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This week we welcome Shake to the podcast, we talk about how he met Jam Master Jay. His work with Adidas, how he is helping communities with his programs. Growing up in Milwaukee and how it influenced his style. Coming to New York and visiting Queens. His impact on the kids he's helping and we even visit some full circle moments. We also talk about his upcoming release with Adidas, the Day Ones. Great Episode this week!
Where to Find Shake:
Socials: @shakejmj
Jay Academy: https://www.jay.academy/
Visit Clicks Kicks: https://www.clickskicks.net/
Support the pod by trying Magic Mind: https://magicmind.com/mykick
Use code mykick20 on checkout!
Support the pod by downloading DROPS and COLLECT by SoleSavy: DROPS https://links.solesavy.com/myfirstkicks
COLLECT https://links.solesavy.com/myfirstkicks
Podcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/myfirstkicks
Music by Gordon Bombay: https://thegordonbombay.bandcamp.com/ (Cop something and tell him we sent ya!)
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:00:00
Speaker
What's good, everyone? Welcome back to my first kicks. This is episode 147. And this week I welcome Shake to the podcast. Now, if you aren't familiar with Shake, Shake is an amazing person. He works within his community, works within other communities, helping people get sneakers and book bags and ready for the school year. So we talk a lot about helping your community, helping
00:00:26
Speaker
just volunteering if you have free time, just doing more for your community and for the people around you. You know, I I'm big on volunteering and helping and sharing people's stories because if other people can get, you
Shake's Hip-Hop and Sneaker Culture Roots
00:00:42
Speaker
know, inspired by either my story or a guest story, then and it helps them be more, you know, I want to say. Motivated into, you know, pursuing their goals or
00:00:55
Speaker
or it brings just like a new profound look on life just through even just the stories I share on here or even my jokes on TikTok or something like that. I feel that it gives a chance to somebody. It can either be just inspiration of moving into a better direction or doing more with their life and such and such.
00:01:24
Speaker
I'm all about impact and Shake does tremendous work and he has a tremendous amount of impact. His message is cloaked in his brotherhood with Jam Master Jay. We talk a lot about hip hop. We talk a lot about just how, he saw the birth of sneaker culture and I love getting those stories and just having his insight on, because he's seen a lot.
00:01:52
Speaker
I mean, he got the tour with Run DMC for years. And I mean, they're one of the foundation foundational acts of hip hop. So just adding on to the illustrious list of guests that I was able to have on, especially within hip hop. And, you know, my love for hip hop, if you know me personally, or you've seen what I talk about when I talk about hip hop and have specific artists who are on as well, that I'm super interested in.
00:02:22
Speaker
You know, I have tons of love for music. So music and sneakers, it's a perfect harmony.
Podcasting Journey and ComplexCon Announcement
00:02:29
Speaker
So we talk about a lot of that in this episode. I don't know why I'm talking so much about this episode because I'm pretty sure you want to jump into the episode. But I do want to touch on this. This episode comes out the week that I started this podcast three years, three years ago. I started this podcast and, you know, I
00:02:51
Speaker
leveled up the podcast as much as I could and can. And so it's wild to see just like an idea that I had years ago that I was procrastinating because I'm the king of procrastination into doing and doing it consistently every year. I want to say thank you to everybody who's listened or thank you to anybody who goes back and listens. Shout out to y'all because
00:03:21
Speaker
this is, I do this out of just pure passion and love. And, you know, I put my hard earned money into it. And it's something that I truly believe in. And I truly hope, you know, takes an hour out of your day and brings value to you, whether it be, you know, some good stories, you can tell to other people, some
00:03:45
Speaker
Some just like some relation like really just being able to relate when I have a guest on. I just I if you are listening to this and this is beyond three years or you're listening to this just today, you know, I just know I appreciate you for listening. And I appreciate you just for rocking with me, either if today is the first day you rock with me or you've been rocking me since day one, so.
00:04:12
Speaker
Shout out to y'all. I couldn't do this without y'all. And I hope this may be the first time listening that you pass this on to somebody else as well. So thank you. And then I also wanted to say next week I will be at ComplexCon. I will be live in person. I'll try to do as much content as I can out there. I'll be having my boy Foggy with me. So if you see me on there,
00:04:39
Speaker
If you see me on the floor and you are going to be at complex con, stop me. I will give you a tick. I will give you a sticker. You may be. I might ask you to jump on this clip that I'm trying to make because I'm going to be asking a couple of questions. You know, definitely podcast really. I'm not going to ask you what is the worst sneaker release of the year? I'm not going to ask you that. This is every question that I ask going to be personal. Doesn't matter how long it has to be that your answer will be. Please, please, please. If you want it, you're very interested and you hear this.
00:05:09
Speaker
Stop me. Tell me you want to jump on BAM. We'll have you on. I want to have as many people as I can. I want to have as many just amount of content so I can just continuously post and post until maybe next year of Congress, which would be wild. But if anything, me and fog, you work together and put a little highlight reel onto the YouTube. Anyway, I also wanted to say
00:05:38
Speaker
Because I have Shake on, Shake's day one Adidas is dropping on the 11th, this drops on the 10th, right? This drops on the 10th, so tomorrow, Shake's day one Adidas drops on, the first 400 pairs, he talks about it in the episode, first 400 pairs. If you are within the first 400 pairs, you get a QR code for a free pair, which is wild, a free pair of sneakers to give to your day ones.
00:06:08
Speaker
Think about that. I implore you to buy it. It's such a dope idea, such a dope shoe. If you follow me on Twitter, you can see the shoe. If you follow Shake on any platform, you can see the shoe. It's a gorgeous shoe. It's such an honor to have him on this week. So on to where you can find Shake. You can find him on all social medias as Shake. S-H-A-K-E-J-M-J. And make sure
00:06:35
Speaker
You know, you hit up the J Academy, I'll put a link in the description of the podcast where you can find Shake, you can find J Academy also.
Shake's Sneaker Choices and Music Background
00:06:44
Speaker
I won't be able to put a link for the day ones, cause I don't have a link, but I'm pretty sure they're dropping on a confirmed app or anywhere you get your Adidas's, or maybe it might just be the Adidas site, but definitely check those out. And then you know where to find me, I am who is hostile on social media, follow the podcast at my first kicks pod, follow the podcast,
00:07:05
Speaker
on TikTok at my first kicks. If you're watching this, if you look down and you notice that on iTunes, you're seeing the video of me pointing at you right now, please, please, please leave a review on Apple iTunes podcast and then jump onto YouTube and give me a like and a subscribe. I am trying to be consistent as much as I can with video content, continuously getting myself in front of the cameras.
00:07:35
Speaker
You know, after having a real live show, it's been a life changing experience. I want to get better at doing those. And also might as well pivot into it. That video of the live show will be dropping ComplexCon weekend. So next week, after you listen to this next week, you'll be not surprised because if you listen to this, then you'll know the live show will be up.
00:08:04
Speaker
on the YouTube same time every week. So very excited to jump into this episode with my guest this week, Shake. Hey, Shake, welcome to the podcast. Thanks for having me, man. Nah, man, this is a huge honor. You know, I've been following you. Well, I think I've been following you for a while when I started my my Twitter.
00:08:26
Speaker
Uh, for the podcast and you were one of you jazz array, you know, the whole, the whole, the whole gang was all, it was all part of my follows, you know, in terms of just like, just trying to get in the sneak community on online, on, especially in, in Twitter back before what it is now when it was legit. Yeah. Oh.
