Let me set the scene. The year is 1986 and the year has just started. None other than Raising Hell has just been released, best known for its collaboration with Aerosmith on the Walk this Way, and once again Run DMC has done their thing. But most noted to me was the song by the trio from Holis, Queens, New York that names the shoe they chose to grace their musical feet, My Adidas. I'm sure we all remember our first pair of Adidas, be it all white high tops to low cut with any number of colored stripes.
Now let us jump sixteen years into the future. The album is Nellyville and the song, peaking at #3 on the U.S. Hot 100 Chart, is Nelly's own Air Force Ones. These long standing "hood sneakers" are just as versitile as the Adidas, coming in highs and lows and more amazingly in such a wide range of colors. As the song says, "Now if you looked and seen lime green forces and kiwi, you couldn't get this color if you had a personal genie."
As the test of times shows, the hip-hop industry is no stranger to favored, name-brand shout-outs. These days it seems there's a new trend emerging. The once primarily skate shoe brand, Vans, seems to be breaking some boundries on the West Coast. Bay Area rap group, The Pack, tells us what the deal is on their song Vans, which hit the radio in Cali a few months back. Although this style is not yet popular on the our side of the country, like all other trends, we can probably expect it here eventually.
The LA Times writes, "While the song has been climbing charts and driving traffic to the group's MySpace.com page, it also has been spurring fans to plunk down $37 for a pair of Vans, the shoes that until now have been embraced mainly by skaters, surfers and punk rockers." Omadhebo of the pack goes on to say, "It was a new thing. It was something different. We were the first people in the hip-hop and urban community to really start wearing Vans like that."
Old School:
Run DMC - My Adidas
Throwback:
Nelly - Air Force Ones
New Shit:
The Pack - Vans
The Pack ft. Mistah FAB, Too Short - Vans Remix (BONUS Track)
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