Knowledge is power, so it’s typically in your best interest to arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible. Gaining this knowledge is much easier to do when your passionate about what your learning AND helping others to learn. Such is evident if you ever have the pleasure of speaking with Autumn Marie, Public Relations rep for Female Sneaker Fiends, Journalist, Activist, hip hop head and all around renaissance women. In the words of Q-Tip, Check the Rhyme ya’ll, you might learn something!

Scheme: What’s good? Let’s get into the basics, where are you from originally?

Autumn: I’m originally from the Chicago area, born and raised!

Scheme: And you currently live in New York correct? What part?

Autumn: In Brooklyn

Scheme: And how did that transition happen?

Autumn: I moved out here about 4.5 years ago. Originally I was at school in Minneapolis and I was always back and forth to Chicago. I decided to move out here for a number of reasons, including going to school because I study dance. I am also a community organizer so I wanted to take on another urban area to organize in.

Scheme: Cool you’re a busy person. So how would you describe your role with Female Sneaker Fiend?

Autumn: I do the PR for female sneaker fiends, handling all of the press info, collecting info and working on new strategies for marketing and consulting. At this point we are up to 55 – 65k page requests a day (each time a page is clicked on within our website that counts as a page request). We are working on utilizing that to the best of our ability because we are the largest female sneaker collective in the world and we need to capitalize on that fact. We are looking at how to use our resources to come in and help the sneaker and clothing companies cater to the female market (hint hint, Nike, Reebok, and Adidas, anyone you may want to contact them QUICK)

Scheme: So how did you get your start with Female Sneaker Fiends?

Autumn: Actually I am relatively new to FSF; I just came aboard last year. I was doing sponsorship for the Justo Mixtape Awards and I just kept hearing about this organization. I’ve always been a sneaker head and really dig expressing yourself through kicks. I met them the week before the awards and approached them about sponsoring the awards and having a VIP room. I wanted them to make kicks for the winners of the awards and from there it grew. They had a PR need and I wanted to get down.

“…don’t like how they are trying to take the sneaker culture into a mainstream. The same way they did with branding hip hop, it’s happening with the sneaker culture. To mass produce it like that, it turns into a pure capitalist perspective…”

Scheme: Cool, what kinds of sneaker head would you describe yourself as?

Autumn: (Laughing) As far as brands, I am a definite Adidas head! When it comes down to it, I get whatever it is that I am feeling when I’m out shopping. I’m one of the people who love sneakers because I recognize them as fashion. I’m not one of those people who buy sneakers because it is what’s hot right now. Those people who go out and buy whatever is the brightest thing in the store, they may not even like the colors but since it’s what’s in right now they cop it. I like the stuff that utilizes not only color but also textures and materials. I don’t want the stuff that everyone is rocking, I want the rare shit but I want the shit that is rare because of the look. When it comes to my feet, I am an Adidas head.

Scheme: Cool, so what do you think about Adidas currently?

Autumn: I love the ADI colors, and I will be the first to say that the ADI colors are my favorite concepts yet! There are sneakers that I like to look at as art pieces and then there are those that I love to wear. One of my favorite to wear concepts is the “crooked tongue” series from the ADI color line. They came out about 1.5 years ago and it came with different tongue colors that used Velcro and different lace colors with each tongue and you could switch them up. I love those to death; it’s basically 6 kicks in 1. Some of the ADI color kicks are much better to look at like the cartoon character ones. I will say that I didn’t like the “End to End” sneaker series; I don’t like how they are trying to take the sneaker culture into a mainstream. The same way they did with branding hip hop, it’s happening with the sneaker culture. To mass produce it like that, it turns into a pure capitalist perspective, although it is still consumerism of sneakers, to take it to that level overlooks providing something pure to the consumers and turns it into a capitalist decision. This happens with everything from food, to music and now sneakers. It kills me that the store down the street in downtown Brooklyn has Puma GV Specials, and I’m like “How ya’ll got GV Specials” that just got released. I’m not against people in the hood having access to GV specials but these are supposed to be rare kicks, when you start to release them in mass quantities and place theme everywhere it really takes away from the uniqueness and the culture. That’s why I don’t like the “End to End” series, plus the graffiti artist are much hotter than the pieces of work they used on the sneakers in the line.

