There was almost a Jay X Dilla Nike SB. Think about that for a second.

J Dilla was known for his meticulous attention to appearance. The late producer, famous for his intricate beats for acts like Slum Village and the Pharcyde, would even miss flights if his haircut wasn't perfect. His mother, Maureen "Ma Dukes" Yancey, would handle rescheduling his commitments, including studio sessions with artists like Busta Rhymes.

Dilla's standards extended to his footwear; he wouldn't leave the house with a scuff on his sneakers. "It was my job to clean the scuff marks," Ma Dukes recalls.

Born James Dewitt Yancey in 1974, Dilla's passion for fresh gear began in his Detroit childhood. His mother, a thrift shopper, explains that they couldn't afford nice clothes back then. Later, she bought him silk shirts to motivate him to stay in aeronautics school. As his music career flourished, he indulged in brands like Eddie Bauer and Nike Air Force 1s, amassing hundreds of sneakers by the time he died in 2006 from lupus and TTP. "He'd always buy two or three pairs of whatever shoe he liked," Ma Dukes says.

Nike planned to release a commemorative J Dilla sneaker through its skateboarding division, Nike SB, but the project was ultimately scrapped due to complications with Dilla's estate. The idea for the Nike SB Dunk has been circulating since 2020, with a planned release on Dilla Day, February 7, 2024. However, the estate needed to be more involved, delaying production.

Unfortunately, without any photos of the mock-ups, we will likely never know what the sneakers would have looked like. Damn!