A Message From MAYOR

Check out this YouTube video where MAYOR gives you a sneak peek of what to expect at ALL STAR SNEAKEND! Friday, February 12th from 3pm-6pm at the House Of Blues Dallas. For more information, check out my post from last week [here] and of course follow @ALLSTARSNEAKEND on Twitter to catch updates and extra info on the event.

January Record Dig

Alright I feel a lot better about this dig than the last one [here]. 7 of these albums are actually pretty damn good on their own rights, and two are flat out crazy. Naturally, I'm talking about the two Sergio Mendes & Brazil '66 albums. Those are a pair of bossa nova jazz/funk masterpieces. I'm sure both have been sampled to hell and back over the years, but I'm still gonna have a lot of fun flippin em.

The "I ♥ NY album" has a bunch of Tourist Bureau compiled 70's era New York anthems, including disco (!) that should be fun to work with, and of course the Issac Hayes is a treasure trove of sample sources. The Vangelis album is full of wonderful synth sounds, as you'd expect from him, and any Genesis album is always good for drums. And shoot I couldn't pass up the Live and Let Die soundtrack; the title track alone is worth owning.

Not a bad dig, especially since I spent a whopping $5.50 haha!

Air Jordan III Retro - True Blue

The Air Jordan III, introduced for the 87-88 NBA season, might have been the third sneaker in the Air Jordan line, but it's really defined by firsts. The first Air Jordan designed by the now legendary Tinker Hatfield. The first to feature the now ubiquitous Jumpman logo (the 1 and 2 featured the Wings logo). The first use of the iconic Elephant print. The first Jordan with a visible AIR unit in the sole. The first to be heavily marketed in TV ads (the famous Spike Lee "Mars Blackmon" series). And the sneaker Michael Jordan wore when he won his first league MVP award.


The Air Jordan 3 was originally released in four colorways, all of which have been retro'd at one time or another, and a several new colorways have been introduced over the years a well. No surprise there since the Jordan 3 is one of the most loved designs in the history of the brand. It's even been reported that the Jordan 3 is Michael Jordan's personal favorite sneaker design. He even occasionally wore the True Blue colorway in his last few years while playing with the Washington Wizards, since they color matched that uniform.

Originally, the design on the rear featured the Swoosh and the words NIKE AIR, and the sole read NIKE, but starting in late 2001 these elements were switched to the Jumpman logo on the rear and JORDAN on the sole. The same modifications were made to other retros released after 2001 as well. To most sneakerheads, these were unwelcome changes, and many are hoping Jordan Brand will eventually switch back to the original NIKE branding--but no one's holding their breath waiting for that to happen anytime soon.

As for these 2009 True Blues--well there was some controversy with these, too [link]. Everyone got hyped about em when the retro was first announced, and it quickly became one of the most eagerly anticipated sneakers of the year, but then Jordan Brand revealed that it would be an International Only release, unavailable in the United States. Sneakerheads suddenly found themselves trying to track them down from overseas connects when they dropped in August, but most were left out in the cold.

I actually first held the True Blue back in September--as you can see in that first pic--when I visited Flight Club in New York [link] and seriously considered buying it at $275. Glad I didn't since I was able to cop em a couple months later at retail price on a surprise restock from Size? in the U.K.

After all was said and done, this Air Jordan Retro True Blue ended up making several "Best Sneakers of 2009" lists, most notably coming in at #4 [link] on DJ Clark Kent's Top 10 sneakers of the year, and finishing #1 [link] on Mayor's Top 10 list.

PS - After I cop'ed the shoes, I just had to buy this t-shirt --> [link]

All-Star Sneakend - Event Details

Alright y'all, here are details on the upcoming All-Star Sneakend event that my crew, Heatseekers, is helping put together:

ALL-STAR SNEAKEND
Sneaker Show & Expo
Friday, Feb. 12, 2010 from 3pm - 6pm
House of Blues - Dallas
$20 cover; all ages welcome
(Tickets will be available at the HoB box office)
Facebook Page [link]
Twitter Page [link]

Do you understand how epic this is? It's so epic that every major sneaker show organizer in the entire state of Texas is joining together to Form Like Voltron, organizing this event as a single force, a collective. Kixpo, Dead Stock, Heat Seekers, H-Town Sneaker Summit, and San Antonio Sneaks Up acting as one! Our objective wasn't to have the biggest show, but rather to have the BEST show with the BEST HEAT at a level no one has ever seen before.

So how do we plan to accomplish that? By bringing the biggest sneakerheads in the game from all across the country to showcase some of their hottest kicks at the House of Blues in Dallas, Texas!