Scheme: You hit it on the button; they are killing it with re-releases! So we know your flavor is Adidas, what would you say are your top 3 kicks?

Autumn: I would have to say on the art piece tip, just to look at I would have to say the Basquiat sneaker from Reeboks freestyle line. To put that up on the shelf, that sh*t was hot! Another top 3, for the colors I love the GV specials, the Red, Black and Green ones. On the RBG tip, they are one of the hottest ones out in a minute. For the third one I would just have to say overall brand of Adidas.

Scheme: All right, let’s put the cards on the table, what are your top 3 worst kicks ever!

Autumn: I am not a f#cking Nike head. I am tired of seeing these f#cking Easter rainbow a$$ colored Air Max 95’ everybody’s got in the f%cking street. Its not one of the worst but I am just tired of seeing these bright joints on peoples feet. I am tired of seeing the bright a$$ Adidas, everything, I can’t take those anymore. I’m not an all out Nike hater but I am tired of seeing the same sneaker come out with new colors. I am from Chicago and I love my Jordans but I am offended to keep seeing the Jordans coming out in new colors every month. I want to know where the creativity is. There are some Nikes that I have and some I find fresh but overall I think the creativity is really lacking.

Scheme: I can see what you are saying but I am a Nike Head myself…

Autumn: Oh, you’re one of those?

Scheme: One of those? That’s pretty harsh.

Autumn: They are not the worst sneakers, there are brands like Sketchers, Vans and K-Swiss that are at the bottom in my opinon. They are cool in their own lane but when they try to do cross over lines I find it very unappealing.

“I’m not bashing these companies overall but it’s really not my style to copy another shoe company and just throw some ultra bright colors.”

Scheme: I’m not going to defend Nike because I can agree with the lack of creativity, I mean the only shoe I’ve got from them in the past few years that is actually a new creation are the 2nd and 3rd edition of Lebron’s and the Foamposite Pro’s a few years ago. However, they have so many old lines that I like it’s hard for me not to be a Nike head.

Autumn: In terms of comfort I didn’t mention it before but I have to give it up to DC. DC are some of the most comfortable shoes I have ever felt in my life, they really just hug your feet. Going back to Nike, the last really innovative shoe they made in my opinion was in the 80’s there was a shoe that came out without the Swoosh, one of the only shoes they made like that. Now, the only thing they do is switch up the colors. As if the color switching wasn’t lazy enough now you have other companies biting their lack of creativity to make more shoes like Greedy Genius and Bape. I’m not bashing these companies overall but it’s really not my style to copy another shoe company and just throw some ultra bright colors.

Scheme: So does being part of Female Sneaker Fiends help you express these views freely or do you get into a lot of debates?

Autumn: That’s one of the great things about it, we all have our own twist and we embrace it. Of course we talk about it and we have our own opinions on shoes but they are not arguments just straight up points of view. We have our own twist when it comes to sneakers and cloths. We have some girls that are hardrocks with the sneaker game and search high and low for a pair of kicks and pay $300 - $400 for them whereas I’m not the sistah to spend $500 on some kicks. I am the type of sistah that will find some ill sh!t and still pay a reasonable price for it. I like finding those little shops with the really exclusive stuff for good prices, and that comes from searching your shops out hard.

Scheme: So what would you say are some of the up and coming sneaker spots, geographically?

Autumn: Internationally I’d have to say Japan and Paris. They get so many ill releases that we don’t get over here that it’s ridiculous. The Mid-West as a whole is really up and coming, of course Chicago but also Cincinnati and Minneapolis. Atlanta is making some noise; they have had a few sneaker shows and have a special Adidas store down there that is hot. Miami has been coming up for a minute and they keep their own flavor as well as Vegas. Although I haven’t checked it out myself; Hawaii has had a few shows and other sneaker heads have told me they have some pretty good spots out there. Don’t sleep on Boston; they have a strong culture and Connecticut as well. Connecticut has a lot of show rooms and boutiques like Kultjah Lab, it’s convenient because it’s right outside of the city.

