View source for AND1 Live Tour

{{short description|US traveling basketball competition and exhibition}}
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]].<ref name="Warner 2013">{{cite web | last=Warner | first=Ralph | title=The Story of the AND1 Mixtape Tour, as Told by the Ballers Who Lived It | website=Complex | date=2013-09-03 | url=https://www.complex.com/sports/2013/09/and1-mixtape-tour-oral-history/ | access-date=2023-01-02}}</ref><ref name="Erk 2016">{{cite web | last=Erk | first=Andy | title=And1 mixtape brought streetball to the masses | website=Sports Illustrated | date=2016-07-14 | url=https://www.si.com/nba/2016/07/14/and-1-mixtape-tour-the-professor-dribbling-machine-half-man-half-amazing | access-date=2023-01-02}}</ref><ref name=HIST>{{cite web|last= |first= |author-link= |title=AND1 Mixtape Tour History |work= |publisher=streetballin.net |date= |url=http://www.streetballin.net/and1-mixtape-tour-history |format= |doi= |accessdate=June 12, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090307005648/http://www.streetballin.net/and1-mixtape-tour-history/ |archivedate=March 7, 2009 }}</ref> 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 dunk]]s and [[alley-oop]]s.

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 [[Streetball in Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico Streetballers]] in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boricuasballers.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2542:and1-and-pr-streetball-put-on-a-show |title=AND1 & PR Streetball Put On a Show! |author=Raul Sosa |publisher=BoricuaBallers.com |date=2012-07-27 |accessdate=2012-07-31 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016022449/http://www.boricuasballers.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2542%3Aand1-and-pr-streetball-put-on-a-show |archivedate=2015-10-16 }}</ref>

==Controversy==
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.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bryant |first=Jerel |author-link= |title=AND 1's mixed up |work=[[The Yale Herald]] |publisher=[[Yale University]] |date=November 19, 2004 |url=http://www.yaleherald.com/article.php?Article=3829 |format= |doi= |accessdate=June 12, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927235222/http://www.yaleherald.com/article.php?Article=3829 |archivedate=September 27, 2007 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=HIST/>  Many of the current and former AND1 Mixtape Tour players have played in college and in professional organizations such as the [[Continental Basketball League|CBL]], [[American Basketball Association (2000–present)|ABA]], [[NBDL]], [[NBA]] or overseas.<ref name=HIST/><ref>{{cite web  | last =  | first =  | author-link =   | title =AND1 Players | work =  | publisher = best-basketball-tips.com | date =  | url =http://www.best-basketball-tips.com/and1-players.html | doi = | accessdate = June 12, 2009| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090605114011/http://www.best-basketball-tips.com/and1-players.html| archivedate= 5 June 2009 <!--DASHBot-->| url-status=live}}</ref> 

==AND1 Live Streetballers==

'''Official MC of the Tour:''' Duke Tango
* [[Rafer Alston]] a.k.a. Skip to my Lou, from [[Queens|Queens, New York]].
* [[Grayson Boucher]] a.k.a. The Professor from [[Keizer, Oregon]]
* [[Philip Champion]] a.k.a. Hot Sauce from [[Atlanta, Georgia]]
* [[Waliyy Dixon]] a.k.a. Main Event from [[Linden, New Jersey]]
* [[Taurian Fontenette]] a.k.a. Air Up There from [[Hitchcock, Texas]]
* [[Troy Jackson (basketball)|Troy Jackson]] a.k.a. Escalade from [[Queens|Queens, New York]](deceased)
* [[Aaron Owens]] a.k.a. AO from [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]
* [[Larry Williams (basketball)|Larry Williams]] a.k.a. The Bone Collector from [[Tyler, Texas]]
* John Humphrey a.k.a. Helicopter from [[Morehead City, North Carolina]]
* Dennis Chism a.k.a. Spyda from [[Atlanta, Georgia]]
* Marvin Collins a.k.a. Highrizer from [[Atlanta, Georgia]]
* Guy Dupuy a.k.a. Easy J from [[Nice, France]]
* Tyrone Evans a.k.a. Alimoe / The Black Widow from [[Harlem]] (deceased, diabetes)<ref name="Jackson 2013">{{cite web | last=Jackson | first=Scoop | title=Jackson: The legend of playground basketball shrinks | website=ESPN.com | date=2013-07-09 | url=https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/9463124/the-legend-playground-basketball-shrinks | access-date=2023-01-02}}</ref><ref name="New York Daily News 2013">{{cite web | title=Streetball standout Tyron (Alimoe) Evans, who died last week of complications from diabetes, to be memorialized Tuesday in Harlem homegoing service | website=New York Daily News | date=2013-03-05 | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan/legendary-streetballer-buried-tuesday-article-1.1279376 | access-date=2023-01-02}}</ref>
* David Gabriel a.k.a. Big Dave from [[Port Saint Lucie, Florida]]
* Tim Gittens a.k.a. Headache from [[New York City]]<ref name="NBA News and Rumors, Advanced NBA Stats, NBA Odds, Basketball News 2022">{{cite web | title=The Rematch: Tim 'Headache' Gittens talks AND1's global influence, inaccuracies in Netflix doc, being underpaid, Basketball Podcast, NBA Podcast | website=NBA News and Rumors, Advanced NBA Stats, NBA Odds, Basketball News | date=2022-08-31 | url=https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rematch/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-56-tim-headache-gittens-talks-and1-s-global-influence,-inaccuracies-in-netflix-doc,-being-underpaid | access-date=2023-01-02}}</ref>
* Antony Heyward Jr. a.k.a. 1/2 Man 1/2 Amazing from [[Brooklyn|Brooklyn, New York]]
* Jerome Holman a.k.a. Circus from [[Brooklyn, New York]]
* Hugh Jones a.k.a. Baby Shack from [[Washington, D.C.]]
* Robin Kennedy Jr. a.k.a. Sik Wit It from Pasadena, California
* Brandon LaCue a.k.a. Werm from [[Ft. Lauderdale, Florida]]
* Robert Martin a.k.a. 50 from [[Atlanta, Georgia]]. Cousin of NBA player [[Kenyon Martin]]
* Paul Otim a.k.a. Polo from [[Atlanta, Georgia]]
* Andre Poole a.k.a. Silk from [[Baltimore]]<ref name="Baltimore Sun 2006">{{cite web | title=Player is a slam dunk | website=Baltimore Sun | date=2006-08-10 | url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2006-08-10-0608090155-story.html | access-date=2023-01-02}}</ref>
* Shane Woney a.k.a. The Dribbling Machine from [[Bronx, New York]]