00:08:47
Speaker
But yeah, I saw what you're doing in your community and your story with RunDMC. Also, I was just like, this is crazy. I'm from Queens. And yeah, I live in Queens now. So I had to have you on, especially because you do such amazing work. And we talk sneakers. I think I've been in a couple of spaces with you. But yeah.
00:09:14
Speaker
Yeah. But for people who aren't familiar with you, how about you introduce yourself? How you doing, everybody? My name is Shake. Like you said, I'm a sneakerhead, I guess, you know? Yeah. And you've done a lot of work in your community, and it's just really dope, man. Yeah, man. You know, we've got to always make sure we try to get back.
00:09:37
Speaker
For sure, for sure. But you're here to answer the question that I ask everybody each week. And that question is, what's your first kicks? What's that first pair of sneakers you absolutely needed to have? Okay, so my story is a little bit different. So I grew up single mother. She wanted to, you know, buy me reward me for getting some good grades and buy me a pair of shoes. So we went to the store.
00:10:01
Speaker
And she had already had this store guy pick out a pair of Jordans, right? So he had the Jordans, Nikes, whatever it was. So he had them pick out, put to the side. So we walk in the store and my mother like, which one you want? And all the people in there going crazy over to the Nikes. And so I was looking around and she was like, you don't want this one. And she picked the shoe up because I wasn't saying that. And I was like, no, I want that one.
00:10:24
Speaker
She said, which one you want? And I was looking around, and then I saw a pair of shells, and I said, I want those. And she's like, what? And I was like, yeah, I said, I want those. And she said, why? And I said, just because I said, it just looked like me. You know what I'm saying? The other shoe didn't look like me, and that shoe felt like me. So that was my first I had to have. That's wild. I mean, I don't own a pair of shell toes. And I mean, the I think what I'm trying to remember the closest, maybe the closest is
00:10:51
Speaker
is the Jam Master Jay pair. I was about to be like. Which ones, though? Because it was a couple of them. The first one. The first one. The tribute pair is what I'm talking about. OK, the black pair. Yeah, yeah, yeah. OK. The ones, they did turn gray. Yeah, exactly. And I was going to be like, all right, cool, I'm a cop. And then when I went to go get them, I think they were just instantly gone. It just wasn't meant for me.
00:11:20
Speaker
And then the, I think there was, I know there's a Run DMC pair specifically where they changed the tongue, right? To say Run DMC. And I think I was trying to get those two, but nah, it's not in the cars for me. I never had those shelltails because it wasn't in the cars for me. But like, where'd you originally grew up and like? So I was raised in Milwaukee probably till I was 14.
Touring with Run DMC
00:11:45
Speaker
Met JMSJ on tour coming through Milwaukee.
00:11:49
Speaker
And I used to rhyme at the time and one of my friends was like my biggest supporter. So he always be like, yo, he was nice. Is he the best? So we ended up linking up with Jay over a basketball game and hung out, exchanged numbers. My man was like, yo, let him rhyme for you. So I started rhyming and Jay was like,
00:12:08
Speaker
That's dope. You know what I'm saying? It sounded like LL and I was like super excited, right? Cause I thought that was so dope to be completely LL. And Jay like made this weird look. And I said, well, I said, what's wrong? And he said, we don't need another LL. We already got one. You gotta get your own identity. And I was like, Oh, all right. And so, um, he hit me a couple, couple of days go pass. And uh, my friend was like, did you call him? I was like, call who? He was like, call Jay. And I said, yo, I'm, I ain't no groovy, bro. I ain't finna call him. He's like, yo, you should call him.
00:12:37
Speaker
So I was like, now I ain't calling him. So he's like, bro, call him. So then I picked up the phone, you know what I'm saying, and called him. I'm like, yo, Jay, what up? You know who this is? See, yo, my man Shake from Milwaukee. Like, what up? You ready to go to the studio? You ready to be famous? Meet me in L.A. And I'm like, oh, shit. You know what I'm saying? I got in cool mode. I'm like, bro, he remember who I am, you know? And he told me to come to L.A., man, and I went to L.A.
00:12:59
Speaker
You know, it was like coming from, you know, the Midwest, you know, where you only really see, like, L.A. on the movies, right? You know, because this was in the early 80s, so you only see L.A. on the movies, you know, colors and breaking and all. You know, you only see it there, right? So for me to get out there and actually see it, I was just like, yo, this is nuts. And so we stayed out there with them, like, two weeks hanging out. And then my friend was like, yo, how much money you got left? I said, I got, like, 300. And he was just like, all right, we got to go home, you know, tomorrow. And I was like, all right.
00:13:28
Speaker
So then when the morning came, he came to my room. He was like, what's up? You ready to go? I said, bro, I ain't leaving. I'm staying. I gave him my 300, dapped him up. You know what I'm saying? And he left and went back to Milwaukee. And then I started touring with him. Wow. That's wild. That's wild. What is, I mean, I got to know like the culture shock. What's the difference between LA and Milwaukee? Because I mean, come on. I mean, I want to know. It was just different. Like now it's, you know,
00:13:58
Speaker
Now it's more relatable because of the internet, right? Because you see more, but I mean, just back then, like I said, you know, they had the movies colors and breaking and all that stuff. So that was the closest you, you know, this is middle America, you know what I'm saying? So you didn't really like, you know, people in middle America, they kind of like saved their money up to travel to those kinds of places, you know, to go to LA. We're gonna save our money the whole year to take the family to New York and go to Times Square and stuff like that. So yeah, it's just, it was like night and day, man. It was like night and day.
00:14:28
Speaker
Definitely. One hundred percent. What was what was your first job then? My first job where? Like while you were in Milwaukee or did you start working at 14? Because you said you was out. I was my job. I mean, I had a different job. I had a street job. Oh, yeah. I mean, I'd never been to Milwaukee. So, like, I don't know. I don't know what that's like. Like, I mean, all my references. I'm trying to Milwaukee.
00:14:59
Speaker
I was like, I don't know why I want to say Timberwolves. Who's the team? Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks. There we go. And yeah. I don't know why. I don't know why it escaped me. Even with the Dame trade, I was just like, it just escaped me for some reason. Dame's my favorite player. But I've never been to Milwaukee. And all I know, I feel like it's like a cold state. Nah, it's just like New York. We get the same weather. It's the same weather.
00:15:29
Speaker
Our winner is probably a little bit more brutal, but it's the same shit. I mean, what influenced you to play ball or start playing ball? Did you start playing ball in high school or before that? Nah, I was playing before that. That was just what we did in the neighborhood. I grew up in the neighborhood. It was kind of like, let's say like
00:15:48
Speaker
seven black kids and like three Hispanic kids, right? And so this, this is really real. And so they used to make us play soccer because we needed, we needed them to play basketball, right? Cause we didn't have enough. So we needed them to play basketball and they needed us to play soccer. So that was kind of like the trade off. You know what I'm saying? Like y'all gotta play soccer with us today and then we play basketball with y'all tomorrow. So how do you, how do you, how do you get good in that, in those circumstances where you're like, like, you know,
00:16:16
Speaker
They're you're making that trade. So, you know, their other sport is what they're good at. And then the sport that you really want to play at, you're the best one at that sport. I'm a competitor, you know what I'm saying? I competed everything. So, you know, it don't matter. We can play dominoes, you know, whatever. I'm a competitor. I'm a compete as well. After after Milwaukee, where else did you move to?
