Sneakers 'crown' 20th year

Sound system Mighty Crown, known as 'The Far East Rulers', is literally walking in its 20th anniversary glory with a pair of limited edition Nike sneakers. Co-founder of the sound system in Japan, Masta Simon, said the soles of the Nike Dunk High Premium and Nike Sky Force 88 Low are imprinted with images of all the sound clashes Mighty Crown has won from 1999 to 2007/2008.

"It is really about Mighty Crown's 20th anniversary," Simon said. There have been three Mighty Crown Nike sneakers before but this time, Simon said, "we design everything".

He points out that there is also a new Mighty Crown sneaker by Los Angeles-based company Clae, which carries the sound system's logo. That is the Mighty Crown x Clae McQueen. "The Nike ones are more detailed," Simon said.

He said that since the sneakers' release, between their efforts and Nike's, about 1,800 in all have been sold in Japan. "I don't know how many outside Japan," Simon said. The Dunk High sells for 14,000 yen (US$180) and the Sky Force for 13,000 yen (US$165.0).

The celebratory sneakers were a long time in planning. "I just went to Nike last year. It takes about a year to do this thing. We already had a relationship with Nike, so we said this is the anniversary thing, are you interested? They said 'yes'," Simon said. "We wanted to do one at first and they said two." He points out that while Nike has done sneaker deals with other entertainment entities, five is unusual. "Usually, they just do one and done or two and done," Simon said.

This year, Mighty Crown has already played at a few Nike events. The 20th anniversary year ends with a final; party in Yokohama, Japan, on December 30. There, Simon said, "we are expecting a couple thousand people". The showpiece of the year-long celebration was in August, at the Yokohama Stadium, where Cocoa Tea and Shabba Ranks performed to a massive crowd.

He pointed out that the sneaker deal "is not a money thing; is like a props thing. It shows the diversity of Mighty Crown as a brand. Regular people who don't know about Mighty Crown, if they buy a sneaker, they will know about us. Is promotion."

"In Japan, there are so many kinds of music. It is one way of ensuring fashion and music connect. It could bring people to this (reggae/dancehall) music," Simon said.