Book 2 x McDonalds

May 25, 2026 Alex Marquardt

This one is too good to ignore. Nike signature athletes have put pieces of themselves into their shoes since the beginning. Recently however, we have been given some very memorable pairs that allow the shoes to give us a glimpse into who these athletes are off the court or a reflection from a moment in time. The Jordan 1 low “Rookie of the Year” was inspired by the outfit that Micheal Jordan wore during his acceptance speech for rookie of the year in 1985. The Kobe 5 Protro “Merion” pays tribute to Bryant’s alma mater Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania with its maroon and silver colors. The Ja 3 “Kool-Aid” is an asymmetrical blend of a yellow shoe and a pink shoe to highlight the Morant family’s favorite Kool-Aid flavor of pink-lemonade. But one recent shoe stands out above the rest, and of course it belongs to my guy Devin Booker. So wipe the BBQ sauce from those Memorial Day ribs off your fingers, and let’s get into it.

Devin Booker loves his birth state of Michigan and his home state of Arizona. He has added elements of both into his signature shoe line. One of my favorite pairs of Book 1s is the Sedona colorway. The shoes distinct color leans into the red rocks that the city of Sedona is known for. The stitching on the upper of the Book 1 x Sedona is geographic embroidery, and it is my absolute favorite detail on the shoe and really helps it stand out. Sedona is a short 90-minute car ride from Phoenix and you won’t find anyone who has lived here that hasn’t visited at least once. The city offers thrilling Pink Jeep tours of the canyons, mystic vortexes, Cathedral Rock and Devils bridge, and of course the stunning waters of Oak Creak. Booker has said many times in interviews that he loves to go to Sedona to escape the everyday grind.

This month, Booker does it again and gives us a banger with the Book 2 x McDonalds. And it becomes the best “if you know, you know” shoe I have ever seen. On Instagram, Booker posts a VCR style, home video recording of a hike he is taking in the desert. We then see the iconic Sedona red rocks. The video then shows him following some footsteps up a trail and a then a teal basketball bounces in the dirt. After running up the trail, Book encounters a very familiar clown statue sitting on a bench and says one single word…”Ronald”. The cryptic video then cuts to black, and the McDonalds arches appear….in teal. That’s the moment. The arches. Teal. Devin Booker has 5.4M followers on Instagram. I don’t know how many of them understood the video at that moment. But EVERYONE in Arizona knew…at that moment.

Sedona has a city ordinance that was created to preserve the aesthetic of the natural features surrounding the city. The city code prevents businesses from using bright or distracting colors that clash with the desert environment. When the McDonalds was built in Sedona, officials required that the fast-food chain used a muted color for the arches. The company agreed to a teal color that was more “harmonious” to the landscape. The Sedona location became the only McDonalds in the world without yellow arches. The building has an adobe-style architecture to match the surrounding area. Sedona also enforces an ordinance that nothing can intrude with the skyline. So the arches are not above the building, but at street level.

EVERYONE in Arizona knows about the teal arches in Sedona. EVERYONE knows it’s the only McDonalds without golden arches. So that moment during the Instagram post mattered. Something big was coming. And we knew exactly where. The Book 2 x McDonalds features the teal color of the Sedona arches over a “sanddrift” tan that matches the restaurants adobe finish and really helps the teal pop. The arch itself is on the heel cup, and it also appears on the tongue of the left shoe. Behind the tongue is a stitched drive through sigh, complete with an arrow. The drive through detail on the shoe is just as it appears on the building.

Then we found out about the Friends and Family pair. In the original Instagram video from Book, he is wearing the Book 2 x McDonalds. And when he finds Ronald at the end of the trail, the statue is wearing the triple teal Friends and Family pair. We didn’t know it at the time. But we do now. McDonalds is giving away 50 pairs of the Friends and Family pair. From May 22nd to May 28th, anyone can open the McDonalds app, opt into mymcdonalds rewards, order one of their six new McCafé specialty drinks (I ordered the Mango Pineapple Refresher) for a chance at an incredible pair. This enters you into the giveaway for a chance to win one of the 50 pairs. The Friends and Family pair comes in a special Big-Mac inspired box.

