has a direct correlation to the sneaker game. People have said both have hit their apex and now they’re dying, but in reality that’s just the opposite. The two are just spreading over to different realms and loosing its “exclusivity” people love. As soon as exclusivity is stripped away opinions change about the subject.  The reasons people collect kicks these days are different from what I originally knew. I remember speaking to one of my old friends who is 38 years old now still sneaker collecting from day one said  “Sneaker collecting has just turned into another area of the economy where people can monopolize and somehow make money”. I’m going to leave it at that.

Whats your opinion on this ? 


RUBBER ON THE FEET, POUNDING OVER PAVEMENT.18th
Posted at 11:07 amMarch

Ahh ye olde Nike swoosh.  It seems that at everyone I run into these days these days either still is, used to be, or is in the process of ending their “sneaker-head” phase.  The vast majority of you need no definition for that phrase, you know exactly what it means to know the release date of every upcoming Dunk, to refresh Hypebeast hourly to see Nike or Adidas’s newest offering, or to stand freezing cold in front of a Foot Locker alongside a few other dedicated individuals to grab your size 11 Air Jordan before the mobs enter the store hours later.  Sneaker collecting and obsessing, what exactly happened to this massive and inescapable trend?  Well, let’s figure it out.

Nike Air Max 90 “Infrared.” Originally Released: 2004

I, like most of you, was a certified beast and follower of the trend during its prime.  I started slowly mostly around Air Force Ones and quickly skipped from there over to the Vintage Nike and Dunk side of things.  I was a frequent poster on at least three separate sneaker forums at a time and slowly began to craft the “internet persona” that has largely and eventually evolved into the situations I now find myself in.  I have never had a true job in my life.  I have never had the experience of a boss, or daily hours, so I took all sorts of other routes to satisfy my sneaker urge.  Custom t-shirts, shoveling driveways, it was all undergone in an attempt to amass the most rubber soled pieces of goodness I could get my hands on.  I was fully enraptured in the worlds of swooshes, three stripes, Vans, and Pumps and suddenly it all came to a halting stop.

At some point along the line I completely lost the fire.  Sneakers could not hold my interest and before long I was no longer frequenting any of the old sneaker haunts.  Release dates, new Jordan drops, I was completely ignorant, it was right around this time that I began to focus on clothing.  To some extent, it was surely the clothing that pulled my attention away.  At that point I was focused on purchasing 80 dollar Bathing Ape t-shirts instead of 200 limited edition Nikes.  At the same time though, something a little deeper was taking place and I feel like I began to make a realization about the obsession I had invested so much time into.

Jordan IV “Oreo.” Originally Released: 1999.

I feel that sneaker culture has been more or less ruthlessly exploited by corporations and big names that have abused what was once an original movement.  As with many subcultures, once a corporate CEO realizes that they can manipulate and twist what was once an original institution in order to generate extra funds the life is slowly but surely sucked out of the practice, in this case sneakers.  When Nike, Reebok, and Adidas began to realize the following they have developed and focus on making releases specifically for the “sneaker-head” audience, the essential cool that once set the genre apart began to crumble.

When it began to feel like I was being sold sneakers rather than hunting to find a rare pair merely issued by a big name, it immediately lost the appeal it once had.  I got into sneaker collection aspect of the culture not only because I always had a massive love for the design and aesthetic, but because it was something underground, something not everyone did.  I could spot another sneaker head a mile off and I would know he recognized my inclusion in the same subculture but no words were needed.  Every was a participant in a long practiced trade of collection and appreciation without the direction of corporate overhead.  Once the big names realized how they could expand their profit margin, the genre went to hell and back again.  Poor releases that were somehow supposed to appeal to the sneaker collector’s whim, and in general a lack of realization that they’re not being involved was essential to the appeal of their shoes.

Michael Jordan and Spike Lee. “Mars Blackmon” Advertisements. 1989.

Don’t get me wrong, I am still an ardent lover of a vintage Nike or Jordan silhouette.  I still will purchase a great pair of shoes when the opportunity arises.  But you will never find me organizing them by box, or cleaning them with a toothbrush these days.  Not this year, and not for the past years have I devoted any major amount of time into acquiring a specific pair.  I still have love for those who collect and obsess but I really cannot partake in the madness any longer.  With that being said, if anyone ever see’s a pair of OG Bred Jordan 1’s size 12 on eBay…all notions aside I will revert to every puddle hopping, tooth brush cleaning, blog obsessing sneakerhead tendency I just condemned in order to purchase them.

I know a lot of you still are, or were dedicated sneaker heads at one point or another. Your voice is welcomed, comment away.  And to the people that email me asking me to post my sneaker collection, well it isn’t all in one place so this is a uh, tease? Sorry folks.

Stay Safe-Phil.



Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Support good music

Dom Kennedy - Where I Belong
Dom Kennedy - It Was Beautiful
Mally - The Savior

Wale: Back in '07 wise words

So NT this, NT that. If you don't know, google it.

Wise words from a post about Wale years ago. 12/28/07 to be precise.

