Just Don’t Do It! Jordan’s are not worth it.

Before I’m judged by kicks fanatics alike, I want you to know a couple of facts about my past relationship with Nike.

1. I used to own and proudly rock a 10K gold Nike pendant on a 14K Figaro chain
2. I spent 180 dollars on a Nike tracksuit on a day designated as World “Boycott Nike” Day
3. I saw an ad once for 50$ if you got a NIKE tattoo and send it in to the evil bastards. (I considered it for months)

Satisfied? I’ve served my shoe gods with diligence, I’ve earned the opportunity to judge those who consider purchasing expensive kicks. First, let me say this, it’s a fucking RECESSION guys! It has amazed me throughout 2009 to witness a plethora of retail agents and establishments continue to put forth products sans a reduction in price. Not to mention the idiots who hit me up on the street daily for a charitable donation to their respective support group. ” Excuse me, could you spare a moment for pediatric research?” No homie, I’m on a 15 minute break and I need a coffee to make it. I mean, that’s the truth of the matter, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m living check to check right now. And towards the end of the month that really means day to day. So yeah, wake up chump, you’re broke just like me, so don’t DUMP money into your kicks right now, shit, take half a year off that crap.

Well, I had a myriad of other points to make about this. But I just read over my first one, and yeah, that really should suffice. But before I leave you with a video of what you could look like if you snag a pair of Jordan XI’s, I ask you to consider one possible alternative scenario. Go cop a pair of dope sneakers that you genuinely appreciate for 75 dollars. For example, I would seriously consider this pair of Jordan III’s for 65 bills at Crispy Kicks. After you cop your crispy clean kicks of choice, take the extra 100 bucks, or whatever it truly is without you borrowing or stealing, consider the following charity: Soles 4 Souls. Give them whatever you got, and experience guilt-free enjoyment when you examine your kicks throughout the holiday season. Call it utopian, but if you only donate a buck and cop a pair of reasonably priced sneakers, I guarantee you the world will be a better place because of it. That isn’t utopian, that’s practical. Just Do It.

Or be this guy.

2010 J’s

A pair of Jordan shoes are worth dying for. Well, perhaps not actually dying, though many have attempted to kill for a pair of them, directly and indirectly. The Jordan shoe is the zenith of athletic shoes for any given year, every subsequent basketball based shoe humbly stands aside and lets Jordan bask in the warmth of the constant spotlight. Today the 2010 Jordan launched, hence crime rates across urban America will skyrocket this weekend.

Are they really worth fighting for? Go buy some Starbury’s and get a Thai massage; you’ll feel much aligned, you’ll still have some kicks on, all for a quarter of the price of some MJ’s.

More looks of the ’10 Jordan after the jump

2 Million Dollar Pair of NIKE’s?

Two things everyone should know about Michael Jordan: He is the greatest basketball player to have ever graced the court. And, he is an ostentatious prick. Two things you should know about his son, Marcus Jordan: He also plays basketball. And, is also a pretentious little shit.

In the latest display of Jordan snobbery, we find Marcus stirring up a raucous over at his new school, the University of Central Florida, all over brand names. As you can imagine Marcus has a propensity for Jordan Brand/Nike, so much so, that when he signed to UCF basketball, he made wearing Jordan’s a condition of his enrollment. The problem is that UCF have an apparel contract with Adidas and have ticked the boys over at the shoe giant off something proper with this Marcus Jordan stunt. At first, it appeared that Adidas would let this go, not to be drawn into the public limelight of this debate, effectively giving Nike free advertising. But in the latest twist of this story, it appears as though UCF may lose their contract with Adidas which expires in 2010. That would cost the University 1.9 million dollars, and to people who aren’t a part of Jordan’s family, that ain’t chump change.

Here’s Marcus ‘Pompous’ Jordan’s take on his commitment to the Jordan Brand

“It’s a level of importance with the Jordan Brand and my family,” he said. “It’s no disrespect to Adidas. I have a high level of respect for Adidas, but I’m going to be wearing Jordan shoes. I’m wearing the Adidas uniform and all my other UCF gear is Adidas, but the shoes are going to be Jordan Brand.”

