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SNEAKER PIMPS IS HIP-HOP!

C.S. met up with me downtown and she decided to come with me into the Sneaker Pimps show. For the uninitiated, Sneaker Pimps is a traveling art exhibition that celebrates not just the sneaker culture but the passion that people have for urban style and culture. I went to the Pimps show in Atlanta which was fun (sorry I never dropped the flicks), but Sneaker Pimps in NYC is where this event finds it’s crescendo. Cats haven’t just taken their one time’s off ice, but they are rockin’ their most crispy I.T.’s to boot. There was so much ‘LO gear in the building it felt like a family reunion.

But the night was really about sneakers and unlike the Atlanta show, everybody tonight was wearing sneakers. Some of the rarest joints weren’t just on display, but on peoples’ feet as well. Peace to DJ CLARK KENT who is a Don in the sneaker game. He gave away a brand new pair of HUF NIKEs to a dude who had just bought a pair of crispy AF-1’s to wear to the show. Just like that, homie got a pair of kicks that will anchor his collection for years to come. What I like about CLARK KENT is that he realizes that the culture can’t be sustained by making people camp out overnight at stores just for an exclusive pair. Like CLARK KENT says, “At the end of the day, it’s just rubber and leather.” I have to agree with that, although some days it’s rubber and premium leather.

Peace to my dude AIR MAXWELL and his boys who let C.S. and I jump the line in front of them (the line extended all the way from Sixth Avenue to Fifth Avenue). Hip-Hop cop Detective DERRICK PARKER was working security for what was an unbelievable crowd of thousands of people. The performers scheduled for tonight were the BeatNuts, the Clipse, and Ghostface Killah. I wore my ‘Iron Man’ Air Max 180’s around my neck. Inside the venue there were people vending their sneakers as well as other goods. The Dunk Xchange featured some sick customized NIKE Dunks as well as other styles. The space hosting the party is called Avalon, but for any true school NYC party heads you would know the building better as Limelight. It’s a wild labyrinth of rooms and balconies that feed off the main space which was formerly a church. C.S. and I perched down in the skybox balcony to enjoy the show.

Clipse came on first after the Ice Cream skate team did a few ollies on a modified half pipe constructed on the stage. The crowd loved the Clipse and the people sung along with most of their songs. They brought out Ab Live from Major Figures and some other dude from their Re-Up gang and they did a few of those songs too. C.S. and I both agree that the Clipse seem to have a rock (no pun intended) solid base fan following, which makes us wonder why their label won’t release any new music from them. Then it dawned on me that the Clipse = Most Downloaded. Yeah, they have fans, but their fans are all of the internets kids who don’t buy music. These kids will support their favorite artists at shows and events, but they won’t go to Tower Records to buy a CD. Actually, they won’t be able to go to Tower any longer. R.I.P. Tower Records.

Ghostface was one of the best shows I have seen is a long while. He and the Theodore Unit came onstage shortly after the Clipse and they basically took the crowd to that place that not many rap acts can occupy. We were in a state of total delirium. With hit songs from Wu-Tang’s catalog to some of his own joints he gave the crowd energy every time we heard a new sample drop. Even though the sound system inside the venue was fucked up the crowd didn’t care so neither did Ghost. Sometimes he’d just let us sing the song over the beat. The best moment of the night is when Big Ghost did a tribute to Ol’ Dirty Bastard. When I tell you that the entire crowd went crazy chanting the lyrics for ‘Shimmy Shimmy Ya’ it was like being inside the essence of the ONE. It was fitting that Sneaker Pimps held this show in a building that once a church. The spirit of Big Baby Jesus came down last night and touched us all. Wu-Tang forever.

Chuuuuuuurch.