Scheme: So what’s your take on Sneakers and Hip Hop, more so the affect or integration of sneakers into the urban community?

Autumn: The connection is sometimes seen as abstract but there is definitely one there. I mean you can look at what RUN DMC did with “My Adidas” that really cemented a relationship early on. Then you can look at the multiple marketing techniques that Nike used to catapult Jordans into legendary status in urban communities. Nike did put a lot of work in but at the same time, the urban environments worked the best for the marketing campaigns because they embraced the sneaker and Jordan. As you can see today, the urban environment really dictates what’s popular and that’s what you saw with the Jordans. A majority of hip hop artist come from urban areas, and if they embrace the Jordans and people look at the artist as trendsetters you can see the strong connection between sneakers and hip hop because there is a strong connection between sneakers and the urban community.

“Along with looking good however, it was very uncomfortable for women to stand for long in heels and a corset, thusly making them less social and interactive in public settings and making them appear more docile. Once women started wearing sneakers, it’s partially a sign of putting us on a level playing field and expressing our equality.”

Scheme: That’s so true, how would you say the sneaker culture has affected the fashion industry as a whole?

Autumn: The sneaker culture has really opened the doors for a lot of fashion designers, more so your small boutique designers who really tailor their pieces around or to compliment the sneaker culture. On the flip side some of the bigger companies are feeding off it too, New Era is really freaking some hat designs and most of it in part to a strong connection to the sneaker culture. I would also have to say that the Skateboard culture plays a big part in not only the sneaker but also the fashion culture. It’s becoming more pronounced now a days but it’s been there for a while. On that note, going back to an earlier question, ICE CREAMS are some of the worst sneakers made!!!

Scheme: What contributions have sneakers made to our society as a whole?

Autumn: Well one aspect that people need to realize is the play of sneakers in women’s rights. We have someone right now working on a feature for female sneaker fiends that details sneakers as a political statement for women. If you look at the history of sneakers, when they first became popular in the 50’s and 60’s they were associated with the Rock N Roll culture and rebellion but they became more acceptable with time during that period. In terms of women, it wasn’t acceptable for them to wear sneakers for a long time. This links back to the corset days when women wore high heels and all of this was done for the sake of looking good. Along with looking good however, it was very uncomfortable for women to stand for long in heels and a corset, thusly making them less social and interactive in public settings and making them appear more docile. Once women started wearing sneakers, it’s partially a sign of putting us on a level playing field and expressing our equality. In the 80’s and 90’s you had your hip hop dress when everyone was rocking sneakers, from MC Lyte to Salt N Pepa to Roxanne Shante. Now with modern fashion, it’s cool to rock the sneakers but if the cloths are not fitted then we get looked at sideways and labeled as tom boys and the brothers get categorized as thugs. This can be some what attributed to hip hop. I am not blaming hip hop, but going back to an earlier point, hip hop is the trend setter currently. A majority of females in hip hop aren’t rocking sneakers but rather skin tight or no clothing. People see this image and then compare it to the sistah that’s wearing a t-shirt and some baggy pants and all of a sudden she is viewed as a tom boy by a lot of society because they are using hip hop as the measuring stick. So sneakers contribute to society but hip hop and sneakers in their own ways are a reflection of today’s society.

Scheme: You broke it down so it can forever be broken! With that being said, what females in hip hop are really up on their sneaker game?

Autumn: Obviously Missy Elliot, she has the Adidas on lock. Nina Sky are really into their kicks real big. I was just speaking to Remy Ma the other day about her sneaker game and she’s into it. I gotta give it up to Jean Grae who lives down the street; Jean Grae has an ill ass collection of sneakers!

“Look at the Don Imus situation, everyone wants to blame hip hop when something is wrong but when things are hot they want to attach themselves to hip hop. Pretty soon they’ll be selling Hip Hop cars!”

Scheme: What is your current take on hip hop? What do you like, what do you miss etc?

