The AND1 Live Tour, formerly known as the AND1 Mixtape Tour, was a traveling basketball competition and exhibition that existed from 1998 to 2008. It was presented by B-Ball and Company and the basketball apparel manufacturer AND1. [1] [2] [3] A group of streetball players, along with Emcee Rell and B-Ball and Company CEO Linda Hill, travelled from town to town and challenge teams composed of local talent. Games tended to be characterized by isolation one-on-one ball handling moves and acrobatic slam dunks and alley-oops.
The tour was televised in half-hour "Streetball" segments on ESPN2, and were compiled into highlight reels, offered under the mark AND1 Mixtape, which were sold on DVD. AND1 has released 10 volumes. The first mixtape was AND1 Mixtape Volume 1 (1998) and the most recent is AND1 Mixtape X (2008). The AND1 team has toured the world, meeting success against most international teams and scoring wins over adversaries from places as diverse as Chile and Angola, remaining undefeated outside the continental United States until they lost to the debuting Puerto Rico Streetballers in 2012. [4]
AND1's calling card and large reason for success are the flashy moves that rely on a more lenient set of rules than in regulation basketball. This has led to comparisons with the Harlem Globetrotters and has caused some journalists to criticize the tour. [5] Supporters of the tour have responded by backing up AND1's credibility and the players' legitimate skill. The AND1 players maintain that they are serious basketball players who play against the seven best local players from each city. [3] Many of the current and former AND1 Mixtape Tour players have played in college and in professional organizations such as the CBL, ABA, NBDL, NBA or overseas. [3] [6]
Official MC of the Tour: Duke Tango
Additional AND1 Mixtape Volumes
Rafer Jamel Alston, nicknamed "Skip 2 My Lou", is an American retired professional basketball player. Alston first gained basketball fame playing in the AND1 Mixtape Tour in 1999 before joining the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Milwaukee Bucks. While in the NBA from 1999 to 2010, he played for six teams, including the 2008–09 Orlando Magic team that made the NBA Finals.
Streetball is a variation of basketball, typically played on outdoor courts and featuring significantly less formal structure and enforcement of the game's rules. As such, its format is more conducive to allowing players to publicly showcase their own individual skills. Streetball may also refer to other urban sports played on asphalt. It is particularly popular and important in New York City and Los Angeles, though its popularity has spread across the United States due to the game's adaptability.
AND1 is an American footwear and clothing company specializing in basketball shoes, clothing, and sporting goods. AND1 was founded on August 13, 1993. The company focuses strictly on basketball and is a subsidiary of Galaxy Universal.
Greg Marius Court at Holcombe Rucker Park is a basketball court at the border of Harlem and the Coogan's Bluff section of Washington Heights neighborhoods of Manhattan, at 155th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, just east of the former Polo Grounds site. It is geographically at the base of a large cliff named Coogan's Bluff. Many who have played at the park in the Entertainer's Basketball Classic achieved a level of fame for their abilities, and several have gone on to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Philip Champion also known as Hot Sauce, is an American former professional basketball player who has played on the Streetball AND1 Mixtape Tour from its creation in 2000.
AND 1 Streetball is a streetball video game for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, developed by Black Ops Entertainment and published by Ubisoft. The game was released on June 6, 2006, in conjunction with the AND1 Mixtape Tour. A scaled-down, mobile version of the game, developed by Gameloft, called "And1 Street Basketball" was also released.
Taurian J. Fontenette, also known as "Air Up There" and "Mr. 720", is a streetball player from Hitchcock, Texas. He is a former player on the AND1 Mixtape and Ball4Real Tours. He is 6'2" tall and weighs 185 pounds. Fontenette attended Hitchcock High School and attended three different colleges: UTEP in 2000–01, Richland Junior College in 2001–04, and Paul Quinn College in 2004–05. His original streetball name was "Air Up There", but due to naming rights claimed by AND1, he goes by "Mr. 720", "Birdman", "The Human Pogo Stick", "Your Highness", and "Way Up There".