00:16:39
Speaker
Then I moved to where you live at Queens. Okay. Okay. Was that, yeah, that was that high school was like, that's where you went to high school. No, no, I was to him with the biggest rap group in the world. I'm gonna go to school. Yeah, you're right. You're right. Japan, China, we everywhere, you know, Russia, Poland, flannel, little planes.
00:17:11
Speaker
Yeah, that I mean well you got that school of hard knocks right there use use traveling right that I'll be that's so wild the because I mean at the
00:17:22
Speaker
Like the idea of that, like you were just, you jumped straight to superstar status, like superstar status, like off of that, you know? Yeah, but you know what's crazy? Like I'll be talking to 50 or if I talk to like the outlaws, Edie, my brother Edie and Noble, we always talk about like that, right?
00:17:38
Speaker
Cause it's like when this happening, when you inside of it, you really don't see it, right? So like everybody get their terms. So like, you know, like someone run DMC at daytime, you know, we was just living and shit was just crazy. And then, you know, 50 guys turn and you know what I'm saying? And then pocket outlaws got daytime, you know what I'm saying? And this is like, when it's happening, you don't really see it. You know what I'm saying? Cause you live in it. Yeah. I mean,
00:18:03
Speaker
Well, I'm saying, yeah, like I live, like I'm with you and it's like, but obviously I haven't been, I haven't had my turn at that yet. Maybe, maybe soon, but the,
00:18:15
Speaker
Well, you talk about the shell toes and we know, you know, Run DMC made the shell toes what they are, in my opinion, on top of, you know, just hip hop, the birth of hip hop and such. The like, what was that like to see that happen where you thought you were like, I mean, we all know that Run DMC was like the tastemakers of the time because they were the one traveling with all these rock bands.
00:18:38
Speaker
And everybody ended up just dressing up, you know, that these tracksuits and the
Sneaker Culture Evolution
00:18:44
Speaker
gold chains and every, you know, like, were you part of that, like, help, like, I guess the decision to be like, yo, let's do this. Let's pull out the shell toes because you've got them so young.
00:18:56
Speaker
Nah, I mean, it was more so with Jay, you know what I'm saying? Like, you know, like running D would wear whatever he was gonna wear. And then I would tell Jay, be like, nah, man, don't wear that, wear this with that. You know what I'm saying? He like, what? And then like, I would tell him, like, don't wear the, like, I'm like, bro, you don't gotta wear the whole tracksuit every time. You know what I'm saying? I'm like, bro, wear the jacket and then wear some jeans and then your shoes. You know what I'm saying? So I was a part of that. But not running D, they was just, you know, they was just wearing whatever they was wearing.
00:19:23
Speaker
I mean, it's it's so iconic. I'm trying to because as you're talking, I'm trying to remember I watched it. I think it was like that hip hop documentary where I think it was like where they went through the birth of hip hop to like the current day. And then they talked about how big run DMC was and like where they got their their style from. And they were like, talk about, yeah, a jam message was the youngest of the group. So he was the one that was like, oh,
00:19:53
Speaker
I, we should just take the style of the dope boys that we see every day. And, you know, and then we, then we're the ones that are cool. And I was just like that. I didn't know, I did not know any of that, but it's wild. I mean, you get it. The craziest part is that you've got, you got to see how big sneakers became like literally to what it is now, you know? And you were part of the, part of the birth of, of.
00:20:20
Speaker
of that, like, what have you have you seen that's just like you where you're just like, wow, this is wild that, you know, sneakers came this far from what it was in the beginning. I mean, to be honest, man, the biggest thing that I seen was Yeezy doing his sneaker release in the garden.
00:20:41
Speaker
That was crazy. Yeah, that was crazy. I actually don't know this experience. You gotta have to tell me a little bit more about that. Everybody, I mean, shit. Everybody who was anybody was in that in the garden at night, you know, from, you know, Puff to Ho, Beyonce, Rihanna, you know, Virgil.
00:21:01
Speaker
Everybody, I'm talking about everybody was in the garden that night. Fifth was there, it was a crazy Big Sean. You know what I'm saying? Lamar Odom. Everybody was there. Everybody was there, man.
00:21:15
Speaker
That, what your release was this? This was the Adidas joints. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was in the garden. So without the garden, man, for a sneaker release, that shit was crazy. That's wild. That is so wild. Are you a fan of the Yeezys? Did you get, did you get a pair? Yeah, I like them. Yeah, they cool. They cool. I like, uh, you know, I like different things. And I think like for a long time Adidas kind of like.
00:21:41
Speaker
had the designers pigeonhole where everything had to have a three stripes on the side and shit. And then when they kind of gave them more freedom, then they started creating dope or sneakers and shit now. So I think like now, you know, like that's why they able to do more, you know what I'm saying? Even, you know what I'm saying? Like I said, they just, it's just like, why is this a, it's just more to work with now, you know, more to work with now. So yeah. Nah, yeah. The,
00:22:04
Speaker
They're they're letting people do what they want versus like other brands that are just like, nah, it's got to be like this. We're only doing it like this, you know, some of that, some of that everywhere. But I'm just saying that they get more creativity, which is enabling them to create doper product. You know, so when you kind of like, you know, when you kind of puppet master somebody is kind of hard for them to really let their creative juices flow. So, you know, when you've got to create a person, you've got to let them create. Yeah, I agree with that. The.
00:22:34
Speaker
Like, were you able to like step inside the Adidas headquarters and like, you know, tour and stuff like that? Like, well, I've been to Germany a couple of times, you know, I was, man, I was in, I was in Germany. Um, I don't remember what year it was, but it was right when Yeezy was starting to, you know, go crazy. I remember when Yeezy dropped an All-Star weekend and we was in New York and we walked in a footlocker and they had this, the, uh, seven fifties in there.
00:23:02
Speaker
didn't even sell out, you know what I'm saying? Cause like people didn't really know, you know what I'm saying? They didn't know what it was. When we came back in about an hour and them shits was gone. I think they only had like 15 pair, but it was gone an hour. But yeah, when we went to Germany, I remember I walked, I ain't going to say the name, but I walked by somebody desk and they had an all red pair of three fifties and an all blue pair. And I was like, yo,
00:23:25
Speaker
When them come out, I said, that's when the violence gonna start. Cause them shits was hard. Yeah. They never came out. He never came. It was all red pair and a all blue pair of three fifties. Jeez. Yeah. Those, those, that would be wild. I mean, I just saw this, uh, one of my, one of the previous guests I've had on, he, he got this YG collab in and it's like nothing but blood. Like it's like.
00:23:52
Speaker
is literally blood stuff. I was just like, this is crazy. Like I wouldn't even imagine that. I mean, even that, or when Supreme dropped that like bandana North Face, I don't know if you remember that. Oh, I was like, can't wear that as Southside. Exactly. That's why I could go with him.
00:24:10
Speaker
You're like all red and all blue. I was like, yo, it's just going to be a problem. The, I mean, you talked about just going to LA, but like, what was like the culture shocks going when, as you jumped on tour, we've run DMC, like, what was the culture shocks in other countries? Yeah. Everywhere. Like I said, I'm, I'm a middle America, you know what I'm saying? So, I mean, for me to go to, you know, see the great wall and shit like that, I'm just like, you know, like everywhere.
00:24:37
Speaker
You know flying on on flying to Poland, you know a little on a propeller plane shit seeing like armed guard like soldiers in the airport with guns and shit Like I've never seen no shit like that. Like that shit was wild That's great. We after we went around the world and then a second time we go back. I was like, okay now I'm used to it now. Yeah, were you did you ever like cop kicks while you're a lot of you're out on tour? Like were you like looking? Yeah Was it did you get some like?
