The Audacity of Dope

While I’m strictly an Adidas wearer when I’m on the pitch (conversely, no pun, Nike’s only on the court), I must say, the new Nike ad in preparation for the World Cup is incredible.  Peep the release:

BEAVERTON, Ore.– NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) today unveils an action-packed film that brings together some of the world’s greatest players to inspire football lovers and sports fans around the world. The epic three-minute “Write the Future” film takes people on a journey that dramatically captures that one moment when headlines are written from a single pass, or one strike can bring a nation eternal happiness, while bringing others to their knees.

Some of the world’s best players, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Fabio Cannavaro, Franck Ribery, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Patrice Evra, Gerard Pique, Ronaldinho, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Thiago Silva, are featured. Special guest cameos are made by tennis legend Roger Federer and basketball superstar Kobe Bryant. Homer Simpson completes the star-studded cast of appearances. The film will be shown on TV for the first time on May 22nd during the European Club Final.

Directed by renowned Hollywood director and producer Alejandro G. Iñarritu (21 Grams, Babel), this epic football journey unfolds through a match of goal line clearances, game-winning tackles and lightning footwork that literally send a ripple effect across the world.

Football fans around the world will be able to experience the full three-minute film online at nikefootball.com from May 20th at 6pm GMT before it rolls out through global partnerships with Facebook, YouTube and QQ.com on Saturday the 22nd. The spot will then air across 32 countries, sharing the campaign with millions of fans around the world on May 22nd.

This marks the first stage of a journey that will ultimately see fans around the world write their own future through experiences that put them at the center of the action. In June, fans will be able to live like their heroes through a unique experience on nikefootball.com that generates ripple videos and visuals from their own photos and information, placing them at the center stage.

Footballers can then use this creative to build their own Facebook campaign to get noticed and selected for “The Chance” – an elite Nike Academy football camp in partnership with the Barclays Premier League in England that allows players to get scouted and get noticed at the highest level of the game.

“This epic campaign really captures the scale, emotion and impact that one single moment in a football game can have on a player, fan or nation,” said Davide Grasso, NIKE, Vice President of Global Football Marketing. “This is just the beginning of the journey. The next stage allows everyone who loves football to engage and interact in an incredible way.”

The story starts when the viewer is drawn into the heat of battle on the pitch as a ball drops from the air into the path of Didier Drogba. As the world holds its collective breath, Drogba picks his way through sliding defenders and expertly chips the goalkeeper – wild celebrations commence across Africa. But they are curtailed at the last second as Fabio Cannavaro makes a stunning overhead goal line clearance. This game-changing moment propels Cannavaro to pop culture icon complete with television chat show appearances and a song dedicated to his moment of brilliance.

Other global football stars including Wayne Rooney experience how a moment on the pitch can last forever. In one scene, the England striker sees an intercepted pass picked up by midfielder Franck Ribery. The ensuing impact brings a nation to its knees and leaves us to imagine Rooney’s destroyed career and his life as a groundsman, living in a caravan, with Ribery’s image looming large above him on a giant billboard. Fast forward, and Rooney relives the moment, sprints after Ribery and wins the ball back. Personal and national pride restored, we see him receiving a knighthood, with headline-grabbing plaudits, a maternity room full of little Waynes and an effortless table-tennis defeat of Roger Federer. The Rooney ripple effect comes full circle.

Similarly, Cristiano Ronaldo is fouled in a game, and as he prepares to take a vital free-kick for Portugal, we flash forward to see the ripple effect if he scores; a stadium named in his honour and a Film Premiere for a movie of his life.

“Every touch you have in a game has the ability to change the entire course of not just those 90 minutes, but your entire tournament or season,” said Cristiano Ronaldo. “One touch of the ball can be an opportunity to leave your mark on the game and write your own future, or equally a moment missed, that creates a legacy for your opponent with their fans.”

