Although Remy Ma is more modest about her position among footwear collectors than partner-in-rhyme Fat Joe, her shoe game is absolutely enviable.
Last month, with the 50th anniversary of hip-hop just a couple weeks away, Remy Ma — alongside Fat Joe — visited PMC Studio in New York City for a cover shoot with FN. During a conversation between the two, Remy, born Reminisce Smith, offered a look into her closet and revealed her mindset when making big purchases.
The “Conceited” hitmaker shared the story of the major footwear purchase she made after her first big payday, and revealed who influenced the decision: Fat Joe’s wife, Lorena. The purchase, she admitted, gave her a bit of anxiety.
“We went to a store called Petit Peton in SoHo. They had purple ostrich thigh-high boots. She was like, ‘Rem, you’ve got to try them on, they’re crazy.’ I flipped the shoe, looked at the price and I’m like, ‘There has to be a decimal missing or something.’ I’d never seen a shoe cost that much in my life,” the rapper explained. “I’m from Castle Hill in the projects, I’m struggling to get [Reebok] 5411s — $1,500 boots are crazy to me. I instantly have buyer’s remorse. I’m having anxiety attacks. I’m like, ‘I’ve never spent this much money on anything in my life.’ She goes, ‘You know you’ve got to get the matching bag, right?’ After I got the matching bag, it was over. There was no turning back.”
Also during the conversation, Fat Joe, noticing the thigh-high Bottega Veneta Intrecciato boots Remy Ma had on, shared why he couldn’t buy them for his wife. “You just walked in with Bottegas up to your knee. My wife is short, I tried to get them for her but she was swallowed in the boots,” Fat Joe said with a laugh. “You went all the way up. Only certain people [can do it] — you, Mary [J. Blige].”
Remy replied, “Mary, I keep telling her I’m coming to her closet.”
The rapper is also an admitted sneakerhead, with a profound love for one specific silhouette: the Reebok Freestyle Hi, also known as the 5411.
“When we grew up, they were called 5411s because they cost $49.99 and after taxes it came up to $54.11. That was a lot, so I never could have them,” she said. “A lot of times, my purchases are influenced by the purchases I couldn’t make as a kid. Throwbacks of certain sneakers, I’m like, ‘I’ve got to get them. For 10th grade me, I’ve got to do it.’”
Although an admitted sneakerhead with a love of the athletic brands, Remy Ma isn’t averse to wearing a luxury look. One of her favorite pairs is the Louis Vuitton Archlight Sneaker.
“Every now and then I find a designer shoe that I really like. These Louis Vuittons might probably be the sneakers that I wear the most. They’re slim, they’re comfy,” she said.
The “Conceited” rapper also brought sentimental favorites to set, including her original pair of the Air Jordan 1 Mid “New Love” that arrived at retail in 2007 as part of the “Beginning Moments Pack.”
“This freestyle that I did, you can search it on YouTube, it’s called ‘Queen of NY.’ I had these on with this black and yellow bulletproof vest-type shirt, a la 50 Cent,” she said. “I’m upset because I see the sole is coming apart a little bit over here and it’s heartbreaking, but this is my favorite ever sneaker color and sneaker.”
Another look partial to Remy Ma is one that hasn’t been released yet, the Nike Air Force 1 “TS,” which is a collaboration between Fat Joe and the Swoosh.
“You see the little ‘JC’ on the back for Joey Crack. Now I’m thinking about, he probably should have mine customized to have the ‘RM’ for Remy Ma, but we’re going to talk about that later,” she said with a laugh. “[Fat Joe] took my sneakers when he did an interview and Eli Manning licked the bottom of my sneakers like how Joe licks the bottom to show they’ve never been worn. Now I can wear my sneakers again. I’m just going to keep them in a nice little case somewhere.”
Rounding out the shoes Remy brought to set were the Air Jordan 1 “Shattered Backboard 3.0,” which she admitted she bought in the incorrect size because her’s wasn’t available (“Anybody out there, if you have a size 7 youth in ‘Shattered Backboards,’ holler at me) and the Nike Air Force 1 High “White Metallic Gold” (“This is my childhood. If you had these in whatever color, you were up. When I found the white ones with the gold Swoosh, I was like, ‘Oh my God.'”).
