There is something seriously wrong with our domestic economy when Germany’s fiscal schadenfreude bolsters Wall Street. It’s not like the dollar is getting stronger, but the Euro and the Sterling are both taking knocks. We are plunging back towards the days when people bartered goods and services and men were assraped to pay off their rents.
I can’t believe that oil prices are blamed for almost everything. The truth is that economies are based on speculation by institutional investors. The folks that control the trillions, not the people using ScotTrade. I said trillions but the amount is really a number there is no word for. These are the folks that press the button that sends young men into the desert to die for oil, or diamonds, or whatever.
Editor’s note: 40 Diesel is my man like fifty grand so I will allow him to say anything he wants to on this site. He can even exhalt in the triumphs of athletes who are no where near as courageous as the two pictured above. Leave it to 40 however to redefine patriotism through the liberation of one’s paycheck. Read on DP Dot Commenters…
As if you didn’t know already, the Olympics are underway in all of its glory and all of its gall. The Olympics used to be a place of international competition and the overall goodwill of humanity through sport, but in the modern era its been come the global pulpit where grievances and pride are aired and displayed. Much ado has been made about China’s role in the situation in Darfur, and many of the “Official Corporate Sponsors” i.e. Coke and the like are catching grief under guilt by association. Honestly unless someone gets the balls to do something in line with TOMMIE SMITH and JOHN CARLOS in the ’68 Mexico City Games, then its just more liberal hustler propaganda (ala the Obama tee), because we need so save Baltimore as well as Darfur – IF NOT FIRST. Its gonna take a more profound act than bitching or some random rubber bracelet.
One of the common targets of corporate sponsorship/irresponsibility by the arm chair granola set is one of my beloved brands – The Nike Corporation of Beaverton, Oregon. Nike is always catching beef from the New Balance liberal hustler set for their labor practices and their sneaker prices. However there is no denying Nike’s influence on the global athletic community, and isn’t that what the Olympics is about anyway? Nike’s global positioning is no accident and the global icon and pitchman that is probably most responsible for this is His Airness MICHAEL JEFFREY JORDAN. MJ is no stranger to the Olympics, having won two gold medals, first in the ’84 LA Games, and the other with the team of universe beaters aka “The Dream Team” in the ’92 Barcelona games.
Lets be real for a second – DAVID STERN gave Jordan the job, but Nike made Jordan the global icon, to which Stern’s NBA is still reaping the benefits from. To this day Nike is still a corporate king maker of athletes, and their list of endorsers will shake the foundation of what ever sport they outfit for these dudes for. Having lost out on the NBA/NFL outfitting contracts a few years back, Nike had been itching to get their Swoosh on American professional athlete’s uniforms. Well they got their wish as Olympic outfitters most important USA Basketball which was renamed “The Redeem Team” for the ’08 Beijing Games.
So of course in true Nike fashion they’ve gone all in for this. They’ve debuted the HYPERDUNK, Nikes newest sneaker technology since they debuted the SHOX in the 2000 Sydney Games (“Hey Fred Weis, tell me how my sack tastes” – Vince Carter). Also, whats Nike with out some jaw-dropping. awe-inspiring, game-changing commercial that makes you understand why they’re running this shit literally and figuratively? I give you 40’s “Exhibit A”:
Come on man. Thats that shit right there. I’m sending that advertising a firm a Kwanzaa card this December. Plus what I love about this year’s men’s hoops squad is the bigger picture they represent. Don’t let the media MICHAEL PHELPS you to death, his quest for individual success is great and all, and as America’s premiere white Olympic athlete he’s gonna get alot of deserved coverage. However the global community is getting tired of America’s individualistic posturing, and with the proverb of “It takes a village to raise a child”, its gonna take a team to raise this nation. That team is the US Men’s Basketball team.
At the opening game against the Chinese National Squad, KOBE BRYANT was mobbed while G-G-G-G DUBYA was merely golf clapped out of diplomatic politeness. LEBRON, ‘MELO, WADE and the rest of the team are rock stars in the Olympic Village, all while maintaining a level of humility focused on the goal of THE GOLD. Most of (white) America would love to paint these guys as cocky, brash spoiled NBA brats, which just isn’t the case. The guys who were on the team who are carrying the shame of the ’04, third place finish are motivated (LeBRONZE JAMES), and all these men have said that this experience is bigger and more important than any NBA title they’ve ever competed for or won. They have elevated themselves over the simplistic critiques of being a team of primadonnas to a cohesive unit with a singular goal. Who says that brothers can’t get along?
I don’t know how the rest of the world sees this team, but it does my heart proud to see the descendants of chattel slaves, evolve in to a solid BILLION DOLLARS of black wealth out there defending the pride of this country. These are the disciples of Jordan. They understand the game and the blueprint he’s laid out for them to follow and improve upon. Represent for your responsibilities, and handle your business. America may chide these young men for not having a college degree between them, but they damn sure know history and economics. They understand that they have a job to do as ambassadors, but also know they are global icons and thats gonna cost anyone who wants a piece of that. If you want us to represent this country which has been egregiously thankless to us, then we’re gonna redefine our American and get our slice if the pie even if gotta bake it ourselves. Thats why Kobe & Co got Stern a little nervous when they all more than admitted they’d be foolish not to take a $50M European deal…
And I completely understand that mentality. Whether its Crispus Attucks in Boston, or Joe Louis vs. Max Schmelling, America will rally behind its Negroes when their causes are the same, just for them to return to “their spot” in line when the aim is achieved. Think I’m lying, read any NBA beat writer come January. All that good will they had for these guys after they get the gold will all be vanquished, and they’ll be back to “million dollar thug crybabies”. If I’ve seen it once, I’ve seen it a million times. So get that gold medal fellas, and get all the gold that goes along with it. And if that leads you to foreign shores, NBA hoopsters than do what you got to. But for now rock the Stars & Stripes with pride and what ever swagger you have to – this is your country fellas. I for one am proud.
