Before Eminem's Air Jordan 4 collab, $250 million worth rapper once "Mocked" Michael Jordan, almost killing his sneaker deal
Eminem once worked on Michael Jordan’s Air Jordan IV sneakers in a much-ballyhooed collaboration in 2015. It was the Shady Records’ 15th anniversary and the legendary rapper wanted to produce something special.
Before the resounding success, though, the highly-anticipated mash-up almost failed. Here’s what the “Real Slim Shady” creator had to say in his initial talk with Jordan about a collaboration in 2015 on SiriusXM:
“We were talking about doing some kind of a shoe together, one of the collaborations. We were talking. Everything was cool. He’s super cool and everything was good until we got to the end of the phone call and I said, ‘Yo, man, when are you gonna come to Detroit so I can dunk on you?’
“And it was crickets! I don’t remember exactly what he said but I think he was just kind of, ‘Hehehehe.’ I remember getting off the phone going, ‘Oh, my God, did I just blow it?’ To me, in my head, it was a complete, total joke. It’s so ridiculous for me to think that I could dunk on Jordan, right?"
Eminem added:
“It’s one of those things that you think would be funnier in your head than when you actually say it. I don’t know what happened after that.”
The Academy Award winner was already a big star in 2015 after having released such hits as “My Name Is,” “Without Me,” “Love the Way You Lie” and “Lose Yourself.” A collaboration with Michael Jordan, however, would undoubtedly raise his stock even more.
Eminem is reportedly worth $250 million due to his multiple platinum albums, movies and the occasional projects. Still, the Chicago Bulls legend is a name that was and continues to be above his level.
Fortunately, “Air Jordan” managed to curb his competitive fire to follow through with the project with Eminem. Only 10 models of the Player Exclusives of the said sneakers were released, making them one of the most highly sought-after pairs in shoe history. Those were auctioned off to help the Marshall Mathers Foundation.
Another 50 blue pairs in Michael Jordan’s North Carolina colors were released. They were sold out a mere hours after they were available.
Eminem and Michael Jordan have collaborated before 2015
Before the Shady Records’ 15th anniversary collab with the Jumpman brand, Eminem and Michael Jordan had worked together before.
Marshall Bruce Mathers III’s favorite Air Jordan is the Jordan 2. In 2008, he collaborated with the said brand to produce the Air Jordan Retro 2 “The Way I Am.” Only 13 pairs were released via the Air Jordan Fight Club.
Their work on the Air Jordan 2 built the foundation of another collab years later for the more popular Air Jordan 4 models.
Also read: 5 best rapper x Air Jordan collabs of all time