Benz and a Backpack

As the temperature inches higher and higher and daylight lasts just a few minutes longer everyday, clothing lines drop their LookBooks to give buyers a preview of their Spring/Summer Collections. Somehow, NYC-based clothing line Supreme always catches my eye. No matter where (on a skully, a fitted, inside the collar of tee, on a backpack, on the side of a building) the red Supreme logo makes anything look official. The boy Fantastic alerted me to the intense picture of Raekwon, standing with the one, the only, the original street pharmacist Supreme, holding an Elmo doll while Supreme drapes an uzi over his right shoulder.

Hit the skip for the Spring/Summer 2010 Supreme LookBook, as well brand new drops from Crooks ‘n Castles, Stussy, and some Supras that’ll have you spending loot…
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The two weeks between the Championship Round and the Super Bowl always seem like the longest two weeks of the year. For one thing, sportscasters give the same cursory analysis on Day 14 that they do on Day 1, so by about Day 6 I’ve heard enough monotony from John Clayton and Mark Schlereth to put even the most alert infant immediately to sleep. It’s all made good today though: Kick Off at 6:25PM EST on CBS with good food and good friends, and it’s 100 that it’s going to be a good game (with crack commercials). You want an official Benz and a Backpack prediction? Hit the skip. Plus get a peek at the hottest retro Jordan colorway to drop in a minute, a Dilla X Stussy collaborative tribute to the deceased producer, both old and new music from Big Pun (R.I.P. 2/7/00), and more.
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As you may have guessed already, when it comes to fashion my forte is sneakers. Since before I can remember I’ve loved kicks; I was looking through a photo album with my mom this past summer and saw a picture of me at age five with a pair of the Jordan Retro V’s on my feet. The influence Jordan Brand had on the hip hop world is undeniable. It is often noted that hustlers, instead of saving money to pay for rent or food or some other more necessary life endeavor, drop guap on the freshest Jordans. That being said, here are four sneakers you can look forward to, as they’ll be released in the coming months:
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In the spirit of Halloween (which, if it isn’t, should be every guy’s favorite holiday) peep the Black/Orange Nike Foamposites (called the Foamposite Copper). Slated to drop in the first quarter of 2010, the picture above is Washington D.C. based rapper Wale rocking a pair of the Coppers. How did he get them so early? Just a perk of being a heavy hitting hip hop head who possesses a strong affiliation with high brown fashion.

And speaking of sneakers, Jordan Brand has a bunch of kicks dropping in early-to-mid 2010 as well. In addition to those outlined in a previous Sunday Styles, Jordan will be releasing the White/Carolina IX’s, the Black/White VI’s and the White/Red VI’s (plus some variations on the Spiz’ikes and Retro I’s).

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We don’t fuck with Fusions, and although we may have a pair of Spizzikes, we are purists at heart (and given the Retro nature of the Spizzike, we figured you understand). Purism is the reason we’re excited by what’s coming out later this fall/winter. If you haven’t been saving your money, you are not ready. Unless you got it like that.

Clockwise, from top left: Air Jordan Retro VI (Black/Red a.k.a. Infrared); Air Jordan Retro XI (Black/Black a.k.a. Spacejam); Air Jordan Retro XII (White/Red); Air Jordan Retro XII (Black/Red)
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The 11′s, commonly referred to as Spacejams (because Mike wore them in the movie Spacejam) are dropping November 27th, and the Black/Red 12′s (famous in part because Jordan wore them in Game 5 of the ’97 Finals versus the Jazz, where he had the flu and still scored 38 alongside 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals) will drop that same month, although an exact date hasn’t been released yet. The White/Red 12′s will come out in December, followed by the Infrared 6′s in January. Keep tabs on the releases of all four at 23isback.com.

If you’ve taken the time to read this far, you’ll probably be interested in what’s next. It seems fitting, given that 2009 is the 25th anniversary of Mike striking a deal with Nike and 2010 will be the 25th anniversary of Jordan Brand kicks, that we give you an abridged version of how Jordan Brand was birthed.

What few people know about Michael Jordan is that as a rookie he wanted to sign with Adidas or Converse. In 1984, Nike was nothing special, simply a struggling sneaker company trying to expland its reach. Dean Smith, Jordan’s coach at UNC, endorsed Converse, so Mike naturally leaned towards Converse. But Converse already had Larry Bird and Magic Johnson as its spokespeople, so they were reluctant to offer Jordan an attractive deal. Adidas wasn’t interested in making a big move either as its Chairwoman, Kathe Dassler, died early in 1984.

That left only Nike, a company that needed to diversify its products (they were known primarily for their running sneakers) and broaden its appeal to different demographics. They knew MJ could do this for them, and they were willing to bet the house on it. In 1984, Nike offered Jordan a 5 year deal worth $2.5 million, plus royalties and fringe benefits.*

Apparently, Nike wooed Mike with a video presentation of himself flying through the air in slow motion (what more do you need?), plus they flew him to the Nike Headquarters in Portland, Oregon, where I’m sure they treated him reeeeeal nice. Just a year later, the 1′s dropped and made tectonic plates shift beneath basketball courts round the country.

From now til early February 2010, every Sunday we’ll give you a brief background on Retro Jordans 1-23, starting next week with the 1′s.

And speaking of Jordan, after lots of skepticism and curiosity, it was confirmed this summer that Dyane Wade did in fact jump ship from Converse to Jordan! With a roster that includes Ray-Ray, CP3, Melo, and D-Wade, Team Jordan is sitting pretty.

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“Yeah, these shoes are new brand”

*Shouts to SneakerHead for the details.

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