http://mashable.com/2012/03/12/homeless-hotspots-sxsw/

In what has become a highly controversial move, advertising agency BBH transformed some of Austin?s homeless people into mobile hotspots during?SXSW?Interactive. Thirteen homeless from Austin?s?Front Stepsshelter donning an ?I?m a 4G hotspot? T-shirt and armed with a MiFi were strategically placed throughout SXSW and offered?internet access?around their personal location to attendees.

Attendees were encouraged to donate money to the ?Homeless Hotspots? based on the amount of time they spent online, with a suggested donation of $2 for every 15 minutes. Money was collected via PayPal, with all of the proceeds of a hotspot going directly to the homeless person who was wearing it.

Each homeless hotspot?s location was tracked on a virtual map, and logging on to the website allowed you to find your closest hotspot, as well as learn more about the person wearing it. The test program was designed to be a modernized version of the Street Newspaper, a paper that is created and sold by the homeless as a form of income. Rather than being seen as a way to help the homeless, however, many SXSW attendees saw the hotspots as something that made the homeless be seen as products rather than people.

In a statement on its blog,?BBH?defended its actions, ?Obviously, there?s an insane amount of chatter about this, which although certainly villianizes us, in many ways is very good for the homeless people we?re trying to help: homelessness is actually a subject being discussed at SXSW and these people are no longer invisible.?

At least one of homeless involved in the project, Melvin, agreed: ?I would say that these people are trying to help the homeless, and increase awareness. They?re trying not to put us in a situation where we?re stereotyped. That?s a good side of it, too ? we get to talk to people. Maybe give them a different perception of what homeless is like,? he says in an?interview with?Buzzfeed.

HIPHOPWIRED.COM HAS RELEASED WHAT THEY FEEL ARE THE TOP10 HIPHOP SNEAKERS OF ALL TIME, DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS LIST??

“From the beginning of Hip-Hop culture a necessary part of theuniform was your sneakers. Hip-Hop was created by disenfranchised urban center youth, but despite their humble origins these kids still had piles of style. The most defining component of your Hip-Hop style back then, as it is today, is your footwear.

Just like Hip-Hop has gone from the vacant lots in the Bronx to the most hallowed of all music halls named after Andrew Carnegie,?kicks have also gained in prestige. No one (with any sense) still wears fat laces in their sneakers. They have been replaced with mother of pearl dubraes and golden aglets.

Despite all the fancy components and accoutrements that accompany sneakers nowadays there is stillthe overriding principle of aspiration which your shoes have to convey. The aspiration to be fresh is the key to the shoes on this list. They all define freshness and they all represent Hip-Hop. These are the most Hip-Hop sneakers of all time.”

Adidas Superstar

The Superstar was a favorite shoe for breakdancers and B-boys and was immortalized by Run-DMC with their classic paean to the?shoe. The Superstar, aka Shell Toe, still gets burn on the streets from newjacks and old heads alike because of its nearly indesctructible rubberized toecap.

Puma ‘Clydes’ (suede)

The first suede sneaker to really take over the Hip-Hop scene was the suede Puma signature shoe for Walt ‘Clyde’ Frazier. This was also the first shoe that I can recall hearing about someone having stolen right off their feet. Haha, true story is that you had to be B-boy with a shank if you were going to wear your suede Pumas untied with fat laces.

Nike Air Force 1

The Air Force 1 is another shoe which gained its God-status after St. Louis rapper Nelly put out the bouncy tribute to the already iconic shoe. The clean and smooth silhouette of an all white leather Air Force 1 can’t be matched by any other sneaker. The advent of visible airbags inside the soles of sneakers made the Force 1 somewhat dated.?In the early 90s these shoes were now cheap and common, which made them a favorite for heads who scrambled hard for that quick cash. ?Being hot on the streets made them a favorite for rappers who liked to act like they still had a connection to the kids on the streets. ?Always remember that Hip-Hop comes from the streets and then moves upwards.

Air Jordan III

The Air Jordan III ad campaign introduced Spike Lee’s prototypical Crooklynite character, Mars Blackmon, to the mainstream. Many consider these Tinker Hatfield designed Js to be the best sneaker ever. The Air Jordan III is totally Hip-Hop, even though MJ himself probably listens to Smooth Jazz before Rap.

Fila was the official mafia tracksuit worn by all Sheepshead Bay gangsters. Your outfit wasn’t completely Hip-Hop though without rocking the sneakers from the same brand. The classic cream tennis shoe from Fila was exactly that… A tennis SHOE.

Reebok 5411s (for the LAAAAAAAAYDIES)

The ladies don’t get enough daps when it comes to rockin’ kicks but the classic freestyle aerobic shoe from Reebok should definitely be in your top 10. Nothing looks better than a shorty in some black leggings and a pair of candy colored 5411s (back in the day, $49.99 + tax = $54.11 in NYC) with the lipstick to match her kicks.

OG Gucci Sneakers

The original Gucci trainer was the street hustler’s supreme footwear. To really top this shoe off you might have a velour sweatsuit with all-over Gucci monogram leather on the shoulders (shouts to Dapper Dan). The Gucci was also coming in at $150, a pricetag which sneakerheads today would shrug at but in 1986 it was no joke (cues Rakim and Eric B)

Prada ‘America’s Cup’ sneakers

The Prada sneaker replaced the OG Gucci trainers as the aspirational sneaker for the ‘hood. Rappers stay on that expensive Italian sh*t and the Prada sneakers have that perfect blend of gaudiness and expensivity that the ‘hood needs so badly.

Air Jordan IV (Buggin Out’s White Cements)

How many of you cringed when you watched the movie?Do The Right Thing?and?Buggin Out had his fresh white cement IV’s stepped on by that hipster dude? People were killed for lesser infractions, but the fact that Buggin’ Out let that hipster live foretold how NYC would soon be overrun by white dudes who had no respect for the sneaker culture.