00:25:05
Speaker
region exclusive stuff? Or were you like... Yeah. I went into it at that time. I just like, I mean, I kind of ain't into it now. I really just buy what I like. You know what I'm saying? Just get what I like. You know what I'm saying? And so I went to... I would get some sneakers, like it was the sneaker that Adidas made called the Mercury. You know what I'm saying? And so I grabbed a pair of those. Jay was like, yo, what the fuck's those? Those Adidas? And I was like, yeah.
00:25:30
Speaker
He said, yo, you said, yo, don't ever go to the store and grab you some shit that's hot. Don't give me nothing. I'm like, all right. You know what I'm saying? And so I started grabbing him sneakers every time I grabbed me sneakers and shit. I mean, that's dope. I love that. The brotherhood of sneakers, like when you got a boy that would be like, yeah, don't worry. I got you. I'll copy you your pair. Just, you know, slam it in money. I was like, whatever. Or something like that. You get close through sneakers. It's so dope.
00:25:59
Speaker
like, were you able to see? Because I mean, like I said, like, you're a part of the birth of sneaker culture, too, you know, like, that it's, it's wild how it evolved. And I've been reading Russ Bankson's new book. So like, it's all like, just like praising all the like, I'm in the beginning of it, you just read like the pray, like, he praises like the older stuff, like, you know, the converses into the
00:26:23
Speaker
into the All-Star, into the top 10s, and what they did for basketball. And then he touches in on a little bit of sneer culture. And I mean, you got to see breaking.
00:26:39
Speaker
you know, evolve into like, you know, oh, Puma was like, yo, you got to rock the Clyde's in this ad. And then, but when you go, go back to the playground, you know, they all wearing Adidas's. So it's just like those little like nuances. I don't know if you, if you've got to see some of that, like actually growing up and stuff like that. Yeah. So I saw a lot of that, man. I mean, I saw a lot of it. I mean, sneakers, man.
00:27:04
Speaker
It's just, I think like it just, even just going all the way back to hip-hop, I just think it just like changed the world, man. It just changed the world. Everything is so heavily influenced by hip-hop and everything is so heavily influenced by sneakers, man. It's just unbelievable, man. Just to see where it started from to where it's at right now. You know what I'm saying? It's crazy. Crazy.
00:27:27
Speaker
You, I mean, you've been, I feel like you've been in some, in some rooms with some legendary people, but what was it? You said
50 Cent's Influence and Community Work Motivation
00:27:33
Speaker
you, you said, you know, you, you rocked with 50 for a little bit, but like, did you see when he dropped his, his Reeboks, his G units? Like, what was it? What was that like?
00:27:44
Speaker
I mean, that was a cool moment. I thought it was cool. He had the wave at the time, you know what I'm saying? I didn't know that they was going to sell as well as they did, you know what I'm saying? But his wave was huge, you know what I'm saying? He had that machine behind him, Dre and M. I mean, shit. What'd he do? Diamond three times in a row? Yeah, I think so, yeah. You know what I'm saying? Did you cop?
00:28:07
Speaker
Did you cop one of them, the tank tops? No. With the stripes? No. I just, it's crazy. Cause I just went, when I just went on his tour and just seen him, it was a couple of people that had this shit on too. They said it was original too from the original drop. They didn't go get it made. It was the original.
00:28:24
Speaker
That's the height for me. That was like high school for me. So I'm going to school and like I used to go to school in the Lower East Side. Yeah, that's considered Lower East Side. I used to go to school. How do you go to Lower East Side or are you from Queens? I mean, I lived on the Upper East Side at the time. I grew up in Corona, Queens, you know, from
00:28:44
Speaker
Shout out to the beat nuts that's that's one of my favorite groups, the, the, and then move to Upper East Side and then as I was there, I had to, I got zoned all the way down in in Lower East Side so I was going to this really bad high school.
00:29:00
Speaker
I was there. And then during that time, that's when 50 was dropping the mixtapes. Wankster. Killing shit. He's going crazy. Killing shit. It was only two niggas that was hot at that time. It was him and Joe Buttons. And I was like, one of them niggas is going to be the biggest thing larger than life. It's only them two. Yeah, I will. Well, now they're both currently. So you were right, both. Except one's doing podcasts and the other one. Well, the other one's doing TV, so.
00:29:29
Speaker
is wild. But yeah, so during that time, I mean, kids were pulling up in those damn tank tops and they all thought they were 50 cent. And I was like, I'm like, you're not even from Queens. You got to chill out like that. I mean, look.
00:29:45
Speaker
50 Cent made Southside Jamaica Queens look like the most dangerous place in all of New York. Maybe all of the United States at one point. He doing it again now with two damn TV shows.
00:30:03
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I actually don't watch. I don't watch power. I should. I should, though, because, yeah, I don't watch power. But I did. I did. I'll tell you my 50 Cent story. So I used to work for MTV and, you know, BET. He's like he used to run a ton of stuff on BET. And one day we was in the office like late. Like it was like it wasn't like lately. It was like five o'clock. And then
00:30:27
Speaker
I'm trying to leave. And as I leave, they're like, oh, we can't use the elevators right now. And it was like, I was like, why? And then they're like, oh, 50 cents in the building, and nobody can use the elevators. You're going to have to wait 30 minutes until he leaves. I was like, what? Is Obama? Is this Obama?
00:30:48
Speaker
It was it was absolutely nuts, man. I don't know. The I mean, is is wild that like he's gotten so big to the point where, you know, you can't even be. You have to be like you have to have clearance to be around him. So, I mean, it's wild. The I mean, so what made you jump on sneaker Twitter? I definitely want to know, like the honest man.
00:31:18
Speaker
To be honest, it was from it was from jazz. You know what I'm saying? Because I've been doing, you know, work in the community since 2008. Right. And I was like, doing all this different stuff. And, you know, she was like, yo, you got to start letting people know who you are. You know what I'm saying? You can just keep.
00:31:36
Speaker
you know, being Batman, you gotta, you know, you gotta be Bruce Wayne sometimes, you know what I'm saying? I was like, ah, you right, you know what I'm saying? And so I slowly started integrating myself and, you know, conversating with people, you know, stuff like that, you know, doing things like this, podcasts and stuff like that. So, you know, so yeah, it was, it was definitely 100%. Yo, shout out to Jazz. Hopefully future guests one day, we'll see. What, what, cause I, I gotta know about like what influenced you into jumping into, doing work for the community.
00:32:05
Speaker
Oh, that was easy. It was Jay. You know what I'm saying? Like, when we used to be on the road, you know, we'd get all this stuff from Adidas. And so we would have like, you know, we'd be on the tour bus and we would stop at Best Buy and buy video games and shit like that. And then Adidas would send us so many clothes. And so we just couldn't take it all with us. So we would just leave it in the room. And then, you know, like after we would, you know, go to Chicago one time and then we would come back, then housekeepers would be like, oh, they're back. You know, our friends, you know, because they were waiting to see the room, right? Uh-huh.
00:32:35
Speaker
We leave the stuff in the room. And then one day, Jay was like, yo, get everything we don't want and like take it downstairs to the building and we won't ship it back to Queens. And I was like, what? It's like, all right. So we don't get it, take it downstairs, ship it back to Queens, take it, ship it back to Queens.
00:32:52
Speaker
And then one day Jay pulled up on Hollis Abb and he was like, pull up the U-Haul, lift it up. And he just started giving his stuff away. You know what I'm saying? And so then when he passed, I was trying to think of a way like to honor him, right? And so I was like, you know, everybody's like, oh, you should get a tattoo right there and do this. And I was like, nah.
