Anyone that knows anything about DJ AM knows that aside from DJing, two of his greatest passions were in helping others and collecting sneakers. Throughout the years, he managed to amass a collection of over 800 pairs of kicks. As of last Sunday afternoon (Nov. 15th), these shoes have gone up on Ebay for auction in an effort to raise money and awareness for the DJ AM Memorial Fund, which in turn will use the profit to aid already existing organizations, whose focus lies in substance addiction and recovery. The auction is running until Dec. 14th and 100% of the proceeds will be going to the aforementioned charitable causes.

The collection that is up for grabs includes limited edition and hard to find shoes from Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Converse, and BAPE.

You can check out the collection and bid on shoes HERE.

I’ve never been one to be much bothered by death. Maybe it’s because I’m selfish. Or maybe I think it’s a natural occurrence and it’ll happen to all of us someday. Or maybe I take solace in the fact that ‘they’re in a better place’. But for some reason this time is different.

I’ve read all of the other thoughts on Adam’s passing, each one ringing as true as the next. He was a great friend. A mentor. An icon. And of course, the ultimate DJ. But none of those labels truly do him justice. One posting likened him to the Michael Jordan of DJs, and while that is true, he was so much more. As far as I’m concerned, he was the Michael Jordan of living.

He dedicated his life to helping others first hand, and indirectly was an example to hundreds of thousands more. Other than my own mother, he was the one person in the world that I looked up to.

Rather than try to wax poetically about how amazing of a DJ or person he was. I thought I’d just recount one of my favorite memories. Take from it what you will…

A couple of years ago I threw an X Games party at Avalon in Hollywood and booked AM and Travis to perform along with a slew of indie hip hop names like Babu, Rhettmatic and the Visionaries. As I sat with him backstage before his set he started to confess, “Bro I am SO nervous right now I might get sick. None of these people are here to hear any of this mainstream stuff we’re gonna play. They’re going boo us. Why did you book me for this? Look at my hands. They’re shaking”. He held out his hand out for me and it shook like a leaf.

Half an hour later, true to style, he and Travis stepped onto the stage, took to the drums and turntables and proceeded to tear the roof off of the club in front of 1500 awe stricken party goers. It was honestly one of the greatest performances I’d ever seen. Half way though his set Babu and Rhett, legends as they were, stood backstage watching, shaking their heads and debating with each other whether they should even go on afterwards. Who could follow that performance?

But that was the person Adam was. Humble to his core and skilled beyond belief. He never rested on his laurels, never stopped trying to be a better person and spent every waking moment trying to help others do the same.

I never had a brother but today I feel like I’ve lost one.

RIP ADAM MICHAEL GOLDSTEIN aka DJ AM

This image was made this morning by our marketing VP who was a close personal friend of Adam’s.

“I’m sorry I just don’t have the words to speak right now. He was and always will be the greatest person I ever met.” – M. Colon

AM’s last set at Banana Split (thanks to @glenjamn and A-Trak) –

Gotta love it when Nike iD brings out the fun.

Mike Epps vs DJ AM in Horse. Featured kicks.. .Entourage Air Force 1s,  Air Yeezys and the Zoom Kobe IV iD. (from: Freshnessmag)

The Captains Of Industry (StoneRokk and Graham Funke) made a 2008 version of the ’80s Band Aid hit “Do They Know Its Christmas” featuring today’s biggest nightlife industry personalities (aka the guys playing music at the clubs you can’t get into). This song/video is pretty much a who’s who of cool guy LA music insiders (well, the white ones), with everyone from Cisco Adler to Dirt Nasty to DJ AM chiming in. Peep the hilarity.

If nothing else, peep Roctakon’s tre flip with the ciggy in mouth. Tres legit.

