Sneakers That Defined West Coast Hip Hop 

I grew up in South Central in the 80's and 90's and it was mostly Mexicans wearing the Cortez. Blacks were wearing FILA, K-Swiss, Air Jordans, Chucks, Pumas, slippers.

I dream lacing up all these sneakers, growing up. Now got the money and choose to wear Crocs. Thanks for reminding me ,gonna cop them all🖤

the Puma Suedes are not only looking good, but are also very comfortable for a classic sneaker. they are my favorites, together with the Vans Old Skool.

I like how this channel isn’t just stuck on Nike brand and covers all brands 👍

Cortezes are such a beautiful sneaker imo. Something I always loved about west coast gangsters is that they really knew how to keep themselves stylish with good color combinations, ironed clothes and simple designs. As a matter of fact? Because west coast culture was never popular in my country people don't associate these clothes with thugs, I've even had people tell me that I'm well dressed sometimes compared to the actual thugs here. West Coast rap definitely built my fashion tastes but god I love em, I'll take chucks and nikes over any other sneaker for the rest of my life.

Sneakers and west coast hip hop 2 of my obsessions

Love that you mentioned the Odd Future Vans. Feel like that’s a shoe that gets overlooked quiet often. The Golf Wang vans with the pink sole were sick too

I would just like to say I went n seen AIR in theaters after words I say their from 6pm-2am watching your sneaker history videos just because u guys hit the mark on every single topic n shoe u guys talk about I can tell it’s not for money it’s a true passion and it truly shows with every video u guys drop please keep it up 🙏🏽❤️💯

Definitely love watching these videos keep up the awesome work

Very interesting topic! Great video as always!

You do amazing work man thank you for these videos

Chuck Taylors Symbol of L.A. West Coast & Gangsta Rap ❤️💙👟

Great video... brings back memories...between me and my wife we still keep cortez...reebok classic and pumas in the rotation... matching fat laces and all. Folks definitely sleep on kswiss... they were a staple growing up with a fresh pair of khaki's

all right foo, another great history class, much appreciated 👏 your videos never disappoint muchas gracias...

Awesome video!

Brilliant stuff, thanks! 👟🔥

Great video

Just subscribed I like this channel man keep going! 🙌🏽

Good video as usual 👊🏽

I love these types of videos, and cortez shoes. Good job

Great video as always! It was a pleasure to watch it!

I look forward to when you produce west coast editions for your content. Keep up the good work

🎉great vid!

"Now we will show you the sneakers that defined west coast hip hop" *Proceeds to show off my dad's whole sneaker collection in one video*

Just subscribed!👍🏿

Highly informative... U just hv tucked up one more subscriber all th way from Africa fam... Great content!

Another incredible mini doc!! Love it!! Keep em coming! J.T.

Thank you. Good one.

Damn, love those early 1980s air forces, they looked cool and simple since they had the color on the swoosh and velcro strap only, it had like lakers yellow or sixers red, huge fan of your channel btw

Yes Bry, this is right up my street! 👟😎

Dope you show every shoe in the classic black and white colorway 👍🏼

Another banger

K swiss..tan Khaki dockers and a nautica polo' that was me 95. #Facts. S/o to yall Nacho, Another dope video!

Missed yall'

A Classic I have yet to pick up that’s always in mind to grab .

A DO A BAY AREA SNEAKERS CULTURE VIDEO THAT WOULD BE DOPE 💯✌

No other channel made me buy more sneakers 🤣 great vid again 🤙🏽

Cortez fave since high school till now rockin

I've always wanted a pair of Nike Cortez going way back to my school days! I finally bought a pair back in 2018 I've worn them maybe 3 or 4 times to tell the truth they are not comfortable lol! At this point they are just a collectors idiom for me 😄

British Knights were also a staple in the west coast in the early to mid 90’s, but for the obviously wrong reasons; Crips wearing them as a diss to the Bloods. My mom never bought me any pairs of them as much as I liked them. Another shoe that’s at least considered a west coast staple is the Creative Recreation Cesario; that was one of the shoes to wear during the late ‘00s-mid ‘10’s, especially during the Jerkin’, Dougie and Cat Daddy dance movements. Also, any Jordan XIV with red colors were (probably still are) popular in Northern Cali with Norteño gangs (XIV=14=the letter N=Northern California). I’m only commenting for those who don’t know, so don’t chew me out if you do.

the Nike Cortez are WAY more associated with Chicano/Latino gangs. Cholos and Chicano rappers have been rocking them for decades along with Chucks.

This video makes me wanna go out & buy a Cortez

the narration was good

Yeah I remember back in very early 90s we were Cortez dickies corduroys creased up Pendleton beanies that was the Crip Way, Derby jacket. I still love the style NWA brought to the table.

The air jordan, the nike cortez and converse were 90s symbol

Great informative video! Looking on GOAT to get me some of these pairs! Also, you look down and now though now that the clippers have been eliminated lol!

Got your stories right

Blue Nike cortez! Stilo chicano ese! Wit the ben devis

K-Swiss with ballie socks and a gold Rolex anklet is so fly. Thats how my auntie and big cousins wore there’s back in the day. ❤

Damn man, I thought you would've mentioned the Bay Area rap group The Pack with their song Vans. They really made Vans blow up back in 2006 way before Tyler the Creator was in the industry. I believe I read somewhere that even the owner of Vans noticed how popular the song was. The Bay Area stays gettin overlooked but it's all good, the video was dope regardless.

I love the work you and your brother do!!!!

