Air Jordan IV “Black/Cement” - May 4th 2019

[Aquamanjay_]

2006-2010 4s midsole actually curved upward. They had a stronger banana shape if you ask me. I just hope they are t shorter cut like this year’s black cement 3

 

[J Kilroy 85]

2006-2010 4s midsole actually curved upward. They had a stronger banana shape if you ask me. I just hope they are t shorter cut like this year’s black cement 3

Yea that really annoyed me too. Details, JB, details.

 

[OBAMA]

Giiiiiiiimmmeeeeeeeeee ttttwwwwoooooo puuuuuuur ! I needed twwwwwooooo puuuuuurrrr!

 

[The Fresh Prince]

 

[The Fresh Prince]

Don't forget about...

Love that movie, Sweat From My .....

 

[fau2015]

Really, kind of surprised Playoff 4 didn't hit. 89 was the first year they as a team decided to go with black shoes to show team unity. For the Playoffs I mean. No team before them ever did that. It don't matter to me. I just want a pair. I personally just called them black and red 4s.

For some reason the 8s are the first black shoe I remember calling playoffs back in the day. I’m telling ya tho barely anyone used the cement reference for these,, but everyone getting technical since this an OG.

 

[fau2015]

I’ll take flint grey 15s over cool grey 4s right about now. JB should’ve done the grey 4s as a consolation around the grey kaws release.

 

[2396bullz]

My ‘99 sole swapped pair still holding up well after about 1.5 yrs. Paint started chipping though. Still have DS pairs of ‘99 WC IV’s and ‘00 Metallic V’s that need swaps.

Nice! I’m curious. Who did your sole swap? There’s a few dudes on instagram that offer soleswap services that I follow. Waiting for my 99’s to get done and come back home so I can finally wear them!

 

[stresseddesserts]

In for multiples.

 

[rainking]

For some reason the 8s are the first black shoe I remember calling playoffs back in the day. I’m telling ya tho barely anyone used the cement reference for these,, but everyone getting technical since this an OG.

You're not far off. No one really called any of them "playoffs" back then. Certainly no one called them "cements." At least not where I'm from (metro Detroit). We just called them the black Jordans, and that went for the IVs (the first black Jordan to be worn in the playoffs as mentioned already), Vs, VIs, VIIs, VIIIs. Especially when the launch of most of those black shoes did not coincide with the actual playoffs. In the case of the sixes, for instance, that was the LAUNCH colorway in February of 1991. I remember because I was at Footlocker shortly thereafter getting them (thanks mom). The white/infrared came out a short time after.

You have a point about the VIIIs, though. Except the strategy started with the VII the previous year. Until then, there was ever only one black colorway. What is now call the bordeaux VII, we just saw back then as the black Jordan. It too was a launch colorway. But then come playoff time, the now-called "Raptors" (idiotic) were what MJ wore, so maybe (not in my world) some people called them "playoffs." Most likely they just called them the black and red VIIs. Then with the VIIIs, the "aquas" were the black Jordan at launch, followed by the black/white/red version in the spring and for the playoffs. But again, in my region, no one called them that. And then Mike retired, so we skipped a year until the return and the launch of the XIs. Funny enough, when I heard the black XIs were dropping in the early spring of '96, I went to Footlocker on release day expecting the Space Jam colorway Mike rocked in the '95 playoffs. When I walked into the store and saw they were black and red, I was confused. And bummed out. To quote the famous Nike commercials from back in the day: Can you imagine? I can.

 

[orangeman13]

In for multiples.

that's what my wife said last night

 

[SteveSteve72]

that's what my wife said last night

 

[AJ3-6]

 

[KanyIZZY]

I remember we never said Jordan numbers lol. We would just say the new Jordans. The "black and red ones" or the "white ones" or describe them. My age can only take me back to the XI's though. I was old enough to remember the VII's + being around but I never remember seeing anyone wear those.

 

[AJ3-6]

I remember we never said Jordan numbers lol. We would just say the new Jordans. The "black and red ones" or the "white ones" or describe them. My age can only take me back to the XI's though. I was old enough to remember the VII's + being around but I never remember seeing anyone wear those.

You could grab the The Raptor VII and Olympic VII on clearance for $70 in '93. A bunch of us got them. Kinda of weird that I got the Raptor VII after getting the Aqua VIII.

That's kind of how it was back then ('91). I went to get the Black Vs, and they had just received the Infrared VI's. So you could have either grabbed a V or the brand new VI. I got the VIs.

 

[Van Nostrand]

I remember we never said Jordan numbers lol. We would just say the new Jordans. The "black and red ones" or the "white ones" or describe them. My age can only take me back to the XI's though. I was old enough to remember the VII's + being around but I never remember seeing anyone wear those.

Yeah that's pretty accurate. "New Jordans" was how we described stuff, never used any numbers. And yeah it was all about colors, no nicknames. And the thing was, once a new one dropped, that's all people were wearing. No one was wearing an older pair (at least in my neck of the woods).