It seems like no matter how much success Wale has, no matter how much music he gives away free, no matter how many ridiculous shows he does, no matter how much he keeps achieving things that are unprecedented for an unsigned artist, people are still hating and questioning

in the last 6 months this dude:
has toured Europe for 5 months with Mark Ronson (who just got nominated for 3 Grammy's and will win at least 1)

signed with Mark Ronson who will be producing and overseeing his album

been featured in THE FADER, front page Sunday Style section of The Washington Post, in ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY as one of 8 people to watch in 2008, in XXL Show and Prove, in Rolling Stone On The Edge, in Complex, in VIBE, in The New York Times, in The Boston Globe and on THE COVER OF URB MAGAZINE WITH JUSTICE!!! I mean, how many unsigned rappers get on the cover of a major music magazine with one of the biggest groups in the world right now?!

getting spins on WKYS, WPGC, XM Radio, Sirius, Power 106, Hot 97, Power 105...these stations are spinning to support, not cuz their parent companies told them to

is on the remix to one of the biggest songs of the year (Chris Brown/T-Pain "Kiss Kiss remix")

is on the remix to MIA's "Boyz" remix

is on a effing remix with Mary J. Blige and Maroon 5 produced by Mark Ronson

performed at the BBC Electric Proms with a 56 piece orchestra which was broadcast live in the UK

is featured on the BBC Radio 1 40th Anniversary compilation

performed at the VMA's BY HIMSELF! it wasn't like he was 50's hype man

has his own MTV You Hear It First

had Nike license one of his tracks for their website

had iTunes Single of the Week

has had over 25,000 people download his critically acclaimed mixtape 100 MILES AND RUNNING

got sponsored by Remy Martin

had a song prominently featured on ENTOURAGE

did a song with Rhymefest

got Lil Wayne on the Nike Boots remix for free

has done solo shows around the country

AND THIS IS ALL WITH NO RECORD DEAL AND NO PUBLICIST

if this isn't strategically "blowing up" I dunno what is. The fact that you are even wondering should tell you something. Is it safe to say that the majority of your favorite rappers are or have been signed to a major label? and did you know about them before their first single? most likely no. The fact that Wale has an international fanbase, is doing solo shows around the country, has 2 million plays on myspace and almost 2 million page views should indicate that he is building himself a solid foundation so that when he does get the major label push, when he does have 4 singles on the radio, when he is on tour with ______, when it comes time to the VMA's, Grammy's, etc, everybody will know him and he will have blown up on a worldwide scale and he will be around 10 years from now, pertinent as ever.

What were 3 of the biggest songs this past year? Umbrella, Party Like A Rockstar and Crank That right? go check the sales. Shop Boyz and Soulja Boy are not touring. They are not selling out venues. People buy the single and the ringtone and that's it. People do not invest in them as artists.

Wale is blowing up in a new model for the music business. Not only that, he has done it at a pretty remarkable pace. Wale is going to the first artist on a new wave of artists whose success will not be defined in the way artists were judged as recently as 5 years ago.

He was offered his first record deal 7 months ago but passed because he did not want to become another Lil ____ or Yung ____. Now that he's finally gotten himself to a place where he feels he will get the attention he deserves from a major, he is signing and the label will serve a purpose in filling in the gaps. He will record a classic album, go platinum, go on tour, win Grammy's and be mentioned with the greats in the next 2 years.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Whooty

ZOMG. I need me a WHOOTY


Thursday, May 7, 2009

NO!



this is whats good in the non-urban scene? pass.
skirts are not whats popping. NO. DO. NOT. WANT.

http://lookbook.nu/look/58867-Checker-always-around
LOVESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Scrubs. ZOMG.
Another series over in my lifetime.

Seinfeld.
Gilmore Girls.
Scrubs.
ER.
Futurama.
Arrested Development.
Sex and The City.
CSI.
among others which escape my mind at the moment.
I know, I watch a lot of TV.

I just pray to live long enough to see the Simpsons series finale.

what a nt convo with his dad.

my OG concords again to visit pops at work, lol our convo went like this:



dad: I Need a pair of Jordans...a black and red pair. do you have any?



Me: I have LOTS of those



Dad: well let me HAVE a pair.



Me: whoa sir, chill. they're all limited editions.



Dad: well I'm a limited guy...



lmao the man is illin.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Haircut results

Before and After Spring/Summer/BetterWeather Haircut

BLAH LAZY MF'er

I'm a lazy muthafucka. Check the pictures on the right. Click them, check the picture name profile or whatever. Got a question about it, leave a blog comment!

Gibberish sections, where its just pictures I just uploaded from around round.

Cam'ron bangs.
The Cool Kids aren't cool
Sooty the hamster got it good with 24 female hamsters and slept for 2days STRAIGHT
Twittididididididam...........
Leftyj.mybrute.com

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Cookin Up

ILL! Cain't wait for the album.

Scrubs.

My ideal life and my character is that of Doctor Dorian from Scrubs.

Friday, May 1, 2009

New FOR SALE ITEMS!

Check the ink to the right!!!