This Week in Dulture…
Approx 5 minute read:
👞 A legit dad shoe release
🎤 The Weeknd is finally over
📺 The new MJ channel
👏 A classic drop from Adidas <> Bape
Dulture weekly mix
TIL Kardinal Offishall had (still has?) a legit following on the east coast of the US…at least that’s what it sounded like on the New Rory & Mall podcast last week.
Kardi IS Toronto rap long before Drake even put out Room for Improvement.
Dude is mad cool, I remember walking down the side walk in the club district in Toronto years ago and he was on the other side of the street and we all just yelled at him and he turned around and acknowledged and cheered us on as we called his name.
I realize the above story isn’t all that interesting so let’s just get to the mix - we’re doing Kardinal Offishall this week because why not.
Also Hustlin’ is one of my favourite songs of all time since I was like 10 watching it on the Much Music countdown (Canada’s MTV channel).
When you become a dad there’s an unexpected fight that you immediately get into with yourself.
I’m a dad now.
Hold up, I gotta trade in the whip for a mini van now?
I can’t wear my Air Max’s no more?
No more songs rated “E” because of the lyrics?
I remember having this existential conversation with myself, like I knew my life instantly changed but did I really need a mini van??
No offence to those of you who drive a van but I just can’t do it. Truth be told, there’s tons of whips out there that work just as well for a family (in my case 5 of us).
The next big thing is what should you be rocking as a dad. I was working corporate when the kids were born so my wardrobe was much more Brooks Brothers than Kith.
And the shoes, was I supposed to tone them down? What kind of shoes say “I’m someone’s dad” but still looking like I’ve lost all of my fashion sense.
By 2017 the Nike Monarch’s were dubbed as the quintessential dad shoe but dad shoes only really became a fashionable thing when Balenciaga released these frigging boats and then Yeezy did the Waverunners.
The Fila Disruptor II won shoe of the year and dad shoes were officially a cool thing.
These shoes are so damn ugly
Now back track to the 80’s when New Balance released the 990, their first shoe that retailed at $100 in 1982, or $350 in today’s money.
Over the next 30+ years the 990 would go on to be a staple runner in NB’s lineup.
This morning at 10AM the 990v7 comes out as the latest dad shoe from the infamous NB collection of dad shoes.
These are fire, anyone can make them work
I actually thought the dad shoe was a fad almost 10 years ago, boy was I ever wrong.
(I love my Vomero 5’s)
The Weeknd is Over
The Weeknd finally finished what a lot of people thought was already over earlier this week.
The After Hours til Dawn tour, which kicked off in July 2022, came to an end in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
After 4 years of touring you’re naturally gonna end up with some serious numbers...
And even break a record...
I feel like 2026 was the year the world finally started to learn who Abel Tesfaye really is.
In January he started a burner IG account while in Tokyo and we learned of his love for all things Japan and gaming.
Dude is heavily influenced by Japanese culture and Asia in general.
Abel grew up in Scarborough (so did I) where in the 90’s there was a very strong Hong Kong/Cantonese population so if you had a Chinese friend in school most likely they are their parents were from Hong Kong hence the below.
This year he also released 3 new tracks while in Rio, Tokyo, and Hong Kong all called...
Hong Kong specifically blew up in Asia…obviously.
No. 1 Apple Music (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Macau, and Singapore)
No. 1 Spotify in Hong Kong (obviously!)
No. 1 On Netease and QQ Music - China’s charts
It also featured Faye Wong, ionic 90’s canto-pop singer and moody scenes of Hong Kong from the 90s with a Wong Kar-wai atheistic - I’ll let you Google who that is, culture yourself up a little will ya?
If you’re from Hong Kong then I know you’ve already heard this love letter to your city. If you haven’t heard it yet, this song is your introduction to what Hong Kong is/was/hanging on to.
Jordan TV
Whenever the Bulls played on Saturday or Sunday in the 90s NBC basically turned into Jordan TV.
30 years later, an actual Jordan TV channel is coming to YouTube.
The Jordan YouTube channel has technically been around for 7 years but with the 30th anniversary of Space Jam happening next week, Jordan Brand is using the milestone to relaunch their YouTube channel as Jordan TV.
Jordan TV will explore the people, moments, and stories behind the brand.
Think about the material it has to work with - Jordan’s NBA career, the original AJ sneaker launches, collabs with designers and non-athletes, and the general global phenomenon that the brand has become.
No clue why it took the brand this long to realize it has a crazy archive of stories to tell, especially after the insane success of The Last Dance.
But here we are...
The relaunch of the Jordan TV YouTube channel will kick off with a 6 part docs-series around the making of Space Jam on November 15th.
If the channel sticks to The Last Dance type vibes and not the shitty NBA on NBC interview thing they did with MJ last year it’s bound to produce a ton of great content.
Adidas x Bape Golden Era
Today Adidas and BAPE are tapping the golden era of basketball and streetwear with a new collection that highlights a lot of familiar BAPE motifs.
The whole collection feels like a throwback to when oversized basketball gear, hip-hop and Japanese streetwear were all crossing paths.
The purple camo in this collection goes crazy, I rate this drop.
Crazy Energy+ basketball shoes
Reversible shark camo hoodie
Varsity Jackets
And a ton of other pieces
The whole collection is available online at 10AM on the Adidas CONFIRMED app, BAPE.com, and wherever else you buy your Bape clothing.
