If you know about quality custom kicks then the name Sole Junkie should be familiar to you. Sole has created custom shoes for a variety of artists including Talib Kweli, Bizarre (of D12) and DJ Tony Touch. We caught up with Sole Junkie (aka  Steven Cedre Jr.) in Los Angeles at Crash Mansion, for a night of Hip-Hop and fashion and asked him about his artwork.

CraveOnline: What was the first shoe you ever did?

Sole Junkie:  Some Red, Black, White and Gray Air Force one lows. [The shoes] were for myself and they were of Pedro Albizu Campos, who was one of Puerto Rico’s national [heroes]. I threw a machete with a star in the middle, which means Machetero (Machete wielders). It’s  our pro nationalist movement. I wanted something to symbolize me.

Sole Junkie:  I put them on MySpace and I haven’t worked since.

CraveOnline: What year did you start your company?

Sole Junkie: [2006] I have not been doing this that long. It just seems like I have been doing this for a long time; I’ve been painting for over twenty years. To me a canvas is a canvas and I happened to marry my love for shoes, Hip-Hop music, my culture and everybody else’s culture into a new canvas which is sneakers.

CraveOnline: Where did you get your start in art?

Sole Junkie:  I did the tagging and the writing. I had a friend that got me out of it, his name was Officer something. I let that alone quick.  I kept drawing and wanted to keep up my skills so I went to Cal State Long Beach.  I got my degree in art and worked a full time suit and tie job, but I had an accident which led me to this.

CraveOnline:  What is the most popular shoe that you work on?

Sole Junkie:  Anything Nike. I like Nike, I am a Nike head but I love a lot of other types of shoes. A lot of retro stuff I’m in love with. I know they say nostalgia kills fashion but everything is nostalgic, everything repeats itself. Nike is the most popular, so it’s the staple.

CraveOnline:  What is your favorite Nike shoe?

Sole Junkie:  The Air Force One, that’s probably gotta be my first love and I love Dunks.

CraveOnline: How long have you been a sneakerhead?

Sole Junkie:  As long as I could remember owning a shoe.

CraveOnline: Where are you from originally?

Sole Junkie:  From back east. New York is home, I stayed in the Bronx. I moved to Puerto Rico, Boston, San Diego, Long Beach and now I’m back to San Diego.

CraveOnline: How do customers usually contact you?

Sole Junkie:  Half and half, MySpace and email. The first person to hit me up was through MySpace and believe it or not it was Bobbito Garcia, the king himself. I got a lot of respect for him.

CraveOnline:  What makes you stand out as a Sneaker Artist?

Sole Junkie:  I just try to be true to myself. I try to paint things that are pleasing to my eye. I’m not going to give you something that I wouldn’t wear.  I want it to look professional, factory, like somebody silk screened or it came out of a machine.

CraveOnline: Have you ever made a shoe you liked so much you did not want to sell it?

Sole Junkie:  Yes, the Tito Puente’s. Before I died I had to see him. I went to see that man in crutches, in a full length leg cast. The first one’s I made, I still [have] them.

CraveOnline: What has been your biggest business accomplishment?

Sole Junkie:  Earning people’s respect.

CraveOnline: Do you think you will expand in to other mediums?

Sole Junkie:  Yeah, I can’t do customs forever. I want to get in to T-Shirts, hat design, shoes and a couple of other things. [Sole has recently branched out in to custom paints and jewelry]

CraveOnline: What advice you give up and coming artists?

Sole Junkie:  Work on your craft.  Let your work speak for itself. Don’t expect things to happen to you, you have to make things happen.

CraveOnline: Last question; who are your musical, artistic and cultural influences?

Sole Junkie:  Everything I see and listen to I absorb. Hip-Hop, from the old school guys like Grandmaster Caz, Melle Mel, DJ Disco Wiz to Nas, Jay-Z [and] KRS-ONE. My Spanish roots, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Marc Anthony, [and] Hector Lavoe. Graffiti writers. It’s all the same to me, it’s hard to break that down in to one influence.

For more info on Sole check out his official site or hit him up on MySpace.

solejunkie.com

myspace.com/solejunkie