This is all my favorite stuff. It’s a shoe from the face of the Phoenix Suns. It pays homage to Sedona. Ther’s a friends and family give away and a special box. What more could I ask for….a pop up? Maybe. We know the Book 2 will release on SNKRS and other retailers on June 2nd. We know Book just did back to back pop ups for the Book 2 in Phoenix and the Fragment collab in Los Angeles. So is it impossible that D Book puts on a headset and takes a few orders at the drive through. Theres only one place it could happen. The chances aren’t zero.

There is a lot more I want to know about this shoe. I don’t know if McDonalds food resonates with Devin or if he loved Happy Meals when he was a kid. Is it because he was a McDonalds All-American in 2014? Is it his efforts with Ronald McDonald house? Maybe this specific restaurant and its location is the reason this shoe exists. But I’m Lovin’ It. So are you Lovin’ the Book 2 x McDonalds? Are you meeting me in Sedona on June 2nd? If you grab a pair, remember to wear them. If you get one of the 50 pairs of friends and family, let me wear ‘em! Enjoy your Memorial Day. Honor and remember those who died in service. Listen to good music. Wear great shoes!

A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory Cassette

May 9, 2026 Tim C.

When I go back to the early 90s, I remember the music I was listening to at the time more than the actual memories from my life. In 1990 I was only 10 years old and in that impressionable time of growing up, it was the always the music that moved me most. And when I had certain cassette tapes in my hands, pressing play on my portable cassette player took me on journeys in my headphones I had never been on before. My older brother Todd’s collection of cassettes was my only source of music to listen to so when I opened that old empty shoebox full of cassettes from under his bed, it was always a choose your own adventure type of experience for me. So in the early 90s as an 11 or 12 year old, I had no idea what was about to happen to me when I grabbed that cassette for the first time.

All-Star Weekend and the Book 2

April 17, 2026 Alex Marquardt

The Book 2 rollout matched the personality of Devin Booker. Until it didn’t. We saw a few concept sketches. A few pictures emerged, and then Book showed them off from Nike University. Subtle. No loud roll out. Just like Devin himself. And then something happened that I couldn’t have guessed…let’s get into it.

The Return of the CD aka Compact Disc

February 20, 2026 Tim C.

Back in the Mid90s, CD’s began to become the most popular, reasonable, and practical option for listeners to enjoy a great listening experience with their favorite albums. Vinyl was always there for the older folks, enthusiasts, DJs, and producers but the casual fans? We needed to listen to music and maybe our parents had a record player but at least for me, I couldn’t go anywhere near my dad’s record player. So around ‘93 - ‘94, cassettes were the only music medium I purchased because I had the Sony Walkman on deck. For $10, I could get a new album on cassette tape and that tape would stay in my walkman for weeks as I listened to every song and then flipped the cassette after side a was done. I loved and forever will love the cassette experience.

adidas x Larry June Collaboration: Adistar Control 5

February 8, 2026 Tim C.

Props go out to adidas and Larry June on their new official collaboration with the Adistar Control 5. To roll out some of the photography on the same week that the Super Bowl touched down in The Bay was a straight chef’s kiss to everybody watching. The first piece of content that hit me was the boxes of sneakers riding shotgun as Larry stacked more inside the whip. Then he shuts the door, gets in, and drives off in his silver Ferrari. all you can say after seeing that is…. #numbers.

Suede Vans Back in the Early 90s

January 18, 2026 Tim C.