00:33:07
Speaker
And they was like, you should get a shirt with his face on. I was like, nah. And cause you know, he was bigger than that to me. You know what I'm saying? He was bigger than the tattoo and stuff like that. You know, no disrespect to nobody to do it, but he was bigger than that to me. And so then I was thinking, thinking. And then one day I just like rose up like the undertaker. I said, that's what I'm gonna do. I said, I'm gonna get back like he used to do.
00:33:26
Speaker
You know, and so I called Adidas, you know, nervous. I don't know what because that I used to always ask for shoes and they'd be like, yo, can I get too good? Oh, yep. Shake is on the way. Can I get a jacket? I need three shirts on the way. So now I'm calling them and I'm asked, I said, yo, what's up, shake? What do you need? It's like, uh, can I get a 50 pair of shoes? Yep. Uh, can I get 50 shirts? Sure. No problem. I was like, oh shit.
00:33:54
Speaker
And they said, what are you doing? And I told him, I told him, I want to do a give back thing. Just to honor Jason. Oh, that's dope. They said, you need any backpacks? I was like, yeah. They said, what about hats? Yeah. So DNA's like, okay. DNA's like, what's the size run? And I was like, oh shoot, I didn't think about that. So then I told him, give me size, you know, gave him the size run. It shipped all the stuff to me. I did it. It was incredible. And then I've been doing it every, ever since, you know what I'm saying? And I'm up to last year. Well, this year we just did a thousand and one pair of shoes, book bags, haircuts.
00:34:24
Speaker
school supplies, you know, the whole nine. So, yeah. So that's where it all started from. I know you're enjoying my conversation with Shake, but I'm jumping in here to talk about Magic Mind again. Last week, I talked about how it changed my mornings and the week before that, because Magic Mind helped me and it's helping me every morning just with their simple magic shots. And just like I said, last week, you know,
00:34:52
Speaker
I'm very sensitive to caffeine. Every cup of coffee is literally like a shot of espresso to me. I get the jitteriness, my heart's palpitating. It's not a fun experience if you're around me and I had caffeine, because I'm just yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yapping like crazy. So Magic Mind helped me. Just one shot that I do in the morning, it helps me with that jitteriness and I'm simply just cruising through the day.
00:35:21
Speaker
or off of one shot of Magic Mind. And it also just helps me not have to sip a cup of coffee and risk myself going to sleep super late and then being tired the next morning. So then you just fall into a circle of just caffeine, go to sleep late, wake up, now you need caffeine again.
Impact of Community Initiatives
00:35:44
Speaker
It's not a fun experience. It actually really helps me get back into like a night routine
00:35:50
Speaker
So Magic Mind is super helpful. But if you are really into coffee, which I know my coffee, I know there's a bunch of coffee lovers that listen to this. If you're really into coffee, Magic Mind actually helps with
00:36:07
Speaker
the distribution of caffeine through your body. So one cup of coffee lasts you longer. And I know there's a couple of people that will drink like three or four cups of coffee, if not feel a thing. I know there are some people that just drink a cup of coffee before bed, which is not good. It's not good. Your body is still awake. Your body is still trying to get rid of that caffeine. Well, Magic Mind helps you hold on to that caffeine so that you don't need that nighttime cafe. You don't need your midnight
00:36:35
Speaker
Like you could just do a magic mind in the morning and you're good to go. But I also have to shout out magic mind because ever since I added it to my morning routine, you know, it's helped me create content after work. You know, my, my days are pretty long. So as soon as I get home, I'm like, I'm not making a tick tock. I'm not editing this podcast, but magic mind helps me push through and stay alert and focused to what I want to do.
00:37:05
Speaker
continue putting out great content for you guys. So, if you aren't sure of what is inside Magic Mind, just know you have nootropics in every shot and nootropics are very vital. They're they help with focus and you also have Ashwagandha which helps with stress and anxiety and especially if you're watching this right now, you know, shake, shake,
00:37:35
Speaker
has been in, you know, the hip hop community for so long. And, you know, he's toured with Run DMC. I'm pretty sure you heard me talk about that with him. So. I was very anxious and that Ashwagandha helped me cruise right through that interview. Well, this interview and of course, you know, cordyceps mushrooms, which you have heard in the last of us, which I find very funny that
00:38:04
Speaker
Cordyceps mushrooms have now have had a bad rap, but it's actually really good for your immune system. And it's helping me through. We're in cold season, cold flu season and whatever stuff, you know, season you want to call it. But trust me, Magic Mind actually helped me is helping me through getting through cold and flu season, especially in New York out here. It's wild out here. Weather's crazy out here. But if you're interested in joining me,
00:38:34
Speaker
in boosting your mornings, visit magicmind.com slash mykick and use the code mykick20 for 56% off your first subscription. And also if you just want like one time purchase of just like a 90 day pack or a 30 day pack, a 30 pack, just use the code mykick20 and you'll get 20% off of that one time purchase.
00:39:04
Speaker
And also, if you are not feeling the magic, like I'm feeling the magic after your try of Magic Mind, they also offer a 100% money-back guarantee, no questions asked. But of course, I've been telling every single person and some on this that have been guessing on this podcast about Magic Mind because Magic Mind has helped me
00:39:33
Speaker
giving me a great opportunity to talk about Magic Mind and put my listeners up on Magic Mind. So I'm hoping you all will also support the podcast and Magic Mind, who also is supporting the podcast by visiting magicmind.com slash my kick and using that my kick 20 code and get that 50%, 56% off your subscription. And trust me, like,
00:40:01
Speaker
Once you start one or try one, you're gonna just want another one the next day. So I'm saying definitely get a 30 pack today. But back to my conversation with Shake. I mean, it's such amazing work. A lot of these kids, it's definitely gonna make a great impact on them. And hopefully that creates more of them actually also learning to give back, especially when they get older.
00:40:31
Speaker
I mean, every chance I ever get to volunteer, I'll always take it because it leaves a bigger impact than people think. Like, you know, I think it's like my job, my previous job would do like volunteer days and you'd go, you'd do your thing. Like, I mean,
00:40:48
Speaker
There was one that was pretty boring, but there was one that was like, you know, you work with some kids, you paint a fence and, you know, you get to talk to this kid, you get paired up with a kid, and, you know, you get to bestow, like, your knowledge of the world on this little kid for, like, you know, like, like, less than eight hours. Like, it's dope. I think it's really dope. So...
00:41:10
Speaker
for you to create a big impact where people are getting stuff and then they take that memory of like, yo, my first pair is from Shake. And now you part of their memory of like, yo, I got these crazy Adidas from Shake. I get so many of those stories, bro. I get so many of those stories.
