Nice Kicks: What shoe do you guys consistently perform in these days?
Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men: We always try to find sneakers that are not only in style but are comfortable. Outside of the Concords, the shoes we always perform in are the Air Force 1s. They’re comfortable and very versatile. There’s so many colors of those. We’ve been dancing in those for years. Air Force 1s with the outfits we wear just seem more fitting than any other shoe. Some sneaks are just good to rock out in during every other setting, but on stage, we consider the clothes that we wear kind of like our uniforms. We kind of keep certain things traditional.
Nike Air Force 1 “Boyz II Men” Custom PreviewNice Kicks: Besides the white on whites, is there a particular Air Force 1 that stands as a group favorite?
Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men: We’ve had a long, long relationship with Jordan and Nike. We’ve done things for them and in return they’ve taken care of us. As a courtesy, they created these Air Force 1s with a Boyz II Men graphic on them. They know that we used to wear the white on whites a lot, especially when we’re performing; we still wear them in different colors when we’re performing today. They wanted to customize a pair for us. Again, it’s just a relationship thing; them doing us a solid and it just being that. You’ll see the entire shoe soon.
Boyz II Men performing in the white on white Air Force 1sNice Kicks: Sometimes, what makes groups great is the ability of each individual in the group to bring their own style to the table. Describe how your guys’ style contrast from each other. Who has the most style in the group?
Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men: We pretty much have the same style. I would say that I’m probably one of the ones that has an extensive collection. I would say me and Wanya are the ones that are kind of more shoe conscious and try to wear different stuff. I’m more upscale though. Wayna is kind of like Jordans and regular boots and things of that nature. I’ll go out and get the Gucci boots, Gucci sneakers, the Louis sneakers and the Paul Smiths as well. I go in like that. I have a lot of shoes.
Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men leads the group while wearing “Concord” 11sNice Kicks: In your opinion, who possesses the Boyz II Men style in the current music culture?
Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men: I don’t know if I can pinpoint a particular person and say, ‘Yo, that guy is always right,’ but I do like bits and pieces from certain people’s styles that I may think are wearing something ill. At one point, I used to like Jim Jones and Juelz Santana’s styles. They always seemed to come with something real fly. They used to coordinate their hats with their shirts and maybe rock a Hermes belt or a Louis Vuitton belt. There style is very similar to mine in a sense where I like having a little ‘street’ with a little upscale. I’ll wear a white tee, some jeans, some ASICS or Js, and throw on a Louis Vuitton belt or a Gucci belt and a nice piece on my wrist. I call it ‘practical elegance.’ It’s a certain type of style that cats in the streets can rock with but also stuff that they can aspire to. I like those type of cats: Juelz, Jim Jones and even Nas with certain things that he does. He’s more grown up, but just the whole vibe of some of the kicks he might rock and just how he puts his stuff together.
