I grew up in the Hardcore scene in Boston, Ma. From age 12-15, I was going to see bands like Bad Brains, Murphy’s Law, Sick Of It All etc. In about ‘87 or ‘88, I started to go to more Ska shows, and become more aware of the “Sneaker Boy” phenomenon. To me, it seemed like the Sneaker Boy phase was kind of the bridge between Hardcore and Punk to Hip-Hop and R&B/Soul, really. The Sneaker Boys were these dudes who would still wear Fred Perry gear, and Doc Martins, but would also wear sneakers and regular printed t-shirts. These Sneaker Boys were listening to Ska and Reggae music, which naturally lead them to Hip-Hop. But really though, we were already into Hip-Hop. It just taught us more about that music, ‘cause obviously Jamaican music and Hip-Hop are intrinsically connected. Of course, we all skated too, and so the cultural lines would blur even more.
I’m sure the Sneaker Boy was just a new phenomenon to me, but in actuality, it had probably been going strong for some time. Even being twelve and thirteen years old, I was young to really be up on all this. My cultural education was a slow process.
(Source: youtube.com)