00:41:29
Speaker
What is, like, is there a moment that stands out for you where, you know, I mean, I'm pretty sure, cause you've done it for so long, but like, is there a moment that stands out for you where it just like touched your heart and you just like, you had to take a moment and just be like, all right, man, I'm about to cry. I tell you this, right? So we did Christmas last year. And so I was doing it with this, with the Boys and Girls Club. And I was like, yo, I should tell the kids, like we picked,
00:41:57
Speaker
What was it? 300 kids? Yeah, it was 300 kids. And we were spending 100 bucks on each kid. And so they were supposed to submit their Christmas list. Then we go shopping to get the stuff. So they submitted the list. And so I'm looking at the list. And the list is just saying shit like socks, coats, or gloves, a hat, you know, underwear. And I was like,
00:42:18
Speaker
Tuck us the toys at, right? I'm like, yo, this is, this is wild. So I'm like, yo, so I went back to the boy's girlfriend, like, yo, here, man, y'all gotta take this back. Like, bro, where's the toys at? And then he was just like, yo, that's what they need. Like, this is, this is what it is. And like, and I'm like, damn, like, this is fucked up. Like, you know, I just felt like I was like kind of detached from reality, right? Cause I was like, so you mean to tell me like that this is like Christmas for them getting
00:42:45
Speaker
A coat? You know what I'm saying? I was like, wow, this is nuts. Because Christmas to me was toys. It was G.I. Joe's and Ruby's Cube's. Like, toys was Christmas, right? And so I was like, oh, shit. So I ended up getting them the socks and the other stuff, and then I got some toys too. And then this one girl, so when we was passing the stuff out, so I asked her, because she just put, like, on her list, she put coat, coat, coat, coat, coat, coat, coat, coat, coat, coat, coat, coat, coat, like 20 times. Yeah.
00:43:15
Speaker
So I was like, hey, I said, let me ask you a question. And she's like, I said, why did you want a coat so bad? She said, because I just wanted a coat with a zipper that worked. Wow. I said, what? Yeah, man. It was wild. I was like, wow, that's crazy. She just wanted a coat with a zipper that worked.
00:43:34
Speaker
Jeez. So she'd probably been using this code for a while too then. There you go. I see her every year now. I've been seeing her every year. That's zipper work? Yeah, that's zipper work. She's doing it now. She's happy now. That's touching. The way the world is now, especially in New York, we're so used to homeless people just sitting on the street. You just walk right past them.
00:44:00
Speaker
You know, nobody's asking like, yo, do you need anything? You know, everybody always prejudges them and tells them like, oh, yeah, you know, it's probably, you know, some fiend or something like that. But everybody's circumstances is different, especially now with like, you know, a bunch of like refugees pulling up and, you know, like, staying out front of that hotel. Isn't that Midtown Hotel? I don't know what hotel it is, but
00:44:23
Speaker
It's just wild, the world we live in right now. I do, I have my old boss, my previous boss, she does, what's it called? It's like backpack, project backpack, I think it's called, something like that, where you get assigned a kid, your budget is like 60 to $100, something like that. And then you buy a backpack and you fill it with whatever they're asking for.
00:44:50
Speaker
And it's a really dope, dope, um, uh, initiative. And so, like I said, you know, I try to jump in, like sometimes she'll, she'll pass it off to other people to do it and set it up and stuff like that. So, I mean, I definitely want to jump in on that one time, but the, like, I did it a couple of couple of years and it just feels totally different where, you know, you, I'm pretty sure like.
00:45:14
Speaker
there are kids, especially maybe if there's a kid listening to this now, you know, like, you think you feel like the worst thing is to feel unprepared to go to school on the first day or like, you know, you still rocking like old clothes for years now, you know. And that first day, I feel like if you come, that first day is so important, especially for a kid, because I think it creates a thread, a thread, a trend, a trend, a trend of how the school year is going to go.
00:45:43
Speaker
You know, it's definitely sets the tone. I was reading this reading this article and it was saying how important the first day of school was. I was like, wow, upset, set the tone for the rest of the school year. And when I just did my back to school thing, you should have heard them kids out there, man. He's like, I want to be. I like reading. I like math. I like everything. I want to be a doctor. I want to be a lawyer. You know what I'm saying? And I just think like all we we should be supporting them. And I think like all kids just really need a chance. No, yeah.
00:46:12
Speaker
The, and that's the, that's the thing. I think like a lot of people are, are easy to just be like, man, that kid don't need to do like, they don't need this extra stuff, you know? And it just tosses to the side.
00:46:22
Speaker
Yo, even with like, I hope I say her name right, Jerlissa? Jerlissa? Yeah. She did the sneaker, it's called Growing Grails. She was like part of that, where you get assigned a size and you could just buy a $100 sneaker for a kid. Yeah, so I did that this year.
00:46:46
Speaker
I think I don't know if I'm not gonna take the credit for it But of like, you know, there was the story that was posted after and I know what shoe I sent in so but this kid his shoes were falling apart and the the the teacher that the the Teacher that was holding all the sneakers that were donated. She saw that the kids Shoes were falling apart. So she just went in and
00:47:11
Speaker
picked up a shoe his size, gave it to the kid. And he was like, Oh my God, like that, like that moment, I wish I was there for that moment, you know, of just like, you know, this, this kid, like, it feels like, you know, not like life saving, but
00:47:26
Speaker
It's so different when you feel like you don't have the money, even if it's like, oh, I don't have the money. I don't want to burden my mom with like, oh, I need these shoes or I want these shoes. I'm going to just keep writing them down and not say a word.
00:47:43
Speaker
I'm like, hopefully, at the end of the year, I get my one pair. And people, especially now, don't know that there are still kids who have to only have one or two pairs a year. So yeah, it's big. Was that the one where she sent some shoes to a school or something like that? Yeah. Gotcha. My bad for not knowing the name of the school.
00:48:09
Speaker
Yeah, I know it was called growing growing our Grails. That was the initiative. So yeah, but I mean, yeah Where specifically do you do your your? work with the community It's probably 90 90 percent of Milwaukee, you know, I did a couple things in Miami a couple things in Ohio So, you know, so I do move around from time to time but mainly here. Oh nice
00:48:36
Speaker
Why Miami? Because I don't know. This lady, this lady, she works for Foot Locker. And so she was just like, just like you, like, yo, you be doing incredible work. I would love to work together. You know, I said, yeah, let's, you know, stay in touch. And so she reached out to me and told me about this women's, the biggest women's homeless shelter in the world is in Miami. And so I was just like, well, she's like, yeah, she said, you know, we figured something out. And I'm like, all right, cool.
00:49:02
Speaker
Partner with them and then we did it, you know with me through my nonprofit footlock. Mm-hmm I mean shoot that's such a dope dope I was gonna say activation, but it's not the right word. That's such a dope thing to put together my bad I don't know You know I'm saying it's like you you know, like people don't realize how much
00:49:25
Speaker
and how valuable them shoes are, man. You might think like, oh, that's just a superstar. That's just a whatever, right? And it means a lot to somebody, man, you know? I said it at the time, man, people just need a chance, man. They just need somebody to believe in them. Like, especially these kids, they need somebody to know, they need to know that somebody loved them other than their parents, right? Because you know mom and dad, you know they love you, right? But they need to know that me and you love them, right? And we're going to put our arm around them and we're going to lead them down the right path as well.
00:49:54
Speaker
The like that's so important because especially in like
00:50:00
Speaker
especially when like kids in a big city, not Miami specifically, but like in a just a general big city, you know, it's so easy to just fall into like, Oh, yo, the cool kids are doing this, I got to do this to get to be with the cool kids, you know, and it's like super big emphasis on that. And if you like, that's how you learn how people start, start stealing and stuff like that, you know, you start going down the wrong path just to just to fit in. Yeah. So it's tough. But the,
00:50:28
Speaker
Like has there been a moment where like you told somebody, you know, your story and it motivated them, you know, and you come back around the next year and they're, they're like, yo, man, this, this is what, this is what I'm doing now. Like, and you feel that it ain't been so much, it ain't so much, so much of my story, just been people that had been touched by, you know, my giving back.
