This past NBA All Star Weekend was a pilgrimage by this NBA season’s best and Hall of Famers alike, Hollywood’s finest, hip hop’s elite, and sneakerheads to descend on New York City- the Mecca of hip hop and basketball. To net the influx of these tastemakers and fans, Funk Flex held his first annual FMFSneakerExpo (Hashtag it) at Station 48 in Manhattan. The attendees traded cash for new kicks and clothes, Twitter and Instagram handles, business cards for their boutique brands, and took selfies with the stars in attendance.
FMFSneakerExpo:
As Funk Flex shook hands and mediated the crowd, he received multiple guest visits from his comrades Cam’ron, Jim Jones, and Juelz Santana from Dipset, Jadakiss, Mayor, DJ Clark Kent, Roc Nation Sports exec Shawn Pecas, and Fat Joe to name a few. Hot 97’s legendary Kool DJ Red Alert was the sound provider holding down on the decks for the greater part of the six hour-long day party. Boogie Down Bronx native Fat Joe came onstage and gave his two cents to the crowd about his passion for sneakers. He expressed his obsession with copping the illest kicks he could ever find dating back to his childhood, and even offered a sincere public apology to those he had robbed in the past as an adolescent to feed his sneaker fetish.
Fliggity mixing at the 1st annual FMFSneakerExpo
All of the other rappers spoke about their love for kicks. But the I-95 connection from New York to Miami manifested itself in a dope way to keep the crowd on their “Jawdin” tip-toes for more surprises as DJ Khaled and Rick Ross blitzed the stage. Ross wowed when he stepped up to perform verses from four songs including “I’m A Boss,” “BMF” “Fuckwithmeyouknowigotit,” and “Movin’ Bass.” Also, NBA legend Shawn Kemp made an unexpected appearance, but didn’t stay too long after giving pounds to show his support of the event. Of course, The Reignman had to do a “kamikaze,” like his signature 1993 Reebok shoe that’s a comeback in the reissue game during the past couple of years.
What else were the highlights besides thee star-studded cameos? It’s gotta be the shoes! Brands like Nike, Reebok, Supra, adidas, Puma, Bathing Ape, Converse Chuck Taylors, New Balance, Diadora, Ellesse, and Asics all had exclusive colors like these black-and-gold combo Jordan 1s above, adidas SL Loop Runner TRs, vintage red-and-black Puma “Clydes,” Nike SB “De La Soul” Dunk remix editions, UNC Tarheel uniform-customized Jordan 4’s, and these Raekwon art piece-inspired “Snow Beach” kicks were some of the best in show.
1st Annual FMFSneakerExpo;
Overall, the event was well-executed by Funk Flex & co. This first event was akin to Zack Levine’s dunk contest exhibition, with no room for doubt that next year’s Sneaker Expo will follow suit.
FMFSneakerExpo by Dana Scott
Twitter: @MUSENOMIX
Rick Ross performing at the FMFSneakerExpo
