2004: DIME MAGAZINE – Hoopla
June 23, 2008
January 2004 — Jalen Rose has always been a trendsetter, going all the
way back to his days as a baggy short rocking, black sock sporting,
trash talking charter member the The Fab 5.
Today, more than a decade later, things are no different. Jalen still
prides himself on being on the cutting edge of the basketball
lifestyle. But what’s good is his knowledge if he keeps all his secrets
to himself? We caught up with Jalen as the season got underway to find
out where to visit, where to eat, the clubs to hit and what to pack to
live like an NBA baller.
JALEN’S FAVORITE NBA CITIES:
1. Detroit – "Of course I’m gonna have The D at the top of the list.
That’s my home, where I was born and raised. That’s where my friends
and family still live and it’s where I learned how to dress, how to
act. It’s where I spend every offseason."
2. Toronto – "The city where I work and live. It’s one of the most
gorgeous places on earth. There’s so much going on, I kind of think of
it as a mini New York."
3. New York City – "The Mecca. What else can you say? I can get off the
airplane, put on the radio and listen to Hot 97 all night long. That
city has got the flavor, you know what I mean? Anything you want to do,
whenever you want to do it. I actually spent a lot of time there this
summer just going to restaurants and out to clubs… so many of them I
can’t even remember the names."
4. Miami – "Wow. You know what Miami is? It’s one big melting pot of
all things beautiful. It has phenomenal weather, phenomenal clubs and
there are beautiful people everywhere."
5. Las Vegas – "It doesn’t even matter that they don’t have an NBA
team, enough NBA players go there that it counts. That’s Sin City,
baby. You can go to any casino at any time of the day or night and sit
down and look at and play with more money than you’ve ever seen or will
ever have in your entire life. That place is amazing."
JALEN’S FAVORITE CLUBS:
1. B.E.D. (Miami) – "First of all, the concept is amazing to me (no
tables, no chairs; drinks and food are served to patrons on beds
stationed throughout the club). And the place has so much flavor. The
music is hot. The people are hot. That’s the spot in Miami."
www.bedmiami.com
2. Nightclub 9:30 (Washington, D.C.) – "The place is huge. When you
walk in, it’s like walking into an arena. There are a bunch of
different floors and each one has different music." www.930.com
3. Inside Bar (Toronto) – "That’s Vince’s spot, so I have to big up
him. It’s great to have a go-to place after a game. It’s like a home
away from home for us." www.inside218.com
JALEN’S FAVORITE RESTAURANTS:
1. Nine (Las Vegas, Chicago) – "I’m a big lobster fan and I’ve never
had lobster like they serve at Nine. They have this crazy huge lobster
tail that I get every time I go." www.n9negroup.com
2. Gibson’s (Chicago) – "It’s a steakhouse, but it’s this open place,
like a big market. When I was on the Bulls, I used to go there all the
time after games." www.gibsonsteakhouse.com
3. Mr. Chow (New York) – "I love Chinese food. And I’m a big fan of how
they portion the food there. They just keep bringing you the food."
www.mrchow.com
4. Sweetwater Tavern (Detroit) – "The spot in Detroit for wings and
brew. You can go there with your boys to check out the game. And if you
go, you have to get the fried shrimp." 313.962.2210
5. Joe’s Stone Crab (Miami and Indianapolis) – "They have a few of
these around the country, but the one in Miami is just ridiculous."
www.joesstonecrab.com
JALEN’S ROAD TRIP VIDEO GAMES:
"Have you played the new Grand Theft Auto? It’s sick. Right now, that’s
the game you need to bring with you. Other than that, I’ve been
frequenting the John Madden and NBA Live series forever. They always
come with me. They’re like gym shoes and orthotics. They’re
necessities."
JALEN’S FAVORITE DJS:
One of Jalen’s hobbies is getting behind the turntables. Jalen laid out his picks for his favorite DJs of all time.
1. DJ Green Lantern – "I’m always rocking one of his mix CDs. Green
Lantern has always had the hottest compilations. His greatest hits be
the bang."
2. DJ Clue – "One of the greatest. Clue has gone from the streets all
the way to MTV. He always seems like he gets the new songs first to do
his thing. And then on top of that, he’s taken his skill and used it to
explore a bunch of different avenues, from taking over the clubs to
repping clothing lines."
3. DJ Kay Slay – "The Drama King. Everything he does has an exclamation
point to it. And you can bet that if it ain’t real, he gonna expose it.
He’s definitely the O.G. in the game."
4. DJ Whoo Kid – "I’ve got to frequent my Detroit homies. Whoo Kid always be coming with the scratches and blends."
5. Jam Master Jay – "A legend. From day one. I love him. You can take
any of his albums and kids everywhere will be doing their own scratches
to it."
