A circle of friends connected by goof-touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On May 17, we were introduced by Lasher, creative director of the digital fashion label 1BLOCK STUDIO, Freestyle basketball player ZiNEZ will appear on the show. We asked ZiNEZ, a leading figure in the freestyle basketball scene, about what freestyle basketball is, how he got started, and his future possibilities.
INDEX
Demonstration of Freestyle Basketball
Takano (MC): ZiNEZ, you are so cool.
Celeina (MC): Good looking. Sorry, I know I shouldn’t say such things lightly.
ZiNEZ: I’m so happy. Please say more (laughs). Thank you very much.
Takano: By the way, Mr. Rusher said “sphere” yesterday.
ZiNEZ: I got a line from him and he said, “I introduced ZiNEZ as a sphere. It’s not wrong, but I’m not sure if it’s appropriate for a digital fashion label to refer to us as a “ball” (laughs).
Takano: That’s what I thought was interesting. We are of the same age and are active in different fields.
Celeina: First of all, I would like to ask you about freestyle basketball.
ZiNEZ: It is quite difficult to explain in words, but there is a culture of “street basketball” mainly in the U.S., where basketball is played outside, often with music playing. There are a lot of people who play basketball, so there are people who can’t use the court. So, a culture of showing each other their skills with a ball for fun was born, and it became a culture independent from basketball. Like a dance battle, freestyle basketball is a performance where people show off their own basketball skills to the music of a DJ.
Takano: ZiNEZ’s videos are really cool. It has a strong dance element, but it is also a sport. The music is cool HIP HOP, and the fashion is street fashion. It’s a great expression of street art.
ZiNEZ: Thank you very much. I think basketball is a sport that has a great influence on fashion and music. Even rappers wear Jordan sneakers. I think that street fashion and basketball are very close. It doesn’t require much preparation, and anyone can do it as long as they have a ball. I feel that this is one of the reasons why freestyle basketball was born.
Takano: You are holding the ball today, aren’t you? I was hoping that you would play it live at …….
ZiNEZ: Then, may I ask you two to explain in your own words?
Takano: Yes. There’s a basketball coming up.
ZiNEZ: Okay, briefly.
Takano: I’m spinning it around. ZiNEZ: Hold on a second!
Celeina: I’m speechless!
Takano: It’s too amazing. What’s going on?
Celeina: Become one with the basketball.
Takano: You put it on your index finger and rotate it so much, but it’s on your head, on your back, and then on your hand. It was amazing, and I didn’t give him a chance to explain. I was so captivated by it.
ZiNEZ: Thank you very much.
Celeina: It’s like the sound of a ball on your finger when you drop the needle on a record. ……
ZiNEZ: It’s true that the record is spinning too, so it might be a close principle. It’s friction.
Takano: Also, like when you make it go between your legs or catch it by the cervical vertebrae. I wonder what the physicality is like.
Celeina: It’s amazing.
ZiNEZ: Thank you very much.
INDEX
Performing at the halftime show at Madison Square Garden
Takano: How long did it take you to get to this point?
ZiNEZ: I started playing basketball when I was 13, but when I was 15, I went to Canada and got really into street basketball. That’s when I decided I wanted to play freestyle as well. I was impressed by the freedom of basketball, and it has been 18 years since then.
Takano: You are a master of the art. By the way, where are you from in Canada?
ZiNEZ: Victoria, about an hour by boat from Vancouver. Do you know where that is?
Takano: I understand. I used to live in Toronto.
ZiNEZ: My grandparents live there.
Takano: I worked at Tim Hortons.
ZiNEZ: Tim Ho? Tim Hortons is a donut shop that is open 24 hours a day. In Japan, it is called …….
Takano: It’s like Doutor x Mister Donut. They have a menu called Dabodabo …….
Celeina: Wow, what a Canadian talk (laughs).
ZiNEZ: Please visit Tim Hortons when you go to Canada. It’s delicious (laughs).
Celeina: I’ll go…can I hear your story, ZiNEZ-san (laughs). You mentioned earlier that you studied in Canada, but after you came back from your study abroad, you decided to become a professional freestyle basketball player, right?
ZiNEZ: Freestyle basketball can be played anywhere with just one ball, so I always thought it would be a great match with the Internet. I was in the countryside of Canada, so I didn’t have much to do. I enjoyed being able to take dance videos of my favorite scenery with my favorite music, and I uploaded them to the Internet, and all kinds of opportunities arose. At the time, I was asked to do a halftime show at Madison Square Garden in New York City for an NBA game. They would say, “I saw your video.
Takano: That was amazing.
ZiNEZ: I was very lucky. I was probably faster than others in uploading videos. Freestyle was started around 2000, so I think it was a relatively young culture, and I think that’s why people paid attention to me.
Takano: There are so many possibilities. I saw the video of Gojo Satoru’s “Jyutsu Kaisen” at …….
ZiNEZ: I think that was the only successful experience I had last year (laughs).
Takano: They do it blindfolded. It’s amazing, isn’t it? All kinds of collaborations are possible, if you think about it that way.
ZiNEZ: That’s right. If you put a ball in the hands of anything, it is freestyle basketball, and in that sense, there are infinite possibilities. That’s another fun thing about the ball, and I thought it could be combined with anything.
Takano: We were talking about how we wanted to use …… for both the animation and the music. So, I’d like to go on to the songs, but ZiNEZ, please introduce the song you would like to play.
ZiNEZ: I thought there would be a lot of songs that everyone knows. I am a member of a group called CONDENSE, which is like a dance vocal unit, and we are an expression group that explores the possibilities of dance by using rusher-like technology in our production. We have brought one of our songs, and I would like you all to listen to it. Please listen to “THAT’S MY ZONE” by CONDENSE.
Exploring possibilities through freestyle basketball
Celeina: ZiNEZ, you won consecutive freestyle basketball championships in 2008 and 2009, and are now considered one of the leading figures in the scene.
ZiNEZ: I think you mentioned earlier that I have a lot of potential, but I think the ball is often used in sports for winning and losing. But I think a ball is round and fair, and it could be used for self-expression. I think it has a lot of potential for music and art, and I hope that everyone can enjoy the exploration of these possibilities by using technology and other interesting things to express themselves.
Takano: I see. So, what Mr. Rusher said about “sphere” makes sense.
ZiNEZ: That’s right. I think about the ball more than anyone else (laughs).
Celeina: Can we see what ZiNEZ is doing on Instagram?
ZiNEZ: Yes, I’m in competitions and stuff under the name KAMIKAZE, but I’m on both Twitter and Instagram under “ZiNEZ KAMIKAZE,” so please take a look.
Celeina: Now, “FIST BUMP” is a circle of friends connected by goofy touch, so we are asking you to introduce us to your friends.
ZiNEZ: This is the model Mokhtar. Mr. Mokhtar is very funny. Please look forward to it.
Takano: Are you friends with him originally?
ZiNEZ: We are friends. We became friends by chance, maybe 3 or 4 years ago. In a word, he is like a “living power spot.
Celeina: Kind of! We need that right now.
ZiNEZ: I think she’s very energetic and funny, so please look forward to her.
Celeina: Thank you very much. Tomorrow we will be connecting with model Mokhtar. Thank you very much, ZiNEZ, freestyle basketball player.
ZiNEZ: Thank you very much.
GRAND MARQUEE
J-WAVE (81.3FM) Mon-Thu 16:00 – 18:50
Navigator: Shinya Takano, Celeina Ann