Listen, I cannot stress enough just how big these special guests are: DJ Clark Kent, MAYOR, and DJ Greg Street (all members of the ATF crew) are probably three of the most important, most well known sneakerheads in the world today. If you were climbing a ladder in the sneaker culture, these are the cats you'd find sitting on the top rung. There are a few other significant sneakerheads near their level, but I really don't think you could put together a better group than these guys. Between them, they own well over 5000 pair of kicks, and they're packing up some of their best, rarest sneakers to bring to Dallas and display for all to see. On top of that, it looks like they might be bringing some of their sneakerhead friends (wink-wink) along for the show as well.

So Lemme say this again:

Arguably the three biggest dudes in the sneaker game--plus some of their friends--are coming to Dallas to display some of their biggest heat. This is an opportunity you don't get to see very often ANYWHERE, much less in Texas.

Do not miss this! If you live anywhere near North Texas, go ahead and put in NOW for that day off of work. The NBA All-Star game is the single biggest stage in the world for this kind of event that can bring out this level of show guests...and the last time we had one in Dallas was 24 years ago. Do you want to wait til the year 2034 for your next opportunity?

DJ Clark Kent

Wow. I just watched DJ Clark Kent spin the turntables LIVE for 2-½ hours* on the Freddie Foxxx (aka Bumpy Knuckles) Ustream channel, Krupt Mob Radio. If you ain't seen Clark deejay before, whew, y'all got no idea how hot his DJ game is. As a hip hop music geek, I gotta say Clark blew my mind.

In case you didn't know, DJ Clark Kent is a hip hop DJ, music producer, music tour coordinator, CEO of his own entertainment company, and founding member of the "Supermen" DJ crew (which consisted of Richie Rich, Scratch, Alladin, Miz, & Supreme). Oh wait, did I forget to mention that he used to be an A&R for Mowtown and Atlantic records? Yeah, well while he was an A&R he signed and/or was responsible for a few artists you might have heard of: Das Efx. MC Lyte. 98 Degrees. Oh yeah, and a young kid from his own neighborhood by the name of Jay-Z. Maybe you've heard of him? Ha ha!

Just look at those albums--how many classics are in there? How many top tier artists? Those are just SOME of the albums that DJ Clark Kent produced songs on. Maria Carey, Jay-Z, Biggie, Junior M.A.F.I.A., Slick Rick, Mariah Carey, Poor Righteous Teachers, 50 Cent, Das Efx, and Rakim. Damn! Clark's been a beast in the music industry since the mid 80's when he was the DJ for Dana Dane--Cinderfella himself.

But on top of all that--as if it weren't enough--DJ Clark Kent also has THE hottest sneaker game around. No one can touch him--PERIOD--and most of the ones who can hang with him like All-Day, MAYOR, and DJ Greg Street are in his ATF sneaker crew (Addicted To Fresh, All Things Fresh, etc). Not only does Clark have several thousand pair of sneakers, he's also had the opportunity to design sneaker colorways for Nike--that's incredible. He has been featured in Sole Collector magazine (even though he doesn't consider himself a "collector", instead just a guy who buys and wears a lot of sneakers), has had his Top 50 Air Force 1s list featured in Complex magazine [here], and was on their panel of sneaker experts (along with MAYOR) that ranked the Complex.com Top 10 Sneakers of 2009 [here].

DJ Clark Kent: Music industry legend and the biggest sneakerhead in the game.


* Note - the live show Clark played is supposed to be archived on the Krupt Mob Radio Ustream channel [here] if you're interested in watching it--which of course you should be. It was hot; even Pete Rock and Prince Paul were watching/chatting the stream! BTW the last 20 minutes was a discussion between Clark and Freddie that broke down into sneaker talk, so sneakerheads should definitely peep that.

Speeches by King, Beats by Dre, Mixtape by Street

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and in honor of the civil rights leader's birthday celebration, DJ Greg Street released this mixtape featuring the speeches of Dr. King mixed with beats by Dr. Dre. The cover art cleverly flips the cover of Dr. Dre's classic 1992 album, The Chronic, and caps it off with a pair of "Beats by Dre" headphones on Dr. King.

Here's what DJ Greg Street had to say about this mixtape:

This mixtape is dedicated to the biggest movement of all times. Every time I listen to these speeches it makes me realize how deep life really is. This man’s legacy is amazing & ask yourself after all he did for man kind. Did Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. die a millionaire? How much is your legacy worth?

Download the FREE mixtape [here].

MAYOR-TV on Ustream

The man you see right here is MAYOR and in case you didn't know, he's kind of a big deal in the sneaker game. No, he ain't a celebrity, he ain't an athlete, he ain't a rapper or a producer or a DJ or nothing like that. MAYOR's just a regular dude like you and me. Well, except that he's got 1,500 pair of sneakers (including over a thousand pair of Air Force 1) and most of it is so rare that you've probably never even seen or heard of em before.

