Nice Kicks: One of the astounding moments in the WINGS song is when you mentioned your friend Carlos’ brother being killed over a pair of sneakers. How did that instance affect your love for sneakers? Did it sway your opinion on going out and purchasing the latest Jordans? Did sneakers lose value in your eyes after this?
Macklemore: I was very young, so I don’t think I processed it like that as far as the death of somebody I knew. I was literally in first grade when it happened. That type of stuff was happening though. It wasn’t happening to people I knew personally, but throughout the 90s it was happening with the Jordans and the Starter jackets on a consistent basis in Seattle and all around the country. I was still too young to see how that instance affected me because I wasn’t able to process it. I got a Starter jacket in third grade, but you had to be careful wearing a Starter jacket, and you had to be careful with which neighborhood you were in while wearing Jordans.
Nice Kicks: So, you deem robbing and killing for sneakers a big problem in the sneaker culture during the 90s. In your opinion, what is the biggest problem in the sneaker culture these days?
Macklemore: For me, it’s just that conflict. Like, ‘Is this necessary to be fresh?’ or ‘Do I need the newest pair of retros to stand out?’ It’s easy to fall victim to the consumerism that is the backbone of this culture. But at the same time, I love the culture, and I love Jordans and Nikes because it’s something that I obviously grew up with. Sometimes I just think to myself, ‘Am I really about to go spend another $175 on some Jordans when I just did it like three weeks ago?’ So, I think that is the issue I have with it. It’s tough because it’s a huge part of who I am, and I will always love Jordans and Nikes.
Nice Kicks: We read that you struggled with drug abuse at one point in your life. Seeing that you overcame that, is there a direct correlation between substance abuse and ‘falling victim to the consumerism of sneakers’ as you just said?
Macklemore: I think, in the background of the sneaker culture, there is this lust and addiction for more and more and more. You know, new colors, new versions of shoes and this desire for more to consume. For me, it was the exact same thing for drugs and alcohol. There was this feeling of what you had was never enough. There was always this desire to keeping getting high and that I wasn’t high enough. I wanted to keep going. The minute that you get high, there’s this euphoria for the first couple of minutes; when you come down from that high you want more. I feel the same way when I go shopping actually. Just the idea of shopping is a high in itself. Picking up the things you want excites you. You get the shoes, and almost immediately after that, I start to come down from that high; even before I really go out and wear them. The euphoria is thinking about it, going and acting on the desire and then after that, whether it is a few minutes, days or weeks, I start to come down from that. Then, it just turns into this pair of sneakers. They have the creases and dirt in the, so they’re not the same. You’ve come down. I think it’s the same thing with drugs. You’re feeding that desire. I think they’re very parallel, and they both have addictive traits that are very similar.
Nice Kicks: You’ve been speaking on the ‘necessary’ factor of buying sneakers and the conflict you have with purchasing retro after retro. Yet, what are five shoes that have to be in your possession at all times?
Macklemore: My favorite shoe would probably be the Cement 4s. I did just get the “True Blue” 3s. I really like those. I like the classic, low-top Vans. Those are always clean. I love Wallaby shoes, so I’d have to put some high-top Wallabies in there. I’d probably end it with the “Grape” 5s. I don’t have them myself, but I always wanted a pair of those. I like the 6s too. It’s tough. I’d go 5s or 6s to end it.
“It’s easy to fall victim to the consumerism that is the backbone of this culture. But at the same time, I love the culture, and I love Jordans and Nikes because it’s something that I obviously grew up with.”– Macklemore |
Nice Kicks: How do you feel about the price of Jordans now compared to the price tags attached to them in the 90s? Do you feel the retros are overpriced these days?
Macklemore: Some of them are. It’s always been an expensive shoe. Even in the 90s, they were really expensive. It’s the people that resell them. The prices on eBay are ridiculous like when you see someone trying to sell some “Carmine” 6s for $650 or $300 for the “Grape” 5s. I think that gets a little ridiculous. You know, supply and demand. But Nike makes it that way, and that’s a part of it. It basically builds the hype. So, the whole machine around of it is brilliant in that way. You know, releasing a limited amount, make the shoe desirable in a colorway that isn’t accessible to the majority of the public and all of a sudden the value doubles and triples. The “True Blue” 3s I just bought are not a cheap pair of shoes by no means, but compared to the 90s, it doesn’t seem that crazy.
Nice Kicks: In the WINGS song, you mentioned Jordans costing too much to play basketball in these days, which has been more noticeable with each passing year. Do you think the days of playing basketball in Jordans are coming to an end? What did you, or do you play in?
Macklemore: I would usually hoop in Nikes; usually in Flights. The only time I see cats hooping in Jordans is when they have already thrashed them. I just think that there are too many ‘basketball’ shoes to buy like the LeBron. That is a sturdy basketball shoe. I would much rather play in some LeBrons than the majority of Jordans. I think if you’re going to spend that much money, you’re not going to go immediately outside and go hoop in them.
Nice Kicks: Obviously, every young person wanted to be like Mike growing up, but you had a few intriguing superstars in your backyard seeing that you grew up in Seattle. Were you big fans of Shawn Kemp and/or Gary Payton? Did you ever own any of Kemp’s Reebok Kamikazes or Payton’s Nike Glove sneakers?
Macklemore: Definitely. I was a huge fan of Payton and Kemp. Those were the dudes if you lived in Seattle. Those were the stars. Payton is from Oakland, but he is still apart of the Pacific Northwest Seattle pride. I never had the Kamikazes or Gloves. Around that time, I was young, so I was only getting one pair of shoes every six months. The Gloves came out right around the time I got those Pippens.