Deshun Jackson, aka "Father Time", is an American streetball player from Bakersfield, California who has appeared on two ESPN television shows. He was featured on season 2 of the AND1 Mixtape Tour television show on ESPN, and later on the show ESPN City Slam. Jackson is 6-foot 1-inch tall and plays shooting guard. He is known for his perimeter shooting skills. In 2005, Jackson finished 2nd in the City Slam 3-Point Shooting Championships, losing in a close battle to "Black Jack" Ryan. In 2009, Jackson participated in the SpikeTV show Pros vs Joes, where Jackson and 2 other "Joes" faced off against retired NBA players Ron Harper, Eddie Jones, and Shawn Kemp in a series of basketball related challenges. In the final 3-on-3 contest, Jackson's team was able to defeat the former NBA players in overtime. Jackson attended West High School in Bakersfield.
Jamar Davis, also known as "The Pharmacist", is an American streetball player from Mount Vernon, New York. He is best known for his appearances on the AND1 Mixtape Tour, which aired on ESPN. On the streets of Mt. Vernon, Davis honed his streetball talents, primarily at his home court, 4th Street Park. In 2001, while playing in Rucker Park in New York City for Team Ruff Riders, he received his streetball name "The Pharmacist" from Hannibal because his dribbling skills seemed "morphine based."
Emmanuel Bibb, also known as Hard Work, is an American streetball player from Detroit, Michigan. He is 6-foot 2-inches tall and plays shooting guard. In streetball, he is best known for his appearances on the AND1 Mixtape Tour, which airs on ESPN.
Tavorris Bell, also known as "Night Train," is an American streetball player. He is best known for his appearance in season two of the AND1 Mixtape Tour, which used to air on ESPN. He is known for his dunking ability.
Holcombe Rucker was a playground director in Harlem for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation from 1948 to 1964. He founded the New York City pro-am basketball tournament, that still bears his name and is the namesake of a world-famous basketball court in Harlem.
Brandon Durham, better known by his nickname "The Assassin", is an American streetball player from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Durham played for John Marshall High School although he is best known for his appearance on the ESPN television show "Street Ball – The AND1 Mixtape Tour". Durham is 6-0" tall, weighs 170 pounds and plays the point guard position. In the 2005 season of the AND1 Mixtape Tour, Durham competed at the Oklahoma City open run and performed well enough to play in the main game later in the evening. Durham also appears as a character in the AND1 Streetball video game. Durham was offered the opportunity to play for the AND1 team but he rejected it, saying his education was more important than basketball. Durham instead chose to play at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma.
Ball4Real was the name of a traveling basketball exhibition and competition which made its debut in June 2007. A group of well-known streetball players traveled from city to city to challenge teams composed of local talent. Games tended to be characterized by complicated dribbling, ballhandling, and passing, acrobatic slam dunks, and a looser interpretation of rules.
Troy Jackson was an American basketball player. The younger brother of retired NBA player Mark Jackson, he was a member of the AND1 Mixtape Tour, known by his streetball nickname "Escalade". Jackson was listed by AND1 at 6'10" and 375 pounds.
Luis Fernando Da Silva Jr., also known as Trikz, is an American actor, basketball player, author, and producer. He gained fame after headlining the 2001 Nike Freestyle ad campaign.
Waliyy Dixon, better known by his streetball nickname "Main Event", is an American professional basketball player. He was born and raised in Linden, New Jersey.
Grayson Scott "The Professor" Boucher is an American professional streetball player. He is most known for playing on the highly stylized, international AND1 Mixtape Tour; he has also appeared in several movies including, Semi-Pro, Ball Don't Lie, and Hustle and he is a playable character in several video games.
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules. Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports in the world.
Linked to the popularity of basketball in Puerto Rico, the recurrence of streetball has become intertwined with the practice of the sport in all of its levels. Taking influence from the grassroots connection of Nuyorican streetballers to the Baloncesto Superior Nacional, the practice is widespread in Puerto Rico, with impromptu games being a highly common occurrence for decades. Organized streetball gained momentum in the early 2000s and soon became involved with the local urban culture, especially the hip hop and reggaeton industries, giving origin to teams like Puerto Rico Streetball and the Puerto Rico Streetballers. Organizations based in Puerto Rico have played against foreign competition, with the results including the first win of an international team over the prominent AND1 Live Tour Team. Teams native to the archipelago are affiliated to the Street Basketball Association and FIBA's 3x3 basketball program.