Take it back to 1992 and those suede Vans were a smash. They were Vans so they didn’t cost a ton and then when you bought the shoes, you knew you needed that spray… let me tell you… those mustard suede Vans put in some strategic steps in ‘92 - ‘93… Kickball in the suedes? Nope… I shoot j’s so I could keep the kicks crispy…

Devin Booker - The Nike Book 2

January 4, 2026 Alex Marquardt

2026 is here. We try to look back at 2025 and celebrate all the good things that happened in the past 365 days. And for me, 2025 gave us a hopeful Phoenix Suns roster and some great kicks! Sneakerheads had a huge 2025. The Jordan 5 Metallic Reimagined had my chest feeling a certain type of way. The Jordan 4 Undefeated gave me a sneaker moment that I won’t soon forget. And we saw the Galaxy Foam return and the Nigel Brick by Brick is a piece of art that you can wear on your feet. But for me, 2025 was the year we said goodbye to the Book 1, and we welcomed the Book 2. Let’s get into it.

Why Vinyl, Cassettes, CD's, and Books Still Matter in 2025

December 20, 2025 Tim C.

For years, we’ve heard about the resurgence of vinyl records which seem to increase in popularity (and sales!) each and every year. At first you might have brushed it off as a trend that you felt would eventually die but then you’d see another story come out seeing that vinyl had once again grown by “X%” in sales over the year prior. It always caught my eye. So did the estimate that 50% of people that purchase vinyl don’t even have a record player. So interesting! It opens up the market for more collectors to buy a record player but then also shows that fans see records as art. Personally, I have 2 full crates of records (I need a new one!) and I don’t own a record player. And believe me, I want to buy a record player but my space isn’t ideal for one now. In due time tho? Yes, I will have that record player spinning my vinyl collection. I think you will too? Regardless, look at record sales since 2010 as reported by Statista.

Starting a Rap Online Business on eBay in 1999

November 22, 2025 Tim C.

I’ve watched the music industry since the Mid90s including the formats music was sold on, the locations where these physicals were sold, as well as the streaming era. I’ve been invested as a fan but have also been enamored with rap music as a business since I was a kid. I always heard about hitting a lick in 90s gangsta rap tracks I loved but I didn’t hit my first lick until eBay in 1999.

Nike x Halloween Sneaker Season

October 16, 2025 Alex Marquardt

Spooky season is officially here. We have put summer in the rearview mirror. Football is in full swing and baseball is in the playoff hunt. For some people, it’s fall colored leaves and pumpkins. For some, its goblins and ghouls. For us, its Halloween sneaker season. So grab your pumpkin spice chai with extra caramel drizzle and let’s get into it.

Comics and Hip Hop - Legend Has It

October 11, 2025 Tim C.

Shout out to Marvel and Mass Appeal working together to release the first major rap comic book, Legend Has It. If you’re a fan of rap or hip hop and also happen to be a comic book fan, this is a very big deal. The comic dropped yesterday (10/10/25) at New York Comic Con with a live panel featuring Nas, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah and many other legends. This comic also ties in with the new album from Mobb Deep (!!!!) and it follows a crazy run of releases from Mass Appeal this year from Slick Rick, Raekwon, Ghostface, Mobb Deep, and then we got a Big L and then a Nas and DJ Premier album?? AND THEN IT IS ALL TIED INTO THIS COMIC BOOK IN ALL KINDS OF WAYS?!??!??!? No way…. This is epic.

Nike x Undefeated

September 20, 2025 Alex Marquardt

The Jordan 4 Undefeated is having its moment. This shoe is exactly what the sneaker community needed. Nike and Undefeated went all in on this shoes release. Social media was in a chokehold over this one and it absolutely did not disappoint. Let’s get into it.

Yams and Odessa Kane - W.O.R.D.

August 8, 2025 Tim C.

We just dropped the Yams and Odessa Kane album, W.O.R.D. which can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, or wherever you listen to music. The project includes 21 tracks and includes features from Scarub from the Living Legends, Pep Love from Hieroglyphics, Trapper Loc, and SVTTERBRVIN. Yams on the beats. Odessa Kane on the raps. This is W.O.R.D.

Awake NY x Jordan Collab

July 12, 2025 Alex Marquardt

As sneaker collectors, we are all drawn to different pairs for different reasons. But sneaker brands know that collectors and casual shoppers are drawn to collaborators. This isn’t anything new. Over the years, sneaker collaborations have given the community some of the all-time grails. Some collaborations push all their chips to the center of the table. Angelo Baque and Awake NY have gone all in on every offering. As sneakerheads, we are lucky to find pairs that resonate with us. The pink Jordan 5 x Awake NY is that shoe. If you get pair, your one of the lucky ones. And if you do, make sure you wear them!

