A Decade Of Mixtape

Having taken in the Philadelphia stop on the AND1 mixtape tour this past weekend, we decided to do our best to boost AND1 coverage on SLAMonline this week.

Despite it’s shortened run this summer, the AND1 players were just as entertaining and adored as they ever were over the last decade. This year, the tour ends in Springfield, Mass at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and with ten players from around the country playing to win a contract with AND1.

Below is the review of AND1 Mixtape X that appeared in Under Review in SLAM No. 121 and is available in stores now. Check back this week for more AND1 coverage.

—Matt Caputo



AND1 MIXTAPE X: United Streets of America
DVD out now

Hate it or love it, the AND 1 Mixtape series is 10 years old, and with age comes maturity and a better appreciation for the past. Besides a look back at the first nine tapes, this installment is merged with footage from 2007’s “United Streets of America” tour. Although they borrowed and slightly amended their 10th annual DVD’s tag line, A Decade of Streetball Dominance,” from one of SLAM’s sibling magazines, the slogan is no less appropriate for the AND 1 movement.

Besides bringing Rafer “Skip 2 My Lou” Alston to the masses and then the NBA, AND 1 created the “hoop mixtape” concept in general. Vol. X packs the usual hip-hop soundtrack (Havoc, Paul Wall, Strong Arm Steady) over clips of current AND 1 team members like The Professor, Bad Santa and Baby Shaq. Highlights of past runs and tributes to former AND 1 streetballers like AO and Headache create a full sense of AND 1’s contribution to the game.

The hoops mixtape format hasn’t changed much in 10 years. However, the AND 1 flicks are no less entertaining and the hoops no less creative. While basketball traditionalists might dispute it’s value to the game, there is no denying that AND 1 placed streetball on a higher level.