By Isha “Ice” Cole
The annual Funkmaster Flex Custom Car and Bike Show was in full
effect the last weekend in June at the Convention & Expo Center in Edison, New Jersey.
The event brought in a swarm of Hip-Hop heads including
Jermaine Dupri, LL Cool J, Yung Berg, Maino, Cam’ron, Just Blaze, DJ Premier, Busta Rhymes, Jim Jones and Juelz Santana, among others.
Besides all of the breathtaking cars, bikes and model search
which brought out a lot of eye candy for the guys, there was also clothing for
sale and sneaker battle, which would have left any sneaker junky in heaven.
First and foremost, don’t step on my J’s! I must give respect
to all the vendors who showcased the various Jordans from throughout the years.
From black and red Jordan One, Jordan Three True Blues to the lime green bean and
grey Jordan Retro Five - and some even had throwback jackets and jerseys to
match!
These are sneakers by TTK, who has been designing sneakers
for three years. Dwele, Cormega and Natalie from Floetry are just a few of the
artist who own his footwear.
TTK does a lot of social political pieces. I asked him what
inspired his President Bush sneakers and he said, “I don’t agree with some of
his policies. On the sneakers I have him preaching democracy, but I spelled it
demo
crazy. Crazy, because over in Iraq we’re not
going to go in there and say we’re going to give you democracy and its going to
change over night. They're preaching democracy, but overall it’s all about
capitalism, that’s why I spelled it capit
oilism,
its all about the dollar.”
“The Barack Obama’s came to be because we’re a part of
history, we are witnessing this right now. My mother was around when Dr. King
and other great leaders were, and I know they could never imagine this right here
happening in today’s world. This is my piece dedicated to that,” TTK told us.
I’m definitely feeling his movement!
I had a quick sneaker convo with DJ Jazzy Joyce, who also passed
by TTK, and I asked her what makes a sneaker hot. “It all depends on your
personal style, because a sneaker maybe hot but you might not be stylish enough
to pull it off,” she explained. “I’m too mature for certain styles. I like it
classic, subtle, simply stylish… in the simplicity there’s complexity in the
style. It may be a pair of white on white uptowns, but their might be a leather
embroidering in it that's hot!”
Next we have Sublime Creations Footwear out of Virginia. The
designer “A Train” Aaron likes to be different and show details. I asked him what
has been his most unique piece so far and he said he’s getting a lot of
response on his Incredible Hulk inspired sneaker, which I must say was the one
that instantly caught my eye.
As of right now many of A-Train's clients are local artists from the Virginia and DC area, but he’s looking forward to working with some major artists.
I must admit one of my favorite sneakers was from Rebel Aire - this teal, black, white and silver is so my style!
Some vendors had displays which fused fashion and cars, such
as this Scarface-inspired Hayabusa Suzuki motorcycle and jacket.
And what about this bike with the matching sneakers?!
There were a few clothing vendors there too. I spoke to the lovely Ms. Debbie, Juelz Sanatana’s mother. She
had a table showcasing some Diplomats t-shirts and iced out skull belt buckles.
I know this is the fashion section, but I just wanted to
show love to two of my favorite rides! This is a Tricked Out Custom Cycles three-wheel Hayabusa!
And of course this crazy Pure Customs '85 Cutlass Supreme it
has 466 horsepower, 50 thousand dollars of engraving and gold plating!
With over hundreds of attractions inside and outside of the
event, it was almost impossible to capture it all, trust me this was only a
fraction! Big shout out to Funkmaster Flex for another successful year, this is
what you get when some the best things on earth cars, bikes and fashion
collide!