BTW – thanks to NaS for the title of this drop. “You Can’t Stop Us Now” has become that anthem… “From pyramids, to cotton fields, to Wrigley Field.”
NaS featuring EBAN THOMAS – ‘You Can’t Stop us Now’
P.S.: Dallas the challenge is for you to get that ‘LO lifestyle Olympic Ceremony blazer. Considering I scooped the ROOTS USA Jacket form the ’04 Athens Games, its gotta be out there to be had!!!!
When are we gonna get another S.F.U. tour on the calendar? How about 08.30.08? I think that will be a great day to come up on some real ‘Back 2 School’ deals that the ‘hood spots are always known for. I’m sure Dr. Jay’s will have some general release butters on their $20 tables. Dr. Jay’s holds you down when the economy is fucked the fuck up.
I took a mission on Saturday to patrol Jamaica Avenue to see who had it for cheap. My real goal was to hit up the V.I.M. store on the Ave. These folks boast the best prices on general release NIKE shoes anywhere on the Ave. Jamaica Avenue is another one of the city’s great ‘hood retail destinations. You can get anything imaginable that Black kids are into wearing right now.
The patty shop on 164th stay with a line always…
When I was a kid it used to be the jewman that ran the Ave. Now its the Hindurabic dudes and Koreans. They are both a lot harder to negotiate with than the Israelis. If the Palestinian conflict had been brokered by the Israeli sneaker dealers that shit would have been over. Hamas might have spent more than they thought they would, but they would have left the shop with a free fitted cap. But I digress…
Take the F train to 169th Street (one stop before the last) or take the E train to the last stop. The hub of activity is the outside of the bus terminal on 164th Street. The street is a pedestrian walkway during the day. You can enter the Colosseum mall on 164th Street. This was the ‘hoods first indoor mall. A lot of kids got their first leather jacket from the Colosseum mall. A lot of kids got their leather jacket vicked for the first time at the Colosseum mall as well.
Jamaica Avenue is a crossroads for African Americans like nowhere else in the city. All kinds of levels of income, education and class overlap each other on the daily. The subways and the buses link hardscrabble southern Queens neighborhoods like Baisley Park and Ozone Park with well-heeled ‘hoods like Floral Park, Long Island. Eastern Queens meets East New York and so on and so forth. Jamaica Avenue was also where you could meet the finest women in the world. This is where I bagged up the grey-green eyes from Elmont and Rosedale. These chicks were not only the baddest evar, but their parents had homes with carpeted basements. If you bagged up a chick from one of the Five Towns you could effin’ retire.
My missions to scoop chicks on the Ave are long gone. The foxy lady that I am looking for today is a pair of kicks that makes me wanna copp ’em. V.I.M. had a few deals but nothing too crazy. You know they are an official ‘hood spot because the signage over their front door has been broken for years. They were holding the Wildwood ACG x AF-1’s for a nice price – $69.99. Too bad I don’t fucks with AF-1’s like that. I would copp the Mowabb ACG x AF-1 collabo for that price though.
*Reminder: I wonder what the Vault is doing with those Mowabb AF-1’s?*
Since the Ave didn’t hold anything today that I wanted to squeeze off my grip on I made a move across Queens to one of my old stomping grounds called Jackson Heights. This is the ‘hood where you can get that chica Colombiana or that chica blanca. The only drug I came to copp today though is the high I get from smelling a crispy pair still in the box. You folks already know how I get down for some colorful shit. SprintII had just the shit the addict was looking for.
I’m gonna call these my NIKE SB ‘Cherry Garcias’.
These joints are so fresh they even come with their own soundtrack.
TOMMY ROE – ‘Dizzy’
I was feeling myself[ll] since I found some fresh kicks , so I also got a shape up too.
The internets is a crazy, beautiful place. In this big ass world of billions of souls the web allows people that vibrate to the same sine-cosine frequency to find each other.
One of the folks that helps produce i.C. videos hit me up with an e-mail. Dude said that he thought I ONLY made videos with RAFI. He didn’t realize that I lived the lifestyle over here at DP dot com until he came over here and saw a few of the drops in the archives.
The Addict’s style goes back to 1985 when I first got some real paper in my hands to copp shit from the Gucci store on Fifth Avenue.
Dude sent me some pics to show and prove he was a veteran of the lifestyle.
Fuck around, I might have to do a deal for one of these joints. I see an I.T. in the back that I always wanted.
His kicks game is official bone gristle too.
Peep that lone box of New Ballys. You HAVE to have a pair of NB 574 in your collection if you consider yourself Hip-Hop. It’s the minimum.
So I figured I’d send cousin a couple of pics to let him know that it gets no sicker than DP’s archives. Shit is fucking hermetically sealed up in this bitch.