So basically, Marcus is telling us that he’s going to perpetrate*, compromise the financial security of his university, and distinguish himself to a greater extent from his players. Awesome, hope you can ball kid. For any of you who are remotely feeling Marcus on this, know this, the kid has been getting his daddy to have Nike commision Marcus Jordan Player Edition sneakers since he was a freshman in high school. Talk about a runt.

* Boston circa 1997, perpetratin was a reference to rocking Adidas and Nike at the same time. Trust me, kids used to get dead arms for that.

Peep Marcus’s custom Player Edition Jordan’s after the jump…

Zebra Stripes Meets 3 Stripes

Well it’s definitely more Zebra stripes than Adidas stripes, hence the ZIF inclination to endorse. We give the new Adidas ZX 700 Boat our hoof of approval.

Check out more shots of Adidas’s Zebra print ZX 700 after the jump…

Kid Cudi gets lucid (No apology from us KID)

I recently reported about a little Kid Cudi/taser incident that occured over All-Star weekend in Phoenix. Apparently I had it all wrong, I’ll let Kid Cudi himself clarify. Peep Cudi madness at

http://kidcudi.com/news/?p=518

For the record, he clarifies nothing. Ok, he wasn’t arrested and wasn’t rocking Jordan’s. But that just adds to the confusion of this story. And then we’re supposed to just allow him to lay back on that “I don’t do this for anyone but my friends and family” pillow. Fuck that, you can’t act like your shit smells like Kanye one moment, and then the next minute cry foul about your lack of privacy. That’s called having your cake and eating it, you can’t do that Kid. You can rock Reeboks and get paid for it, oh yes, that you can do, but you can’t have your cake. 

Mr West? Mr Fresh? Whaaaaa?

At the risk of sounding like a shameless hypocrite, Kanye West needs to chill out on the whole “I can do anything” tip. It’s one thing for a rapper or any artist for that matter to retain sponsorships with major brands, it’s even acceptable for an artist to slightly degrade themselves by accepting a sponsorship by a brand that does not mesh with their personal beliefs (Kobe and McDonalds comes to mind). But the notion that being an artist in a genre like music qualifies them to cross over into the fashion design world is outright imbecilic. Some artists take their own stake of the branding business, and start their own brands e.g. Nas & Esco, T.I. & AKOO, Jay-Z & Rocawear, and of course Diddy & Sean John. The combination of rapper and fashion line has been a hit or miss business, with Baby Phat/ Phat Farm, and Sean John being three examples of a successful merger. Yet the majority of rappers who choose to embark on this urban “fashion” adventure at best manage to have their content featured on sale racks at Marshalls or TJ Maxx.

Irrespective of the shaky historic precedence, Mr. “George Bush hates black people” has decided to go ahead and set sail with his own clothing design aspirations. First up to bat, NIKE, who seem to always be first in line to hand over a profusion of cash to an aspiring black entrepreneur and/or athlete. Mr. West whom is by no means allergic to greenbacks has agreed to a joint venture with the shoe giant. NIKE will be commissioning Kanye’s shoe, fittingly named the “Air Yeezy’s” (for those under proverbial rocks, “Yeezy” is slang for Kanye). As was mentioned before, this type of merger is not only reasonable, but most likely financially wise. However, Yeezy is in a constant state of self-puffery and even though the Air Yeezy’s won’t be dropping until March ’09, Kanye has courted another corporate whore; say hello to LV. Louis Vuitton, best known for their signature logo on wallets and purses have decided that it is in their best interest to allow/ask Yeezy to design an LV shoe. Let me repeat that again. Louis Vuitton, a company that was founded in Paris in 1854 and exists at the very zenith of fashion branding has asked Kanye West to design a new shoe for them. Pick your jaw up off the floor! Mums is the word with Kanye’s new shoe, set for release in June, Kanye has only been spotted wearing them a few times.

Mr. West has also made some pretty outlandish statements about his desire to design gear for President Obama. What is this shit? Does Kanye not surround himself with people who fear not bluntness? Kanye West is a great producer, no, he’s a legendary producer. Kanye West is a good rapper, no, he’s a functional rapper. But Kanye West is not a designer, and his personal fashion choices are out there enough without him degrading the luxury fashion world with his “artistic” input. That’s the word from here. Mind you, I will be copping both the Yeezy’s and the LV’s. Hypocrisy aside, I still have huevos large enough to acknowledge my artistic limitations. Put that in your pipe and smoke it Kanye.