Also unveiled is Nike’s supercharged Elite Series football boots providing new levels of performance for players during the tournament. Nike’s Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II, CTR360 Maestri, Total90 Laser III and Tiempo Legend III all feature a new performance upper to improve on-field visibility and a reengineered outsole to deliver lightweight performance for every style of player. The Elite Series is available to players at all levels and also incorporates Nike Football+, which features exclusive insider access to the world’s best coaches, players and teams for total game improvement.

As we push onward and upward into our 5th year of Sound Session, we had another great episode.  While J. Moore was out in Philadelphia for the Red Bull Big Tune beat battle, I was joined in the studio by Sol and Jack The Ripper, two very dope local artists putting in work these days.  We also played part of our interview with Big Sean (full interview coming soon…I hope!) and some crazy records from Theophilus London, Big K.R.I.T., Shad, Homeboy Sandman, Nas & Damian Marley, and more.

On the personal tip, I finally saw Avatar (um, insane on Blu-ray, suppose I shoulda caught it in IMAX 3D), but the most impressive Blues over the weekend had to be Chelsea achieving the double in the English Premier League.  The big homey Didier Drogba is simply unstoppable right now and he scored another cracker (yes…that’s what soccer folks call a great goal…and yes, it’s fun to yell out “cracker” when celebrating):

You ready for the World Cup?

Show #259 (5-16-10)

1. Reflection Eternal ft. Bun B – “Strangers (Paranoid)”
2. Eminem – “Despicable”
3. J. Cole – “Who Dat”
4. Gil Scott-Heron ft. Nas – “New York Is Killing Me (1200 Squad Remix)”
5. Theophilus London – “A Stranger’s Heart”
6. Big K.R.I.T. ft. Devin The Dude – “Moon & Stars”
7. Shad ft. Relic – “We Are The Ones (Reservoir Party)”
8. **INTERVIEW WITH SOL**
9. Sol – “Not The One” (Local Music)
10. Wiz Khalifa – “The Statement”
11. Homeboy Sandman – “The Carpenter”
12. Exile ft. Torae & Ruste Juxx – “Radio (Marco Polo Remix)”
13. Dr. Oop ft. Rogue Venom – “Green Butter”
14. **INTERVIEW WITH BIG SEAN (SNIPPET)**
15. Big Sean – “What U Doin”
16. Common ft. Queen Latifah – “Next Time (Just Wright Version)”
17. Hardwerk & Jansport J – “Computer”
18. **INTERVIEW WITH JACK THE RIPPER**
19. Jack The Ripper ft. Geologic, Sol, & Scribes – “Don’t Look Back” (Local Music)
20. The Last Emperor – “Secret Wars, Pt. 1”
21. Nas & Damian Marley – “Nah Mean”
22. The Physics – “My Place” (Local Music)
23. Little Brother ft. Bilal & Darien Brockington – “Second Chances”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?xezdymgj1qd
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/76222169cac1dd65/)
(2nd back up – http://usershare.net/x2tgtmejdu39)

If there are any problems with the links or if you’d like to be added to our weekly email list to receive the playlist and download links after every show, just shoot me an email, DJHyphen@gmail.com.

Fast forward to 3:13 to see the build up for a truly incredible goal from the big homey Didier Drogba.  Everything about it – Ashley Cole’s long ball, Didier’s first touch, his strength and balance, and perhaps a lucky bounce after Corluka’s tackle – combined to make this a flawless moment from yesterday’s 3-0 win by Chelsea over Tottenham.  The Blues are not only looking like the team to beat in the EPL, but they could quite easily be the best in the world.

The scary thing is that Spurs actually played pretty well…and still got hammered.  Despite the lopsided scoreline, it was a great match to watch.  Top notch football at its best.

Sidenote, your boy has been playing well recently too.  Dropped in 2 goals and 2 assists in a game yesterday FTW…

That was to tie it, and this was the winner in injury time:

I see you Didier.

Are you kidding me?  That’s the homey too…Allez Didier!  Shout to Jacques et Allan too…