to live and die in LA

EMINEM by Danny Hastings

Marshall from Detroit documentary 2019

“ Hip and Hop is more than music Hip is the knowledge, Hop is the movement Hip and Hop is intelligent movement ”.

Kendrick Lamar. Photo by Jeff Lombardo

Eminem at the 1999 Source Hip-Hop Music Awards. Photo by SGranitz.

D12 interview, 2001.

Picture credits to its rightful owner.

In 1996 Biggie Was Scheduled To Do A Photoshoot With Shawn Mortensen. During That Shoot Biggie Took Interest In Shawn’s Jacket (Which Just So Happened To Be A BAPE Jacket) And Asked If He Could Wear It For A Shot. The Jacket Wasn’t Big Enough To Actually Fit Biggie, So He Had Thrown It Over His Shoulders Instead Of Attempting To Squeeze Into It. Afterwards Biggie Had Asked Shawn Who Designed The Jacket Because He Really Liked It And Wanted One For Himself. Shawn Then Explained That It Was A BAPE Jacket Designed By His Friend Nigo In Japan. After Obtaining His Contact From Shawn, Biggie Had His Team Reach Out To Nigo To Purchase Some BAPE. Nigo Was So Excited To Have Biggie In His Products That He Offered To Make Custom 1 Of 1 Pieces For Him Due To The Biggest Size That BAPE Produced At The Time Being Xtra Large (Which Was Too Small For Biggie). Unfortunately By The Time The Custom Pieces Were Ready And Shipped To New York, Biggie Had Passed Away And Was Unable To Receive Them. Fast Forward To December Of 2002, Nigo & Shawn Mortensen Held A Photo Exhibit At The BAPE Gallery In Japan Entitled “It’s My Life…Or It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time”. A Few Of Shawn’s Favorite Photographs (The Photo Of Biggie Wearing His BAPE Jacket Being One Of Them) Were Printed On White BAPE Tees And Sold At The Event In Extremely Limited Quantities. 50 Tees Per Design (10 In Each Size, Xtra Small-Xtra Large). 

J. Cole. Pjoto by Kevin Wong.