Saturday, May 12, 2007

Dipset Comes with Similar Ice Cream Skate Team


Following in the footsteps of Pharrell’s Ice Cream Skate Team, Jim Jones sponsors a “freestyle rolling” team. So, what in the hell is freestyle rolling (or Aggressive Skating) anyway? Think of a combination of Rollerblading (Inline Skating) and traditional Street Skating. Lots of rail work, grinds and jumps, typical X-Games type stuff. Check out this video for a visual. New York filmmakers The Brown Brothers (Chris and Courtney Brown) have been documenting the Freestyle Rolling scene for several years. The brothers teamed up with pro-skaters Ramelle Knight and Calvin Sayles on different ventures.

Jim Jones first approached The Brown Brothers after viewing their latest documentary film Know Difference, which received critical acclaim at several 2006 New York screenings. The powerful documentary is scheduled for international release in the Fall of 2007. "When I got the opportunity to see [The Brown Brothers'] tape, and they told me how the skaters feel when it comes to the Diplomats, I was honored," explains Jones. "They feel like we're the realest thing out there, and they love everything that we're doing, so it was a beautiful opportunity."

The vision that everyone shares in the DipSkate movement comes from an organic realm of shared professional and personal values. "Jim respects the hustle, the same as we do," says Ramelle Knight. "He sees what we do is real, and we're going to take it as far as we can, like he is with his projects. We're all grinding out here. We are bringing music and skating together to build a union that will make an even stronger team. It is a revolution that will be much appreciated."

In March 2007, the team's manager Joseph Miles III passed away. Joseph's enthusiasm and dedication to the Freestyle Rolling movement was intoxicating, and his spirit will be carried on by the team. "This is a beautiful venture," Joseph said upon his official involvement with DipSkate in 2006. "The biggest movement in Hip Hop teaming up with the biggest up-and-coming movement in the world of extreme sports. This is something most people haven’t experienced, and it’s going to change a lot of opinions out there."