==AND1 Mixtape Volumes==

*''AND1 Mixtape Vol. 1'' (1998)&nbsp;– The "Skip Mixtape", mainly focused on [[Rafer Alston]].
*''AND1 Mixtape Vol. 2'' (1999)&nbsp;– All games on this tape were filmed in [[New York City]] and [[Linden, New Jersey]].
*''AND1 Mixtape Vol. 3'' (2000)&nbsp;– This tape was given to people who bought a pair of AND1 shoes.
*''AND1 Mixtape Vol. 4'' (2001)&nbsp;– Volume 4 was the first tape documenting the AND1 Mixtape Tour, which visited [[Los Angeles]], [[Chicago]], [[Washington D. C.|Washington D.C.]], and [[New York City]].
*''AND1 Mixtape Vol. 5'' (2002)&nbsp;– Volume 5 was the return of Alston, after he had been playing [[Division I (NCAA)|Division I]] basketball at [[Fresno State University]] for three years.
*''AND1 Mixtape Vol. 6'' (2003)&nbsp;– Volume 6 toured Los Angeles, Chicago, [[Philadelphia]], and New York City.
*''AND1 Mixtape Vol. 7'' (2004)&nbsp;– Every game in this volume was played in NBA arenas, and [[Grayson Boucher]] was discovered in the Open Run in [[Portland, Oregon]] Open Run. The tape also featured a brief appearance from retired basketball player [[Shaquille O'Neal]].
*''AND1 Mixtape Vol. 8: Back on the Block'' (2005)&nbsp;– ''Back on the Block'' featured a lot of "Crash the Court" footage, in which the AND1 team plays against local teams in public streetball locations.
*''AND1 Mixtape Vol. 9: Area Codes'' (2006)&nbsp;– This volume shows the hometown and home court of every member of the AND1 team, including Philadelphia with [[Aaron Owens]] and Los Angeles with [[Kenny Brunner]].
*''AND1 Mixtape X: The United Streets of America'' (2008)&nbsp;– ''AND1 Mixtape X'' marked a decade of AND1, with footage from the United Streets Of America tour, which featured former [[Boston Celtics]] Player [[Carlos Arroyo]].

'''Additional AND1 Mixtape Volumes'''

*''AND1 Ball Access: The Mixtape Tour'' (2002)&nbsp;–  A documentary that highlights the 2002 And1 Mix Tape Tour. Get on the bus for a behind the scenes look at the action on and off the court as it rolls through [[Boston]], [[New Orleans]], [[Atlanta]], [[New York City|New York]], [[Louisville]] and the rest of the summer's Mix Tape Tour cities. It's an all access pass into life on the Tour as the Players show how their creativity, flair and attitude isn't limited to what they can do on the court.
*''AND1 Ball Access: Global Invasion'' (2004)&nbsp;–  Everything from the courts to the culture in [[Paris]], [[Barcelona]], [[London]], [[Milan]], and [[Frankfurt]]. This was the first And 1 Mix Tape tour overseas adventure.
*''AND1 Mixtape Tour: Asia Pacific'' (2006)&nbsp;–  The '2004 AND 1 Mixtape World Tour' that ended with a comprehensive international visit of the [[Far East]] and [[Australasia]] in November. A compilation  footage of the journey from [[Tokyo]] to [[Sydney]]. Includes previously unreleased tracks from Paul Wall, Mike Jones, Sam Scarfo, Clipse, Dipset featuring JR Writer, and Kanecc.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.and1.com AND1 Homepage]
*[https://and1.com/pages/and1-live AND1 LIVE Homepage]

{{DEFAULTSORT:AND1 Mixtape}}
[[Category:AND1]]
[[Category:Basketball organizations]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1998]]
[[Category:Streetball]]