For several years I’ve wanted to politic with Steele from Smif-n-Wessun on the Boot Camp Clique Chronicles. Steele is the self-proclaimed ‘Timberland King’ and after I witnessed a portion of his archives I can cosign that statement.
Timberland actually gifted a couple pairs of boots to me so I could issue them to Steele. Under that pretense I met up with the homey to talk Timberland and what the tree logo means to him. I got WAY more than what I bargained for with my visit. Here’s the 1st of three(3) videos I’m dropping with the Boot Camp Clik general.
Stay logged on to dP.com for the rest of my interview with Steele where we discuss his legacy in Hip-Hop and his humble origins in Brownsville Brooklyn.
I was going thru my archive this weekend determined to find a pair of boots that has seemingly disappeared from my collection. What I did find were some classic styles that Timberland has yet to retro.
Before I do the drop with all the boot pictures I wanted to reminisce on the Timberland box. I have more Timberland boxes from the 1980s acting as storage containers for all kinds of things. Those cardboard boxes were built as tough as the boots were.
Walk with me thru my timeline…
1986-1991 – Seeing the forest for the trees
This is when Timberland was made in the U.S.A. I still have a handful of pairs from this era. I’m actually searching for a 40 Below I seem to have lost within the archives. These boxes are veritable brick shithouses. They aren’t going anyhere.
1992-1996 – Leather Label
The leather label and leaf marked Timberland’s entry into Asia factories. I have plenty of great boots from this era of Thailand manufacturing. The Timberland BSFP outsole debuted during this period.
1993 – Wind, Water, Earth, Sky
The World Hikers that were made in Italy came in this box. Square and oversized, I have a special section of the archives to stash these big ladies. The World Hiker 68023 wasn’t made in Italy however. It was a Thailand product.
1997-2001 – Ansel Adams type scenery
Timberland shifted their manufacturing plants again. This time to China and the Dominican Republic. Most of my current archive is from 1998 up to the present. One of the reasons is that I had to purge my reserves as I moved from Queens to Long Island and then from Baldwin to Freeport. I retained my undeniable and irreplaceables, but I did eBay some styles I thought would be re-manufactured.
Niggas call every native American print they see ‘Aztec’ mainly because niggas was taught to be ignorant to brown people’s heritages. I only feign ignorance for laughs on the Combat Jack Show. Secretly, I know more than I really want to let on because no one likes a smart ass either.
I called T-Bag out for posting the links to these pieces he bought and calling them a ‘Fit. There are rules to this shit we do here and the first rule is to come correct without fronting on your ‘Fit. Too many people on the internets are fraudulent in name and deeds. Not saying T-Bag is fake because he really did put some bread in the prA’Li fund and he really did post some drops on this page, but as a trusted member of the dP dot com fam I could not let him submit an incmplete outfit.
I’m eagerly awaiting T-Bag complements to these pieces he copped and I’m here to tell you he inspired me to put these I.T.’s in my late winter wishlist…
The workshirt is bananas. I can tell its as thick as a jacket. Fux around and I would be the type of hype to rock it inside out.
We received the news yesterday that Jazz legend Donald Byrd has flown home to heaven.
Donald Byrd broke from the traditional constraints of jazz into the fusion of funk and rhythm and blues music. His collaborations with the Mizell brothers transformed the R & B sound of the late 1960s early 1970s.
You might recognize that song as the sample source from Black Moon’s ‘Buck ‘Em Down’.
Byrd was born in Detroit and his music served as inspiration for another legendary Michigan musician. Peep the song ‘Think Twice’…
We will celebrate Jay ‘Dilla’ Dee’s homegoing this weekend as well as Donald Byrd’s passing. All I know is that heaven is jamming hard this Sunday.
Without Video Music Box, the creation of Ralph McDaniels, there would be no BluCheezTV. Video Music Box was my after school crack. I’d rush home after school to watch music videos from rappers to punk rockers and everything in between that had soul and funk within its sound.
Video Music Box was transmitting music thru imagery. Basically what YouTube does today, but this was way before the internets and even before my parents had access to cable television. Respect the architect that Ralph McDaniels is for showing the whole of Hip-Hop before MTV, VH-1 or even B.E.T. had the platform.
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five – ‘The Message’
