Image via Complex Original
It's not officially summer until Hot 97 says so and over the past 20 years they have been doing a good job setting the tempo for what's relevant with music, fashion, and kicks. If you don't come proper at East Rutherford then it's going to be a cruel summer. To honor the station's milestone we decided to take a look back at the past ten years and see who has been rocking the best heat on stage. Hit the jump to check out The 20 Best Sneakers Of Hot 97 Summer Jam's Last 10 Years and let us know who you think is the people's champ.
2012 - Wale Nike Foamposite Crimson
20. Nike Air Foamposite Pro "Crimson" — Wale
Year: 2012
Wale broke out the unreleased "Crimson" colorway months before its release date, proving once again why he is the king of Foams.
2012 - Nas Jordan IV Cav
19. Air Jordan IV "Cavs" — Nas
Year: 2012
You can call them whatever you want but it was clear what city Nas was really reppin' in that colorway.
2012 - Budden LeBron 9
18. Nike LeBron 9 Elite "South Beach" — Joe Budden
Year: 2012
2012 was the year of hypebeasts, producing sneakers that had people thirsting like crazy to get pairs for IG bragging rights. Our dude Budden had no issues grabbin' LeBron's sequel to the South Beach collectio — pumped up kicks.
2012 - Big Sean adidas Pro Model
17. adidas Pro Model — Big Sean
Year: 2012
Big Sean Don got the check from The Three Stripe and his own crack cooked up special for performances. Life is good in Kanye's camp.
2012 - ASAP Supreme x Vans
16. Supreme x Vans Era "Campbell's Soup" — A$AP Rocky
Year: 2012
While everyone else was rockin' retro Js and other coveted Nike releases, Rocky switched the style up and hurt feelings in the flawless Supreme x Vans collab.
2011 - Fabolous Jordan III Flip
15. Air Jordan III "Flip" — Fabolous
Year: 2011
One of the cleanest non-OG Jordans to bless sneaker stores, Fab pulled 'em out in 2011 accompanied by the all-black links and bow tie.
2010 - T-Pain Nike Air Max 95
14. Nike Air Max 95 — T-Pain
Year: 2010
T-Pain's hook game has always been solid and in 2010 he proved he is keeping up on the sneaker-tip too.
2010 - Drake Jordan III
13. Air Jordan III "Black Cat" — Drake
Year: 2010
Jay said all-black everything and Drizzy didn't disappoint in the murdered out IIIs.
2003 - Pusha T Reebok S Carter
12. Reebok S. Carter — Pusha T
Year: 2003
A blatant bite from the Gucci Tennis '84 but we didn't even care because we needed the timeless design and clean look back in our closet. Eghck!
2005 - The Game Nike Penny I
11. Nike Air Max Penny I — The Game
Year: 2005
The Penny Is still represent one of the greatest times in sneaker history, always dope to see them get a look a decade after its original release.
2003- Nelly Nike VC II
10. Nike Shox VC II — Nelly
Year: 2003
Vokal shirt and Vinsanity Shoxs, only Nelly could.
2007 - Kanye West Ato Matsumoto
9. Ato Matsumoto Cow Hide Boot — Kanye West
Year: 2007
Admit it, you had absolutely no clue what the hell they were but you needed a pair. They only dropped in Japan in a few select sizes and soon the eBay fakes flooded the nets.
2004 - Fat Joe Nike AF1
8. Nike Air Force 1 — Fat Joe
Year: 2004
The white-on-white Air Force 1, so clean you could lick them — er, nevermind.
2011 - Wale Nike LeBron VII
7. Nike Air Max LeBron VII "HWC" — Wale
Year: 2011
Even if you weren't messin' with him musically around this ime, you couldn't ever front on the sneaker game — especially in the Hardwood Classic 'Brons.
2011 - Wiz Jordan VI
6. Air Jordan VI "Infrared" — Wiz Khalifa
Year: 2011
A staple in Wiz's rotation and still one of the best style Jordans off the court.
2012 - J. Cole Nike Yeezy II
5. Nike Air Yeezy II " Solar Red" — J. Cole
Year: 2012
Cole had that Yeezy connect a little early and didn't waste anytime stunting one of the most hype sneakers of all time.
2003 - Havoc Jordan VII
4. Air Jordan VII "Charcoal" — Havoc
Year: 2003
2003 or 2013, these joints will always win.
2012 - Smoke DZA Nike Foamposite Galaxy
3. Nike Air Foamposite One "Galaxy" — Smoke DZA
Year: 2012
Few shoes other than the Jumpman has caused police supervised drops, the "Galaxy" Foam shut malls down and DZA shut down the Summer Jam stage in one of 2012s best releases.
2008 - Kanye Nike Air Yeezy
2. Nike Air Yeezy — Kanye West
Year: 2008
The sneaker game hasn't been the same since the original Yeezys dropped and Kanye played his part rocking the tan joints and switching into the black and white prototypes later in the night. Hard to be humble, indeed.
2011 - Diddy Gucci Tennis
1. Gucci Tennis '84 — Diddy
Year: 2011
You can't fuck with the classic — put Diddy in front of a gang of people and he's always going to steal the show.