The rise and fall of Troop sneakers would be fire, too. They were HUGE in the late 80s.

I feel like being from the South, we associated Dunks with West Coast culture due to the Skating/Jerking subcultures out there. I used to be on SoleCollector back in the day and Dunks were a favorite for most California cats.

Reeboks was like a southern thing a lot of drug dealers in New Orleans would wear they call em Soulja Rees down there

Great video. Now do an east coast one please. Aside from Tim's 😂

Bro I had a pair of all these growing up plus baby blue suede adidas I found in Huntington Park when I was in high school. The moral of the story is, these are all I could afford to buy at the time “ Growing up in the Hood”

Never liked the cortez silhouette, but always good vids from our boy nacho 👍🏼

We need a east coast and south video too please 🔥🔥

AF1/Dookies are called Dookies in some corners due their association with Duke University, Fila (the entire brand), the only connection Jordans have to the West is the Bulls colors (but Chi is more East than West), Puma Suede and Reebok Classic came into HipHop from the East. I don’t think of any of those as reppin’ the West at all. Tupac has East connects. Remember Juice? Remember “Run Joe Run” and Fila in DC and VA? Cube went East when he left NWA - his style evolved with that move and his affiliation with Public Enemy. Kendrick hasn’t been in the game long enough to rewrite history around him. This is a cool clip though. I would definitely say the Chuck Chillouts and Cortez are associated with the West. K-Swiss is an LA brand. There is no argument although the East did adopt them way back. ✌🏽💙👟

Gotta love the Cortez

Thank you for doing this episode. I requested a West Coast representation for the Chuck Taylor's months ago you said you would. Get back to? Me and you did thank you.

You should do Bay Area centric shoes, would be p interesting to see

You need to do a sneakers and 80-90 metal scene which was huge

British Knights ??? (awesome Dre album cover as a referance) ..... sorry doing my own additions to the list. Awesome work as usual Nacho ♛

Where were you guys ????!!!!! I’ve been missing my mini docs, best in the RU-vid! ❤

From what Google says, these sneakers were affordable that was the main reason why rappers opted to buy them, it probably had little to do with style, people just dont want to be seen wearing rubbish sneakers especially if they are in the public glare and media. I have a pair of Nike Cortez in the red, white and blue colour way, they are one of my favourite pairs of shoes. White sneakers are back in style and that helps too. Thanks for a good video.

Still got my pair of Nike Cortez

🔥

i'm in love with my top tens

I’ve never heard any one actually refer to “hunnid” spokes as hundred spokes lol. Dope vid. West ⬆️

The Cortez were like the ghetto track shoe. The rubber sole gave you some extra bounce and the rounded toes fit perfectly in chain link fences. They were about $30 in the 90s. Then Started becoming more and more expensive once celebrities saw them as trendy.

I definitely was rocking the white K-Swiss in HS with kakis 😂😂😂 Good times man

I found the cortez kenny 4 in the outlet like a year ago i was surprised as shit and instantly bought them

I still rock the old school KSwiss classics. Timeless design

G NIKES they're pretty comfortable nice cushion too ... 1st kicks I bought on my own back in da 90s, n da Chuck's just WOW

Make a video about Patrick Ewing 33HI shoe Thanks

I have this ones Cortez 😎

Rest in Peace Eazy mf E

The 90s was the best time for West Coast hip hop

Nike cortez for the homies👏🏾👏🏾

We called them dope mans

Navy suede with the white swish

And the k Swiss I worked in a sneaker store and scored some fire 🔥

a bit late but still W

I grew up in Manhattan, all the way uptown 200 Dyckman street and that was my first pair of legit sneakers. One love

I remember watching Terminator back in the early 80's one of the first opening scenes when the character Kyle Reese put on a pair of black AF- 1ones that's when I knew I need to get some and I did

Among the all snickers converse all star is my best one

Yeah those Nipsey Reeboks are better than any of those Puma colabs IMO…

Do East coast one

I've loved Jordans ever since the Jordan 1. When I was in school everyone wore Reebok pumps but I hated the look of a giant orange ball on my tongue so I never wanted them. I would see kids pump up their shoes without it having any influence on their basketball game lol. When I left home and had to buy my own shoes I started wearing AF1s cause they were cheap

4:50 literally the colours and symbols of the South Korean flag 🇰🇷. It represents balance and unity between men, women, earth, sky, water, fire, and white for peace... Balance. Basically humanity.

Any of these shoes with some starched down 501s and a crispy white t 🔥🔥🔥🔥

I remember my mom bought me the money green suede Nikes back in grammar school

honorable mention goes to air maxes

Damn I never realized I actually wore all these growing up in Paramount. Being a neighbor city to Compton I got to see all this. My uncles grew up banging CVSengundo gang.

I had most of these shoes growing up, everything except the Cortez were really cheap and thats why I was bought them. I remember getting the Chuck Taylors when i was super young because they had begun to lose popularity in the early eighties but soon had to settle for other shoes because they were made popular again due to the gangs in my neighborhood. As an adult I bough t a few but soon gravitated to the P.F. Flyers because theyre build is so much more durable.

Cordoroy house shoes, chucks, cortez, low top white airs… list complete

Chucks & Cortez's... Instant classic. Don't need ANYONE looking on the outside in of it telling that

growing up in LA I remember when Chuck Taylor’s was $20 at swapmeets. Reebok Classics in all white or all black, Cortez was and still is heavy especially in Latino gang culture.

I wouldnt really say any of these define west coast hip hop more define hip hop in general