EWING ATHLETICS AND EPMD HAVE “UNFINISHED BUSINESS”

EPMD’s Historic Sophomore Album Debuted the Same Year as the Ewing Athletics Brand

Ewing Athletics and rap duo EPMD are back to celebrate another iconic hip-hop album in style. A follow up to 2018’s Ewing 33 HI for Strictly Business – an instant sell-out that left fans of both Ewing and EPMD wanting more – this latest EPMD collaboration is a callback to hip-hop’s golden age. 

Ewing Athletics and Unfinished Business burst onto the scene in 1989 and began making waves; EPMD was following up their debut gold album Strictly Business with a sophomore record and Patrick Ewing was bringing something completely new to basketball: his own brand. As several historians tell it, 1987-1992 was a critical time for hip-hop – not only because there was a flood of incoming rap talent but because several stellar sophomore albums elevated and expanded the genre. Unfinished Business showed fans that the Long Island duo was a powerhouse of hard-hitting lyrics and funky beats built for longevity. Back in ’89, portions of the original Ewing Athletics company were also based on Long Island.

“EPMD would like to thank Patrick Ewing and Ewing Athletics for the release of the new EPMD Unfinished Business sneaker,” says Parish. “When you talk New York basketball and when you talk about the New York Knicks, Patrick Ewing is in the forefront of the conversation of being one of the greats to represent when it came to the New York Knicks. Dope collaboration with Hip-Hop and Ewing 33.”

Known worldwide for kicking nothing but fly shit, EPMD is celebrating their sophomore album with a second Ewing sneaker. Constructed of premium suedes and tumbled leathers, this 33 HI perfectly translates the iconic Unfinished Business album cover. EPMD branding at the tongue, Ewing at the heels, and icy outsoles come together to create something just as timeless as the sophomore album we are celebrating.

Pricing: The EPMD x Ewing 33 HI ‘Unfinished Business’ drops June 26 for $140 at EwingAthletics.com in sizes 5-16.

Photography by Noah Goldowitz