00:50:51
Speaker
Like, you know, like, I mean, man, I'm be honest, bro. Like, I get probably a message like maybe once a week, once every two weeks about somebody, you know, like this one kid reached out to me and was like, yo, you don't remember me. I came to your first back to school thing. I was young, getting bullied, picked on at school. He said, you gave me the shoes, the haircut, the backpack, the hat. Like he remembered the whole, I was like, Oh yeah. I said he was really there.
00:51:13
Speaker
And he was like, yo, he said that made me look at school different. I applied myself. Now I'm a master electrician. I got my own company. Got three employees. I'm married and I live in Memphis. And I just want to tell you thank you. And if you think that what you're doing ain't really doing nothing, I'm living proof that it is. And I was like, wow, that's crazy. You asked him to cut a little bit off a rate to rewire your house after that one? Yeah, in Memphis.
00:51:39
Speaker
Be like, I know you got three employees. Pull up, man. Let me get some. I mean, that's so dope. I love the emphasis on the haircut, because people don't know how important. You can just get fresh clothes, but that fresh haircut, though. There you go. There you go. It's a game changer. You know what I'm saying? It's a game changer.
00:52:11
Speaker
You get the therapeutic feeling on top of it, but like feeling like a brand new person. And then you get new clothes on top of that too is wild. It's go time after that. It's no excuses. Let's go. You know what I'm saying? Let's go. It's it's so crazy. You recently announced you were working on something big too as well, right? Yeah. Yeah. You touch touch on that a little bit. No, I can't tell you. When is this airing? Oh, this is airing next week.
00:52:33
Speaker
I don't know if it's like, okay, the...
00:52:41
Speaker
Yeah, nah. It's too early. Too early. I worked on a couple of big things, but one of them is huge. One of them is going to be a game changer for sure. I thought it was like.
00:52:54
Speaker
Did you open a store recently? I know I saw a picture of a bunch of boxes and I don't know what the boxes were for. Oh, no, no, no. I can talk about that. That's not the huge thing. That's huge too, but that's not the big thing. The next thing that I'm working on is that I got two shoes coming out with Adidas.
00:53:17
Speaker
11, 11, you know what I'm saying? And so the name of the shoes is called Day One.
Upcoming Adidas Release and 'Day One' Concept
00:53:23
Speaker
And it's kind of like the shoes is through my eyes and like my best friend eyes, right? You know what I'm saying? Kind of like how we talked about earlier, how I would go to the mall and get a pair of shoes and then I would get him a pair of shoes. You see what I'm saying?
00:53:40
Speaker
Yeah, and they called day ones, come out November 11th. And the crazy thing is about that shoe, bro, is that I sold 376 pair of shoes. And the people who bought the shoes, nobody seen them yet.
00:53:54
Speaker
Wow. Nobody seems crazy. It's crazy. I'm, I truly appreciate it. You know what I'm saying? People like, yo, I'm going to miss out. Like tell me where to sit. I need a 10 and a half. I need an eight and a 12 for me and my girl. Like that's all I've been getting, bro. So it's been crazy love. And then the best part about that whole about that shoe is that inside the box, it's going to be in the first 400 pairs that get purchased, um, inside the boxes to be a QR code inside that box.
00:54:18
Speaker
So if you buy a pair, you'll be able to scan that QR code, and then you'll be able to gift your day one a pair of shoes for free. What? That is crazy. That's fire. That is so fire. I'm gonna put some shade on Tom's real quick, but that's way better than Tom's. Yeah, I just feel like they, you know what I'm saying? I feel like these kids nowadays, man, they, you know,
00:54:42
Speaker
the whole friendship and my guy. They get caught up in these slang sayings. The new saying now is motion and standing on business. They be like, I'm standing on business and motion and all of a sudden I'll be like, what the ... What are you talking about? I've never heard that. I guess I'm out of it. They be saying it hard, so I'm just trying to bring back that feeling of friendship and that camaraderie, that brotherhood, because
00:55:06
Speaker
Your day one is not the person that you rob a bank with, right? Your day one is the person to tell you not to rob a bank, right? And I just want them to know that life is about choices. And when you choose your day one, you've got to choose wisely. Agreed, agreed. I think that people definitely take the word friendship for granted a lot.
00:55:26
Speaker
But for me, it's always been like, you know, if you extended family like you, you, you right here, you know, I keep everybody. I mean, I don't know if it's like at fault, but like I think a lot of people do is you keep the circle small, you know, but.
00:55:39
Speaker
If somebody connects with you on a level that you've never expected anybody to connect with you, then that's just, you can't deny that. That's just family right there. That's friendship right there. You said 350 of the soul? I'm going to need to get in on. 9376.
00:56:04
Speaker
All right, as long as it's under 400, I'm trying to get in there. But that's wild. Being able to partnership with a brand, especially when you've been rolling with that brand for so long, too. I love that they're giving back to you to be able to give another opportunity to people who, that's such a beautiful opportunity.
00:56:30
Speaker
Full circle, especially in my, in my eyes, you know? Exactly. Tommy is everything, man. You know what I'm saying? Tommy is everything. Uh-huh. The, well, I'm very hyped. Now I'm very hyped for you. I think that, cause it's, it's, what's really dope about like being able to work with a brand, especially when they invest in you so much, like that you get a chance to tell your story your way. Exactly. You know? And especially with the vocal confidence like that. I don't know.
00:57:01
Speaker
I've been thinking about the, a lot of the word, a lot about the word, um, appreciation. Like, do you, like, if you, if you feel appreciated or like, do you need to feel, not appreciation, approval. If you feel like, do you need, what creates approval? You know, like, do you need approval from other people in order to feel validated? And, you know, what, what goes into that? Like.
00:57:27
Speaker
It is the approval, I mean, for me specifically, is the approval a ton of people listening to this podcast and like interacting with me, or is the approval the right people listening and passing it on? Like that, you know, I don't know where the line, you know, takes its turns and stuff like that, but I also feel like once you get, I guess your sense of approval, you know, like that's super fulfilling.
00:57:55
Speaker
you know, like, I don't know if if you look if you look at, you know, this as approval, like, you know, or is this is like, this is like, you don't need approval. You got good. Yeah. Yeah. I think I think that I don't know if that's just like a me thing in my head thing. But if it
00:58:14
Speaker
Yeah, I would never want somebody's approval, you know what I'm saying? I'm just going to always do me, you know? Yeah. I think you should too, you know what I'm saying? Because you would just spend your life, you know what I'm saying, living somebody else, like trying to do something to approve them instead of, I mean, to get their approval instead of just living your life. So yeah, no, never for me. No, yeah. I mean, you're right. You're right. You're right.
Basketball and Youth Mentoring
00:58:40
Speaker
That's what the, because I wanted to bring this back to hip hop. So like,
00:58:44
Speaker
Hip-hop is one of my first loves, you know? And that was the original of like, I'ma do me. Like, you're gonna hear my story, I'ma do me, I don't care if you like it or not. And hip-hop, stylings, hip-hop, just like being hip-hop, the definition of hip-hop, like, what does it mean to you? That, you said, you talked about doing you, just, you know, doing your own thing.
00:59:14
Speaker
I mean, that's kind of like what I'm doing right now, you know, doing my own thing, man. Just kind of, you know, find my own lane, you know, something that I'm passionate about, something that I care about, you know, which is the kids and the community and stuff like that. So, you know, that's why I've been, you know, doing it for so long, you know, doing it for so long.
