You are locked into NIGO’s World.
NIGO’s latest collection celebrates his often underappreciated role in music. Furthermore, it celebrates a collector’s love of vinyl records, musical equipment, and the nostalgic feeling of music.
Playfully titled to mimic a radio station’s call letters, used to identify where radio frequencies are coming from more easily, the W-AF3 collection celebrates 80s rap and NIGO’s long history with music.
The founder of Bathing Ape has experienced a bounty of lives at 54 years old. His journey in music began in university when NIGO was part of a Sex Pistols cover band, appropriately named Tokyo Sex Pistols. The band also featured his long-time friend Hiroshi Fujiwara, who would go on to create Fragment Design. Though the impact the Sex Pistols had on NIGO was undeniable, his love for Hip Hop would be the directional compass for NIGO’s path, both in music and fashion.
At his core, NIGO is a known collector- be it Gold Rush era Levi’s jackets or be it rare 45′ records or Hip Hop magazines. Geographically, NIGO found himself very far from the music and fashion that motivated him. Magazines and bootleg tapes were his gateway to creating his own path. The path that would eventually influence BAPE’s expansion into the US- but also NIGO’s interest in working in the music industry.
At the turn of the century, NIGO released an album titled ‘Ape Sounds’. The original artwork for the project was designed in collaboration with Futura- who would go on to have his own impact in music and fashion as the 21st century went on. The album was a creative outlet for NIGO. At the time, BAPE was still in it’s infancy- and still years removed from appearing in The Clipse music videos. The album was ambitious, and took NIGO’s influences and turned them into a melting pot of Hip Hop, Lo-Fi, Punk, and Psyc-Rock. Listening to the album now, it is almost chilling to not only hear those influences- but to hear the artist who would one day find their influence through this project.
NIGO subsequently released singles and even a follow up album- ‘Return of the Ape Sounds’. His most successful music endeavor, though, would be his work as DJ of the Teriyaki Boyz. Signed to one of the biggest institutions, in terms of Hip Hop Music Labels, Teriyaki Boyz would release their debut album ‘Beef or Chicken’ via Def Jam and (B)APE Sounds, NIGO’s imprint. ‘Beef or Chicken’ enlisted some serious help when assembling the album. A look through the liner notes reveals an impressive roster of producers. From Daft Punk, to Dan the Automator, to The Neptunes, to Hip Hop royalty like Just Blaze and DJ Premier- they all lent a hand to developing the Teriyaki Boyz’s debut effort.
NIGO would eventually go on to manage acts like Billie Idle and create the Hip Hop group HONEST BOYZ.
The culmination of all this work seemingly arrived in 2022 when NIGO released ‘I Know Nigo!’. The album, co-executive produced by Pharrell Williams, was a victory lap for NIGO’s contributions to Hip Hop. It featured glimpses to the past- with samples of Slim Thug’s ‘Like a Boss’ and appearances from The Clipse and Teriyaki Boyz. The album, also, showed us the impact of NIGO’s influence on music and fashion. Features from ASAP Rocky, Tyler, the Creator, Kid Cudi, and Lil Uzi Vert showed us the metaphoric offsprings of NIGO’s contributions to the world.
On the closing track, ‘Come On, Let’s Go’, it all comes full circle. The song features Tyler, the Creator rapping in frustration towards his partners lack of punctuality over a song produced by his hero, Pharrell Williams, on an album assembled by the connective tissue that is NIGO.
——–
NIGO’s multifaceted success allowed him to blossom into a part of Hip Hop influence.
That same deep rooted and important culture is celebrated by NIGO and Nike with their latest collaboration. This third collaborative collection on the AF3 is a time-capsule of Hip Hop in the 1980s.
View this post on Instagram
From the swoosh chains hanging from the eyelets to the record designs hidden on the tongue, the sneakers invoke the feelings of digging through crates for sounds to sample or for songs to play on your radio show. The radio station motif is a nod to the gateway for music exposure- and a time where radio personalities were the tastemakers of an era. The promo for the collection, featuring the iconic Slick Rick, celebrate NIGO’s love for collecting and preserving the feeling.
From influencing today’s biggest artist, to paving a way for Streetwear to blossom, NIGO is one of the most important figures in pop culture. His work with BAPE defined a look for a generation. And, though it is often less appreciated, his work in the world of music created a bridge that connected cultures. That same bridge is still crossed by Hip Hop artists today.
The latest NIGO x Air Force 3 collection releases on April 24th. The Black and White colorway will release via SNKRS. The White colorway is expected to be more limited, and will be releasing at select Nike Retailers, as well as Human Made.