MAYOR shows these rare sneakers to hundreds of online viewers every Sunday and Thursday night, from 11:30pm-til-1:00am or so, on MAYOR-TV at Ustream.com and personally, I've been watching it pretty much from the very beginning (back on his old Ustream account). So what's the show like? Well basically, MAYOR sits in his sneaker room with the webcam on his MacBook Pro and chats with the audience, talks about upcoming releases, shows what he rocked that day, shows a fitted cap or two, checks his Blackberry, calls his friends, watches ESPN, praises the Yankees, and then blows everyone's mind by showing the MAD HEAT in his sneaker collection. Oh yeah and occasionally he has a guest or two on the show, like DJ Greg Street, SneakerQueen, Feets Malone, and his sneaker assistant Coco. But really, what makes the show great is the interaction between MAYOR and the audience--if you got a question, he'll answer it.

Go to Ustream.com to sign up (it's free) and then watch MAYOR-TV [here] every Sunday and Thursday night at 11:30pm EST.

All-Star Sneakend - Feb 12, 2010

BREAKING NEWS -- In conjunction with the 2010 NBA All-Star Game and related weekend activities in Dallas-Fort Worth, four different sneaker groups from across Texas are uniting to host the All-Star Sneakend Sneaker Show & Expo, being held Friday February 12, 2010 from 3pm - 6pm at the House of Blues in Downtown Dallas.

The four groups organizing the even are: Dead Stock (Dallas); HeatSeekers (Ft. Worth); Sneaks Up (San Antonio); H-Town Sneaker Summit (Houston). With that many groups coming together, you know it's gonna be a helluva show.

I can't divulge too much right now as there's still some ironing out of contracts and legal documents and what-not, but lemme just say that the sneaker celebrities involved are HUGE--we're talking some of very biggest names in the sneakerhead circle. THE BIGGEST NAMES. And they're gonna be showing heat you can't even imagine. Y'all ain't ready for this!

We will have much more information to come about All-Star Sneakend next week, but for now, just go ahead and mark your calendar, talk to your boss and schedule that day off, WHATEVER you gotta do, just plan on being at All-Star Sneakend in Dallas, Feb 12.

For up-to-the-minute info, follow All-Star Sneakend on twitter @allstarsneakend


Full Disclosure:
I'm a member of HeatSeekers, so yes I'm helping organize the event. In fact, I designed the logo and am working on the flyer/website/ads/t-shirt.

Nike Air Safari x Air Force Ones

The Nike Air Safari x Air Force Ones are a 2008 release of the iconic Air Force One sneaker featuring the classic Nike safari print colorway that originated on the 1987 Nike Air Safari created by legendary sneaker designer Tinker Hatfield.

From what I've read, the original 1987 shoe wasn't initially popular, but quickly gained respect as a trail running shoe. I dunno; maybe the wild safari print made folks think it belonged outdoors in the woods? Whatever the case, the pattern itself eventually became iconic in its own right, leading to a retro release in 2003 (with additional new colorways) and a slightly modified retro release in 2009 as well as being splashed across a number of other sneaker styles over the years such as the Air Max 1, the Air Oasis, the Terminator low, the Hyperize, and of course this Air Force One.

My favorite little design feature of these Nike Air Safari x Air Force Ones is the altered toe box perforations. Instead of the standard Air Force One perfs, Nike actually changed them to better reflect the perfs on the original Air Safari. Totally unnecessary, but a much appreciated little detail.

I cop'd these by total accident. I was out on a random sneaker browsing trip, showing my buddy Tom one of my favorite little local mom & pop sneaker shops, and *POW* they had these sitting there, left over, in a pile of clearance shoes. Tom and I each cop'd a pair, couldn't pass up a classic like this, especially at 40% OFF.

DJ Premier x Nike Air Force 1

These Nike Air Force 1 lows were designed by DJ Premier as a counterpart to the DJ AM x Nike Dunk High Premiums I posted yesterday [here]. Originally, these were to be part of Nike's East-West "Rivals Pack" series, which I've blogged about before [here], but the Rivals aspect was dropped in respect to DJ AM's untimely passing.

For those not in the know, DJ Premier (aka Premo) is one of the most important Hip Hop producers of all time. In fact, I mentioned him in one of my very first posts here on this blog [here]. Look up any "best Hip Hop producers" list and you're bound to find Premo on there, likely occupying the top spot. As the deejay half of the seminal group Gang Starr, along with emcee Guru, he helped define the New York Hip Hop sound of the 90s. Premo is one of those producers who has a signature sound--usually a repeating 2-bar structure with scratched choruses--that is instantly recognizable as his own. When you hear a DJ Premier beat, you know it's a DJ Premier beat.