The Weight I’ve Carried: A Personal Story for Mental Health Awareness Month

May 25, 2025 Tim C.

It’s mental health awareness month and I know I have to contribute. But I also know that I’ll go deep on stuff that can hit a spot inside of mind I try to stay away from. It’s a spot that I know I’ll revisit when I fall again and when I do, it’s honestly the worst thing you could encounter… or let me rephrase, the worst thing that I’ve encountered. Some people get hit with crazy trauma.. others hit with death to those around them. For others, they might battle demons. Everybody has their inner struggles they might not wear on their sleeve… Here’s what you gotta know though… Don’t judge somebody on the type of struggles they have because you don’t know how each individual copes and deals with what they’re facing.

Mike Bibby and The Collection

May 14, 2025 Alex Marquardt

This month I catch a social media post about an event at Gila River Casino. The post is for “The Collection by Gila River”. The post describes the event as a “sneaker lover’s dream”, so they had my attention. The Collection is described as an event to discover the history and artistry behind each pair from Mike Bibby’s personal collection. The highlights of the event include iconic Jordan Brand collaborations from Bibby’s collection that span decades with rare, limited edition releases and exclusive colorways straight from the vault. So of course I had to check it out.

Nike’s 2025 Sneaker Heat: Jordan 1 Banned, Book 1 Forrest Gump, Galaxy Foam & More Must-Cop Drops

March 13, 2025 Alex Marquardt

Nike is making 2025 a year to remember for sneakerheads. From Devin Booker’s Book 1 drops in exclusive colorways to the return of the legendary Jordan 1 "Banned" in a hyper-limited 10,000-pair release, the hype is real. We also got the Galaxy Foamposite, the surprise Wizard of Oz SB Dunk variant, and a back-to-back Jordan 1 drop that shook the game. Are sneaker retros making a comeback, or is Nike flooding the market? Let’s break it all down.

Best Portable CD Players: A Lookback at Vintage Sony Discmans

February 21, 2025 Tim C.

Before streaming put every song at our fingertips, portable CD players were the ultimate way to take music on the go. Find a hip hop head from the late ‘90s or early 2000s, and you can guarantee they had a Discman tucked inside their Jansport. Whether it was a brand new album from Tower Records or Wherehouse Music, a CD swiped from a homie’s Case Logic, or a burned mix packed with heat, carrying a stash of CDs was essential. Flipping through someone’s CD book was like reading their music DNA—instant respect if their collection was solid. In this article, I take you back in time to look at portable Sony Discmans from the 80s, 90s, and 00s. I think this will definitely take you down a walk through memory lane…

DJ Quik - Safe + Sound: 30th Anniversary of a West Coast Classic Rap Album

February 20, 2025 Tim C.

DJ Quik’s Safe + Sound turns 30 this year, and it still stands as one of the smoothest, funkiest, and best-produced West Coast rap albums of all time. Back in ‘95, the hype was real… Quik had been quiet while MC Eiht took shots at him, only to break his silence with the legendary diss track, 'Dollaz & Sense.' That moment set the stage for Safe + Sound, an album that blended live instrumentation, polished storytelling, and Quik’s signature G-Funk style. From the moment I cracked open the CD case to the first playthrough, this record was unforgettable. Three decades later, it still holds up as a defining moment in West Coast rap.

The Jordan Ten - 10 out of 10

January 2, 2025 Alex Marquardt

Walk to the basketball section of a Foot Locker today and you will see innovative technology built into sneakers with the bright and loud color ways. It could be the Giannis Immortality or the Luca 3. It could be the G.T. Cut 3, Tatum 3 or even the Sabrina 2. The colors pop, the designs are revolutionary and unique. Silhouettes have to stand out to grab our attention. The performance that shoe offer have to match the demand that the athletes that wear it, put it through. Athletes of every age….