Autumn: I also do PR in hip hop so I have somewhat of a different view. I am tired of a few things. I’m tired of the complete corporate control; it has really led to a lack of creativity. I’m sick of the corruption that has taken place that leaves the artist with a lack of empowerment and they all start sounding the same. I feel like hip hop is being feed to us. I did an interview with Big Daddy Kane about how hip hop changed and he told me that back in the day, they used to give them (the white A&R’s) the music and they didn’t know what it was but they used to put it out with no question and it either ran or it flopped. Now they think they know hip hop and now they tell you (the artist) what they want. Even from the political angle, it’s out of hand. Look at the Don Imus situation, everyone wants to blame hip hop when something is wrong but when things are hot they want to attach themselves to hip hop. Pretty soon they’ll be selling Hip Hop cars! You have all of these executives with their hands in hip hop and they don’t know the first things about the culture, they just want to run it as a business and it hurts the culture. The name of my entity is “For the Pihpoh” and we spell it that way because it is Hip Hop backwards to prove the point that hip hop came from the people and we need to take it back. Hip hop, true hip hop is a reflection of us, so if you read hip hop in a mirror it is spelled that way. We need to educate our people on this culture we love. It parallels to black resistance such as the Black Panthers. Many people don’t know that in this country we were resisting with the use of our rights and guns but people today think that you can’t do that type of thing. Just like you have the youth today yelling out Tupac and Biggie. It’s been like 10 years, and not to discredit them but they know nothing of Grand Wizard Theodore or Grandmaster Caz. The sistahs have no sense of Roxanne Shante or what it was like to watch “Ladies First” with Queen Latifah and Monie Love and the black power movement in Hip Hop. The corporate side took this sense of beginning away and when you take that knowledge and history away you can sell people anything just as in society. They try to take away the history of the Black Panthers and lead us to believe we cannot use our rights to resist. It’s crazy that people are listening to “Buddy” by Musiq but they don’t know that De La Soul did it first and it’s becoming a problem. I’m also starting a network of women behind the scenes that ensure that we start getting respected and represented in all areas and elements of hip hop called “New Girl Order”, it’s me, DJ Tayla from Murder Mami’s and a bunch of other sistahs in and around the industry.

“When you own something, you directly influence and call it what you want. The way the structure is set up right now, when something goes wrong, we take the blame and can’t fight back effectively because we do not own it.”

Scheme: What you said earlier about Hip Hop gets the blame for everything resonates with me. I feel that Hip Hop is the biggest scapegoat in modern society, since it’s inception it’s been misjudged, misrepresented and tagged by mass media which of course is key to influencing the opinion of the general public. That’s not just in the US but worldwide. What do you think can be done to change this and head it in the right direction?

Autumn: I think that ownership is very key to this and learning to be entrepreneurs in our own community and crafts. I’m tired others telling us what Hip Hop is, and the reason they can say that is that they have taken the ownership away from us. When you own something, you directly influence and call it what you want. The way the structure is set up right now, when something goes wrong, we take the blame and can’t fight back effectively because we do not own it. If we owned hip hop more, we would understand how to defend it better. I mean I can’t scream loud enough if I see another thing advertising something as “Latino”, and I have the right to scream because I am half Chicano(Mexican American) and half African American. There is nothing new about the Latin culture and people from the global south. There is nothing new about Latinos in hip hop, look back at the Rock Steady Crew, look back at Rob Swift because the brother is Columbian, and DJ Tony Touch. Look at the graffiti scene, in all of these elements there were always people of “Latino” decent representing, we were never missing. It’s become a marketing ploy like it is something that was just discovered or just started happening. We are acting like Reggaeton is new where the rest of the world knows that it’s been around for a while.

Scheme: I think that’s a reason why Nore’s experimental album with Reggaeton flopped; he lost a lot of his core fans because they didn’t feel it was authentic. We always knew that he was half black and half Puerto Rican and proud of it but he never touched Reggaton until it was the “in” thing on the music scene.

