Living For The City

I can’t believe I didn’t recognize them sooner but tonight when I was sorting my CDs (many of which will be up for grabs as soon as I have a chance to rip ‘em) I happened upon one of my old favorites and was instantly reminded of where I knew those shoes from… Collabo alert!

In 1992, shortly after the release of White Men Can’t Jump with a Colnago cap perched atop Snipes’ melon and with a few years of a successful Mars Blackmon x Jordan campaign already in the bag, Wild Pitch Records decided that the urban market was ready for the next generation of cycling fashion and re-released 1991′s Fruits Of Nature with a limited run of Shimano clipless shoes.

Word on the street is that only 30 pairs were ever produced and I may own the only the only pair this side of the Pacific as most of them made their way to the Japanese market as biketights (please click this link) gave way to backwards baggies – they tried the biketights backwards for a while but abandoned all hope after a few backwards biketight related lawsuits and shipped everything overseas as a final concession in the defeat of cycling related hip-hop fashion. Consider the Shimano X UMCs shoes to be a valiant ‘last breath’ and a valuable piece of a rich and often overlooked period in our history as both bikesters and hiphopsters.

I really shouldn’t post on such little sleep – it might be worse than drunk dialing..

PS GetMooreTattoos.com – new site. I’d be lying if I said that I really liked the site, but Steve’s work is incredible and he’s one hell of a great guy – I’m very proud to wear some of his work every day.