suwop

A few weeks ago I was walking down Hudson Street in Manhattan when I noticed a line of people standing outside of “Concepts”, a boutique on the corner where Canal St and Hudson meet. As I walked by, I saw that the window read “TDE & NIKE Present The Championship Shop”. I took a second to do my Googles and Twitters to find out what was inside this shop, how long it would be there, and if I should hop in line with everyone else or not.

After doing a little research I found out that the pop up shop had opened on May 26th and that Tuesday, the 29th (the day I discovered it) was the final day and also the day of TDE’s Championship Tour stop at Madison Square Garden. I also found out that the shop would be open from 10am - 6pm that day so having other things to do and having not had breakfast yet I decided I’d look through the selection of items online and ultimately decide if I was coming back.

After some online browsing and texting friends about it I decided to go back and arrived around 3:30. I hopped in the line which extended to the end of the block and a little around the corner (not super long but it was moving slowly so not super short either).

A little over an hour later I had finally reached the front of the line where we were given water bottles which was greatly appreciated as it was scorching out that day. We were also given a pamphlet showing all of the items available and were to circle the things we wanted. I’m both a visual and kinesthetic person so seeing the pictures helped but I wanted to see and feel the quality of the actual items up close and in person before I made my final decisions.

I sent some pictures to friends to get a 2nd opinion then circled a few items I was interested in and handed my order form in. Shortly after, I was finally inside where we were seated around the room which was set up like an NBA locker room with jersey numbers on the wall and the names of everyone on TDE’s roster on the chairs. The set up was pretty cool but I didn’t take any pictures because the vibe was chill and kind of intense so I didn’t want to be #thatguy.

While I waited I got up to look at the actual items from the order form which were hanging around the room. After some thorough physical inspection I’d changed my mind on everything I thought I wanted from the order form and decided to splurge a little & go with the TDE “Top Dawg” basketball Jersey instead. I figured if I’d dedicated this much time to being there, the least I could do is get something I actually really like.

As I was waiting for my order to be prepared a man came by and asked if I wanted a red “Damn” hat as there were now only 4 left. Somehow, the way he worded it made it sound like they were giving them away for free but I figured that was too good to be true so I said no. When it came time for me to pay I ultimately ended up getting one of the hats anyway and went about my day as the newest signee to TDE.

LYBB - Last Year Being Broke(n) is a slogan and now brand by A$AP mob member A$AP Twelvyy. I've been a fan of the whole A$AP mob for years now, from moshin' with them at live shows to listening to their collective and individual projects. The LYBB merch tends to sell out quickly so when they re'd up this past Black Friday I finally got the chance to cop some dope