Sneaker culture has been synonymous with hip-hop since the time Run DMC talked about their shell-toed Adidas and Air Jordans became the hippest shoes on the planet. On Illmatic, Nas’ seminal debut album from 1994, he rapped, “I’m a Nike-head, I wear chains that excite the feds.”
While Taiwan is a long way from Crown Heights, Brooklyn of the mid-1990s, hip-hop sneaker culture lives on with the release of Dallas Waldo’s (real name Dallas Waldie) video for his song, NIKES&ATUX, Saturday at Chess Taipei.
The concept behind this song came from the dichotomy that defines Waldo’s life. On the one hand, he is a suit-wearing businessman. On the other hand, he is a street level independent rapper with a fetish for dope sneakers.
Photo: Chi Shi-ying
“The two pieces of clothing are representative of each of these lifestyles, and it’s also a great visual for illustrating this difference,” Waldo said in an e-mail interview with the Taipei Times.
Waldo has been told numerous times that he wasn’t dressing “hip hop” enough for certain occasions, and too hip hop in others.
“I think that’s just a result of me not being what people expect me to be,” Waldo said. “I’m not 100 percent hip hop, yet I’m not fully in tune with boardroom culture either.”
NIKES&ATUX flips from English to Chinese while showing off Waldo and his partner Sowut’s verbal dexterity. The trapped-out beat sounds like it could be played loudly in an invading alien spaceship on the day the world is going to end.
In preparation for the video and party, Waldo had a tuxedo made in China because it was cheaper than renting one for a day in Taiwan. Even though Waldo still enjoys wearing sneakers and hoodies, he could get used to the tuxedo lifestyle.
“I get in James Bond mode when I’m in a tux. No more beer, because I’m drinking martinis and highballs only. The sort of occasions that we find ourselves in while wearing a tux, equate to eating nice, drinking nice and being in a nice place,” he said.
Waldo said he used to think it was “a pain in the ass” to get dressed up. His views have changed. “When you’re dressed up, it probably means you’re going to a place where the ladies are going to be dressed up,” he said. “It means there is a ballin-ass party or event ahead.”
■ NIKES&ATUX video premier with DJ Chicano, Puzzleman and Sam Lin at Chess Taipei, tomorrow from 10pm to 4am, 2F, 297, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 5, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路五段297號2樓). Admission is NT$400 and includes a drink. Guys wearing a tux and ladies wearing a red or black dress get in for free.
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