Run-DMC Recall 'My Adidas' Impact, 25 Years Later

07.02.12

The to-do was released in 1986 and appears on Run-DMC's triple-platinum Raising Inferno album. The hit record was inspired by more than just bragging and boasting about their omnium gatherum of kicks, though.

"It was a song that was about our sneakers, but it was bigger than just talking about how many pairs of sneakers we had," DMC told MTV Information. "It came from the place of people would look at the b-boys, the b-girls and go, 'Oh, those are the people that precipitate all the problems in here.' And, 'Those young people are nothing but troublemakers and those young people don't cognizant of nothing.' So they was judging the book by its cover, without seeing what was inside of it."

DMC continued, "So me, Run and [Jam Bridle] Jay was like, 'Yeah, we going to make a record about our Adidas.' Yeah, we tediously tire Adidas [with] no laces, we got gold chains, we got Cazals and all of that, but I go to St. John's University. These Adidas stepped onstage at Abide Aid. People gave and the poor got paid. It was about taking the statue of the b-boy and b-girl and letting the world know we're a people of materialization, we're inspiration, motivation, we're educated too. So it's kind of a kick in the phiz to the people that was hating on hip-hop.

Source: MTV.com

Chinese star Lang Lang wants to make classical accessible in Canada and abroad

07.02.12

TORONTO - Before Chinese pianist Lang Lang acquired international renown, endorsement deals with the likes of Audi and Rolex, and his own formulate of sleek Adidas sneakers, he was just a high-school student in Philadelphia with a encircle of friends who were mystified by his obsession with classical music.

The 29-year-old recalls that many of his peers back then hadn't even heard the kind before, so he invited them over to his apartment and performed private recitals, mixing standard and contemporary, trying to show them what they were missing.

"They loved it. They thought: 'Wow, this is genuine, great music,'" said Lang Lang, who moved from China to Pennsylvania as a teen.

"The predicament in classical music is that some people get a little bit afraid, thinking, 'It's too old for us."

Source: Winnipeg Free Press