My homie DICE RAW of the Roots has been working on a new project called ‘Jimmie’s Back’ which connects the prison industrial complex with the legacy of Jim Crow laws here in AmeriKKKa.
DICE RAW is one of those voices who always puts undeniable truth within his soulful art. Check out this dope documentary he put together as a sort of trailer for his project.
The folks at Hi-Lo Brow let me be part in their themed series about the bronze age of Hip-Hop music (1979-1983). I wrote a lil’ ditty about the Sugar Hill Gang’s eponymous classic ‘Rapper’s Delight’.
Wanna read it? Here it go…
Chad from Obsessive Sneaker Disorder nicknamed himself Sneaker Galactus. It’s pretty apropos for someone who has his kicks collecting skills and the 2,000 pairs to prove it. Chad invited me to the archives after we left the SoleXchange event and got back to Brooklyn.
Chad is a classic sneaker collector. He doesn’t focus on simply one brand or one style. His collection runs the gamut of everything under the sun. While I saw a bunch of shoes I loved I fell in love with a few of his LeBron 4 signature shoes. Its an evolved spaceboot complete with Nike Air for when you run out of oxygen.
The LeBron 4 ‘Fruity Pebbles’ are cracktavius. I feel like the inspiration for these came from a shoe I designed using the same nickname while at the Nike Lab on Elizabeth Street back in 2005.
New York, New York, big city of dreams…
The LeBron 4 ‘New York City’ was str8 up FIYAHVERKXXX!!!
This case contains the ultimate heat rock. LeBron 4s worn in the NBA All-Star game. You ain’t ready, but you gon’ learn today…
Outfit Architecture isn’t just about putting your clothes together with footwear and accessories. It’s about understanding your relationship as to how you represent yourself to others. Strangers and like minds alike.
One of my National Football League heroes was named Ernie Barnes (RIP). As an offensive lineman he protected Jack Kemp while he was a quarterback for the San Diego Chargers.
As a fine artist he was the author for some of the most enduring and expressive paintings I have ever seen.
You must have surely seen his painting ‘Sugar Shack’ which was used os a cover for a Marvin Gaye album as well as part of the set for the television show ‘Good Times’.
Even tho’ I wasn’t in that portrait I feel in my soul that I know the place Barnes was describing. I can smell the hot-buttered soul sweat steaming up that juke joint. I’ve done those dances before in my life. Ernie Barnes got soul.
And I got sole. I copped this Ernie Barnes throwback jersey to rock with my Air Jordan powder blue North Carolina 2012s.
The irony is that because UNC was segregated at the time Ernie Barnes was an All-American high school athlete he couldn’t attend the school. Barnes ended up on full scholarship at the HBCU North Carolina Central.
Respect the architects always my Internets. Whether you realize it or not we do this life thanks to them.
I copped a pair of very, very near deadstock ‘Olympic’ 6-Rings at the Sole Xchange event.
I wouldn’t consider these shoes ‘grails’ but they have been on my wishlist for several years now.
Their condition was impeccable and the price was more than reasonable.
Complex mag asked me what sneaker would I consider my holy grail. Here’s what I told them… The Doernbecher 6