Gang Starr dropped four truly significant albums in the 90's, with Premo handling about 99.9% of the production on them. If you wanna know what classic New York 90's Hip Hop is supposed to sound like, just listen to any of these albums: Step in the Arena (1991); Daily Operation (1992); Hard to Earn (1994); Moment of Truth (1998). Yeah it's true, Guru isn't the most exciting emcee, but something about his monotone voice works with Premo's beats. Of course, since you're reading my blog, you probably already know all this, right? I mean, you're probably a hip hop head, am I right? Well if by some chance you're not, but you still wanna know what a Premo beat sounds like, go watch this old Gang Star video from 1992 [here].

As for the design of these Air Force 1 lows--whoo! SHIT these joints are as hot as a Premo beat. The quality of the materials used are top notch; smooth black suede, smooth dark green leather, embossed brown and blue leather, orange contrast stitching, leather tongue tag, lasered logos, customized lace tabs, and that clear icy sole with turntables printed underneath. Damn! They look nice in pictures, but they're so much better in person--really an outstanding choice of materials in these kicks.

BY THE WAY...

One thing I haven't seen any sneaker news website mention is what that logo on the insole pattern and front of the shoe stands for. You know, the circle with the "yR" in it. Most sites point it out but just call it "DJ Premier's logo" or just gloss over it completely. But hey, since no one else seems to know what it's about, allow me to drop that knowledge on you:

The logo represents DJ Premier's independent record label, Year Round records.

If you don't know, now ya know

DJ AM x Nike Dunk High Premium

These Nike Dunk High Premiums were designed by the late Adam Goldstein, known to the world at large as DJ AM, one of the highest-profile club DJs in the world--but within the sneaker culture, he was probably better known as a celebrity with a serious sneaker collection [peep it in this video]. After Adam passed away last summer, hundreds of his sneakers were auctioned on eBay with 100% of the proceeds going to the DJ AM Memorial Fund, a charity helping people struggling with drug addiction.

Last year, LA-based DJ AM designed this Dunk High Premium as part of Nike's East-West "Rivals Pack" series, which I've blogged about before [here], to match up against an Air Force 1 low designed by NY-based DJ Premier that I'm posting about tomorrow [here]. Out of respect for his passing, Nike dropped the "rivalry" aspect of these and just released the kicks with his logo on the tongue--very classy move from the folks in Beaverton.

As for the shoe design itself, it really combines DJ AM's passion for both DJing and sneakers: the BRED colorway is as classic as it gets; the Dunk is one of the most loved sneaker profiles in Nike's catalog; black patent leather always makes sneakerheads excited, and the shiny black looks kinda like a vinyl record; and the turntable platter strobe markings just scream out "DJ" in the most obvious, awesome way possible. In fact, when I first saw a photo of the sneakers from the front I thought "those are hot" but then when I saw the turntable markings, I instantly knew I'd own these kicks--I see that pattern everyday on my own tables right next to my Mac. How could I not buy these?

I mean geez, just look how the reflective 3M material shows through the perfed black patent in that pic where the sneaker is sitting on my tuntable--it's a perfect rendition of strobe markings, reflection and all! Wow, just incredible.

If you like this sneaker, make plans to try and track it down first thing when it releases this Saturday, January 9th. This is a limited quickstrike release that's bound to sell out instantly. I managed to snag mine a bit early, and from what I've seen these are already selling online some places at well over $200. Don't sleep.

RIP DJ AM. You passed away far too young.



REMEMBER: go read about the other half of this pack, the DJ Premier x Nike Air Force 1 low [here]

Fur Face Boy - Ft. Worth Exclusive

Happy New Year! In honor of undefeated #4 TCU playing Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, I'm going to wear my Fur Face Boy Fort Worth City Exclusive tee today, which is done up in TCU colors. Why TCU? Because the shirt was originally designed to convince a certain Fort Worth store, Shogun, to carry the Fur Face Boy brand...and Shogun is located on the edge of the TCU campus.

Like other FFB city exclusives, this shirt was limited to just 48 shirts, with only 10 of those available online. I received mine as a gift from the Fur Face Boy himself at an FFB event held at Shogun last year. And hey, don'tcha just love the included collector's card? Reminds me of a Jordan retro card, very cool. Just another one of those details that makes the Fur Face Boy brand so endearing to me.

BTW - go read this post on FFB's "2009 Fan Appreciation" where you'll see a few folks rockin this very same shirt...and oh yeah, pics of me and my wife, too!

Go Horned Frogs!