00:59:31
Speaker
You know, I got a, I got a, I got a couple other things. I got an AU team coming soon now next year. So yeah, I'm going to, you know, put my hands on these kids, man. I think like it's just too many. I don't know, man. I just feel like it's a lot, it's a lot of work to be done. You know, I'm built for it tough though. So I'm built for it, but to be done.
00:59:49
Speaker
I mean, I love the fact that you jumping back into basketball too. Yeah, man. It's a long time. As much as I love the game, I'm talking about, listen, I'm old and I still play on Sundays, right? And it's just like, everybody just always asks me for years, why you never got into music or why you never got into basketball? And I'm just like, the music business, bro? If you think you would punch somebody in the face for owing you $100, right? What would you do to somebody to owe you $100 million?
01:00:18
Speaker
Jesus. You know what I'm saying? So I'm like, nah, I'm never messing with that. Because I've seen too much, too much go on, man, since I came in with that. But then, you know, like the basketball always had love for the game and stuff like that. So I was like, man, one day I'm gonna get it. I'm gonna get into it. You know what I'm saying? Give me a team. And you know, now I've got me a team. So now I'm getting to it. No. Yeah. I mean, even when like, when Fife was doing his scouting back in the days, you know, pet before his passing, like, because one of my favorite groups,
01:00:46
Speaker
is a trap called Quest. So I was always in on, OK, I got to learn more about what's going on. So I was always paying attention to when Fife was talking about his scouting and looking at teams and seeing players and stuff like that.
01:01:05
Speaker
He was ahead of the game in that. And that's what brought me to AAU because I didn't even know AAU existed because I played ball and I guess I played on the AAU team, but I did not know it was an AAU team. I thought I was just playing basketball. So it was wild that that happened. But I remember just like watching that Beats Live documentary on Tribe.
01:01:33
Speaker
And they talk before Fife's passing and like that, like talking about, yeah, you know, Fife is just really into basketball right now and scouting. I was just like, oh, really? So I just started internet, like on the internet, like, what's Fife doing? What's Fife doing? Ahead of his time. And it's really dope to see that you're putting a team together and, yo, get those chips, man. You got to get those chips. I mean,
01:02:02
Speaker
Are, like, are your, like, the team that you're building, right? Is it, like, are you guys gonna play in Adidas too? Is it just, like, straight up? Yeah, yeah. That, I mean, did I play in Adidas? I played in one pair of Adidases. I don't know, what are your favorite pairs to play in since you ball on Sundays? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:02:25
Speaker
I mean, the new one is the crazy infinity. That's my favorite right now, even though that ain't a basketball shoe per se, but I like that shoe. The hard and sevens is dope. You know what I'm saying? All the Kobe's, all the Kobe's, it's like good basketball shoes. So it's a bunch of them, man. I mean, even the Yeezy, the Knit basketball, those are dope basketball shoes too. Those are good shoes. I heard that. Yeah. They had Sheck West was the one that developed that shoe because he was balling at the time.
01:02:53
Speaker
I know he was hanging around. Yeah. Around that time. Yeah. But they were saying because he was like, he was, this is like before he switched to rapid, he was like balling. So he was like on the, on the easy team for balling. That's what I heard on the inner interview. And I don't know if that's right, but, but it's, it's a, I don't know. I never really, I never tried the knit, the knit basketball shoe. I thought it was like, he is.
01:03:21
Speaker
Yeah, I think that dude from Milwaukee. I thought he's from Brooklyn. Yeah. Then what's the other guy? What's Shaq West's biggest record? It's Mo Bamba, right? Mo Bamba? I think that Shaq West. I'm going to have to look that up. I'm pretty sure. Yeah, Mo Bamba.
01:03:48
Speaker
And he'd be like, fuck, because the song skips and then he'd be like, fuck, check West or something like that. Fuck, what is it? Oh, oh, oh, fuck, shit, bitch, young check West. That's the one. Yeah, that's the kid is from here. Yeah, yeah. That's I mean, I don't know. I like I said, I didn't know he was even on that like in the squad for the for the build of any of the easy shoes. But I heard that, like,
01:04:17
Speaker
He was, he was in the, uh, India Adidas, like, like their factory when they went to China and he just walking around with, uh, with a speaker on. Yeah, I was watching the Vima story. Yeah. Which hopefully I get him on to like, this is what I got you on. This is the trend upwards. You ever been to the black footwear form?
01:04:41
Speaker
No, I've never. Never. You come to it, bro. That's where everybody at. That's where you're going to catch Beamer and jazz and everybody you're trying to get. That's where you're going to catch them at.
Sneaker Memories and Fashion Conversations
01:04:49
Speaker
I mean, hopefully next year. That's a goal. It's definitely a goal of mine next year because, you know, doing this podcast. Yeah. Yeah. Doing this podcast and try to get, uh, try to get as many black voices on here too. You know, like just love it. Love hearing the stories and, um, but as we go to the end of the podcast, I do ask another question.
01:05:10
Speaker
First of all, thank you so much for jumping on. One more time, let me tell you that. But at the end of the podcast, I asked another question. And that question is, I want you to think about when you were about to buy, as a young kid, I want you to think about when you're about to buy the shell toes, right? So now, you're you transported back in time. What would you tell your younger self as they open that box?
01:05:39
Speaker
You should have kept them shoes. You should have kept them shoes. It was like monumentally, there was historic joints right there. You did fat laces? I forgot to ask you, did you switch to the fat laces? Nah, it was regular laces in there. And then, you know, like I never, it is funny though, because like that was my first like real like love sneaker, right? But then I only wore shell toes three times in my life.
01:06:05
Speaker
That was one of them, right? And then I wore them for a little bit and I was like, I don't like these. And then I started wearing some other shoes. And then like I said, then Jay then was wearing a lot of shells and ultra stars and stuff like that. And then I was always wearing something different and then Jay would always see them different when he's like, yo, what's them?
01:06:22
Speaker
what he's doing. You know what I'm saying? So, that's how I got kind of got him out the shell toe. So, if you start like seeing, you start seeing pictures of him and him, Joe and Dee and then Joe and Dee would have on, you know, either shell toe superstars or pro models and Jay would have on a different pair of Adidas and that was for me. Okay. The guy, you you pushed him off of it. He was like, he was like, these joints are bulky, man. Cuz especially, I don't even know how they did it. First of all, I don't know how they did it. No laces.
01:06:51
Speaker
Two pairs of socks. But that shoe is so giant though. Yeah, but you had two pairs of socks and the only thing that would be flapping is like the upper part of the tongue. You know what I'm saying? Because then you got your jeans. You're either going to have your jeans sitting on the tongue or under the tongue. So it wasn't really getting that much movement. And then they like they was running track in them. You know what I'm saying? They just stomping and rapping. But I'm pretty sure they had to run from fans though at one point.
01:07:18
Speaker
Yeah. You running in those with no laces. It wasn't long distance, but yeah, it definitely happened. I'll try to remember it. I know the fat boys wore them in one movie, and I think they was like, I don't know if it was like the disorderlies, and they had to run them.
01:07:36
Speaker
or something like that. I'm sorry. I'm showing, I'm showing, I'm showing my hip
Closing and Community Focus
01:07:40
Speaker
hop knowledge. I'm sorry. But, but yeah, man, you know, shake. Thank you so much for jumping on the podcast, man. This is a hell of a time. Yeah. If you got anything to plug, uh, you know, we could plug it here too. I got another plug, man. Just make sure y'all get back to the community, man. Put your arms around the junkies and help them, man. They need us. Yeah. That's an absolute fact. And
01:08:03
Speaker
You know what we say every week to everybody who's listening? Wear your kicks. Peace.