The urbane South Street vibe cast a serene feeling over Dre, mellowing his mood. The street, comparable to New York’s SoHo or LA’s Melrose Avenue—well, not exactly—was chock full of small boutiques offering the latest trends in fashion and food to Philadelphia.
Joel Berberena—to those that knew him, Chino—drove down the strip slowly. They were gawked by envious pedestrians and jealous onlookers alike. Somewhere in that mix, Dre and Chino found a bevy of easy girls that desired to ride in Chino’s BMW 745. The streets were good to Chino. He was fronted—weekly—a sizeable amount of cocaine to stay afloat, but not enough to lock down the area that he sold his product. Definitely, not enough to take over the game.
Chino parked on the corner of 5th and South just as a space became free. He stepped out the car, and reached in his Evisu jean pocket for change to feed the meter, because South Street beat cops would have the car towed for kicks. He donned a crisp white button-up and butter-colored Timberland boots. Despite the frigid weather, he only wore a soft leather Polo jacket.
Dre, along with other pedestrians, looked at the fly guy as if he was a rock star. The woman looked at the five-feet-seven- inches tall, half-black, half-Columbian, and his ponytail lustfully. Chino ignored the stares, assuming the women were beneath him.
The homeboys paced up the street to the smell of food floating from the various restaurants. They arrived at the Foot
Locker and the sight of a pregnant girl in the back of the store buying infant Nikes had mesmerized Dre.
Chino tapped him, “Dawg, we ain’t doing no stressing.” “Fall back, Chino,” Dre told him.
From the time they were both students at Germantown High School, the two had bonded. Dre had a particular loyalty for Chino built on his stand up character. During a high school craps game in a G-Town High bathroom, Dre and Chino were both taken to the 14th police district for possession of cocaine on school property. Albeit, Dre sold drugs at the school occasionally, on that particular day the entire recovered product belonged to Chino, who bit the bullet and received an expulsion. Dre was suspended for gambling on school property. That was a major catalyst to Delores relocating to King of Prussia.
Dre gathered himself and unzipped his Woolrich coat. He scanned the athletic sneakers and selected gray Air Force Ones with a red Nike logo. The sneakers complimented a gray Polo sweat suit with a red Polo logo that Kareem had ripped someone off for to give to him.
After they purchased the sneakers, they walked down the animated strip to Dr. Denim, a premiere urban street-wear boutique. They both searched for something new and hot to sport to the club.
Dre approached, Alana, a saleslady, and told her that he was looking for some gear to separate him from the rest of the Philadelphia dudes. She told him that she could help him, and asked him about his budget.
“Budget! What the hell is that?” Dre said with a sly grin on his face.
Alana walked him over to the Roc-a-wear section and started pulling out pieces. Dre stopped her before she wasted her time. He told her that he wanted something new, but not regular.
With the sartorial, Kareem as his brother, Dre knew one-of- a-kind pieces when he saw them. Alana pulled out a pair of Evisu jeans. Dre looked at the price tag and masked his astonishment. He didn’t see the point in paying for $300 jeans, but Chino was treating. To match the jeans, Alana pulled out an assortment of Indigo Red shirts and Dre chose one. The year 2002 had brought back trucker hats, and she tossed Dre a fresh out of the box, Ed Hardy one.