 

[JRepp23]

I was the kid that always had "last years pair". Until I got a job my sophomore year. It was on from there.

 

[888sneakerst]

I have one pair of 2012 bred 4s DS in my closet. Guess I should break them out now. But not today... it's raining.

 

[rainking]

Yeah that's pretty accurate. "New Jordans" was how we described stuff, never used any numbers. And yeah it was all about colors, no nicknames. And the thing was, once a new one dropped, that's all people were wearing. No one was wearing an older pair (at least in my neck of the woods).

Same at my school. Once the new Jordans came out, no one wanted to be seen rocking the old model anymore. Of course, lots of people still would wear the outgoing shoe if they already had a pair until that pair was dead, but everyone wanted the new model ASAP. There was nothing cool about buying a new pair of the old model; you were better off buying a cheaper but all-new Nike model rather than a discounted pair of new old Jordans or people would literally say to you, "a little late on those, I see" LOL

Thinking about it now, it was an economics/cultural/status thing. The shoes were absurdly expensive back then compared to what shoes had previously cost. Having just a single pair as a teenager was sort of a big deal for a lot of people, and it was a status symbol. Walking around in the old model didn't mean you just happened to prefer it, or that you were an earlier adopter of retro style. The only thing it meant back then, at least on a petty elementary high-school level, was that you couldn't afford the new ones.

 

[JRepp23]

Same at my school. Once the new Jordans came out, no one wanted to be seen rocking the old model anymore. Of course, lots of people still would wear the outgoing shoe if they already had a pair until that pair was dead, but everyone wanted the new model ASAP. There was nothing cool about buying a new pair of the old model; you were better off buying a cheaper but all-new Nike model rather than a discounted pair of new old Jordans or people would literally say to you, "a little late on those, I see" LOL

Thinking about it now, it was an economics/cultural/status thing. The shoes were absurdly expensive back then compared to what shoes had previously cost. Having just a single pair as a teenager was sort of a big deal for a lot of people, and it was a status symbol. Walking around in the old model didn't mean you just happened to prefer it, or that you were an earlier adopter of retro style. The only thing it meant back then, at least on a petty elementary high-school level, was that you couldn't afford the new ones.

All of this is true. The last year model came with flack for sure. I know. But it never bothered me as much because I took so much pride in what I was wearing to the point people stopped making the comments. It also helped that most were into other brand/models at the time. As long as you kept em clean, you were good. The shallowness started to dwindle a bit. At that point I was just happy to have a pair. Didn't care too much about others opinions/comments. I was wearing black red 7s when the 8s were out. I was wearing Aquas when the 9s were out. I got em all now so I'm good lol. Anyway I appreciate the Last Years pair type kid because it made me understand early that we cant always get what we want when we want it. My perspective, I had it pretty good back then when that was something I had to think about as a kid. Good memories really.

 

[rainking]

All of this is true. The last year model came with flack for sure. I know. But it never bothered me as much because I took so much pride in what I was wearing to the point people stopped making the comments. It also helped that most were into other brand/models at the time. As long as you kept em clean, you were good. The shallowness started to dwindle a bit. At that point I was just happy to have a pair. Didn't care too much about others opinions/comments. I was wearing black red 7s when the 8s were out. I was wearing Aquas when the 9s were out. I got em all now so I'm good lol. Anyway I appreciate the Last Years pair type kid because it made me understand early that we cant always get what we want when we want it. My perspective, I had it pretty good back then when that was something I had to think about as a kid. Good memories really.

Oh for sure. I generally only got one pair of Jordans per year starting with the IVs, and I was lucky to have them. I went to a middle and high school with a disproportionate number of kids from well-off families, and there were a few of them who always had the latest and greatest virtually the day they dropped. Typically I'd get one pair of Jordans as my daily shoe, and one pair of whatever decent Nike basketball shoe wa out at the time for practices and games. We made those shoes last entire seasons and then some, and they looked like it by the end. Having those two or in some cases maybe three pairs of sneakers (if one of the two literally fell apart) for an entire year was not taken lightly by my family members who were paying $110+ for each pair, believe me. Definitely lucky to have those at all.

 

[theonewskill]

My 2012 are still in great condition.
Might have to pass...that nike air tho...damn u jb

 

[888sneakerst]

My 2012 are still in great condition.
Might have to pass...that nike air tho...damn u jb

Not just the Nike Air. They probably fixed the mid-sole cracking problem. I was thinking the same, but maybe I'll just get one pair instead of double up.

 

[beedee]

Not just the Nike Air. They probably fixed the mid-sole cracking problem. I was thinking the same, but maybe I'll just get one pair instead of double up.

And hopefully they adjust the width a smidge so our pinky toes won't die.

 

[JRepp23]

Love this shoe. I hope they come correct on these.