Autumn: That’s right! I was at a youth conference in Venezuela a few years ago and we had a bunch of workshops and discussion panels that featured myself, Immortal Technique, Dead Prez, DJ Tayla among others and one of the things that many people from other countries who do hip hop resonated with me is that they hate that we categorize Reggaeton as Hip Hop. Reggaeton is its own culture, sure they interact and share similarities but they are separate and should be celebrated as its only thing. There is a feeling in those countries is that the Reggaeton overshadows the other types of urban music and hip hop originating from their countries.

Scheme: This brings up a point that I ran into in a past interview, and it was pointed out that there is a love/hate relationship with the Latin Grammys. On one hand, it’s great that you have your own thing and it is celebrated but then on the other hand why does it have to be separated in order to be celebrated on the Grammy level. How do you feel about that observation?

Autumn: Yeah, it is something that I have felt and have actually brought up before at the Latin Rap Conference last year. I resonated that at the and of the day, we are all African and we cannot be more happy to be represented and it’s kind of dope because it’s a show that gets to showcase the international talent in more of a whole aspect instead of it just being a small segment within a larger show however it doesn’t help to just lump us all together. It’s like the studies that say that Latino people are the biggest majority, well guess what? We are not all one people, we speak several different languages and have different cultures such as Columbian, Brazilian, Mexicano etc and none of us speak “Latin” so how about that? When you lump us all together, it deteriorates the individual cultures. It’s also serving as a new convenient marketing tool for people to advertise around and not genuine to the cause but then again how many of award shows truly are?

Scheme: Now going back to sneakers a bit and the conversation we just had, I have to bring this point up; what’s up with ya boy Chingo Bling? He rocks Cowboy boots with Jordan emblems and Nike Swooshes on it. What’s your opinion on that?

Autumn: (Slight Pause) He’s just whatever (Laughs), I can’t even begin to explain that. The funny things is he had the nerve once to say that “they” (record labels) didn’t know how to promote him.

Scheme: Yeah, there are 2 distinctive ad’s that I remember seeing in years past that really made me question stuff and think it was a joke. Chingo Bling was one and the other was the advertising for “Trick Daddy Dollars” from Trick Daddy. I still question those ad’s and how buffoonish they were.

Autumn: I felt the same way when I saw him down at the conference in Venezuela. Someone bought him down there and I remember just thinking to myself “Is this really live and real”? My mouth was straight open. I keep seeing him and each time I am in shock and half can’t believe it.

Scheme: Okay, getting back to sneakers I have a question. If someone said: “Autumn, we will back you with unlimited resources to build your dream sneaker store” how would you describe it?

Autumn: That joint would need a theme. I’m not exactly sure what the theme would be but as an example “Transit” in New York has a constant theme of the New York Subway systems. The entire store would have to be one theme. There would definitely be an international representation in the store. You would be able to order sneakers that are no longer available but we would only run sneakers in the store for a limited amount of time to try and keep them exclusive or just get small amounts and keep a back stock and bring them back every once in a while. There would have to be graffiti in it, live DJ’s and performers once in a while, it would have to represent all elements of Hip Hop. It would also have to set up as an art piece too, just a section with sneakers that are meant as art pieces. There would be live customizers available and the ability to design your own shoes from certain companies. We would definitely have sizes for women in all of the products, even the men’s kicks and clothing. There would also be a section dedicated to the history and evolution of sneakers, sort of a mini museum. I would want all of that in there, it would be crazy. There would also be space for sports, like a basketball court inside and a soccer field on the roof, something along those lines.

Scheme: That sounds like more of a complex rather than a store but it’s hot.

Autumn: Yeah, I mean there are a lot of stores out there but I would want this to be a full experience and not just a shopping stop. I wouldn’t want it to be the regular neighborhood shopping experience.

So there you have it, yes we went well beyond sneakers but it’s all relevant. When you’re passionate about something, it resonates strongly. Female Sneaker Fiends is here to represent the females and Autumn Marie will make sure they get the job done, and educate a few people along the way all while rocking the hottest pair of Adidas (or Nikes if they step their creative game up). Keep fiending ya’ll!