Oh yeah, Billy Bob Thornton’s in there, too. What a melange…

See if you can spot the following Waldos:

DJ AM
DJ Vice
Cisco Adler
Shwayze
LMFAO
Lalaine
DJ White Shadow
Rhasaan Orange (Marquis L’Orange)
Dirt Nasty
Andre Legacy
Beardo
DJ Kev E. Kev
Morty Coyle of All Day Sucker
DJ Marshall Barnes
Ruby Stewart
Chip Jordan
DJ Cheapshot of Styles of Beyond/Fort Minor

Union, Stussy, UNDFTD, & Converse. The limited-edition Black Friday t-shirt was created exclusively for The Block Party/Food Drive held at Union/Stussy/UNDFTD LA this past weekend featuring J.Rocc, Dam-Funk, DJ AM, & Flying Lotus. Only 300 tees were printed and Stones Throw got their hands on 50. You want? Act quick at stonesthrow.com.

What do you know, an updated flyer from Mr. James Bond… I was beginning to think the squad at Undftd was shunning me.

UNDFTD will be releasing a collaboration tee with DJ AM dubbed the Co-Op tee on Friday, November 28th, otherwise known as Black Friday this year, the day after Thanksgiving where millions of Americans head out and begin their Holiday shopping. All of the proceeds of the t-shirt will benefit Accesshelp.org. In addition to the shirt being released at all US UNDFTD chapter stores and the UNDFTD e-store, if you are in the LA area you can attend the UNDFTD Black Friday Event being sponsored by UNDFTD, Union LA, Stussy, Stones Throw, Fiji Water, and Converse which will be held at the UNDFTD La Brea location from noon to 6 pm with music being provided by a nu

I lifted that info from Freshness Mag. Please visit Mr. Wu’s site.

Ako and Atiba are a DJ ensemble? Huh. Is there anything these identical twins don’t do together?

Source

Please send your prayers and positive energy to DJ AM, Travis Barker, and the families who lost loved ones. RIP Little Chris.

Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and DJ AM were critically injured in a plane crash Friday night in Columbia, South Carolina. The plane’s four other passengers were killed.

Lexington County Deputy Coroner Brian Setree confirmed for MTV News on Saturday morning (September 20) that three men and a woman died in the crash. The victims were: Barker’s assistant, Chris “Little Chris” Baker, 29, of Studio City, California; Barker’s security guard, Charles Still, 25, of Los Angeles; the plane’s pilot, Sarah Lemmon, 31, of Anaheim, California; and her co-pilot, James Bland, 52, of Carlsbad, California. While TMZ originally reported that Baker, who appeared on MTV’s reality show “Meet the Barkers,” was newly married and that his wife recently gave birth, it reported late Saturday that she was about to give birth, and the fatal flight was booked was so Baker could be with her as soon as possible. TMZ reported that Baker’s wife went into labor Saturday morning.

Barker and AM had just performed at a free T-Mobile-sponsored show in the Five Points area, along with Perry Farrell and headliner Gavin DeGraw. Though early reports had suggested that DeGraw may have been on the plane at the time of the crash, DeGraw’s father, Wayne, told MTV News that he’d spoken to his son Saturday morning and that he was fine. Farrell’s manager, Peter Katsis, confirmed that Farrell was not on the plane.

Beth Frits, a spokesperson for the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia, confirmed that AM (born Adam Goldstein) and Barker were transported to a hospital in Columbia following the crash. They were transferred — AM by helicopter and Barker by ambulance — to the Still Center soon after. She told CNN that both men had “extensive burns.”

According to TMZ.com, Barker sustained burns from the waist down, while AM suffered facial burns; UsMagazine.com reported that AM was in a doctor-induced coma and will undergo skin grafts. Both sites cited unnamed sources; MTV News was unable to confirm those reports at press time.

On Saturday afternoon, members of both men’s families were reportedly traveling to Georgia to be with them.

The crash took place just before midnight on Friday and involved a twin-engine private Learjet with six passengers onboard, according to Lynne Douglas, public information officer for the Columbia Metro Airport. While taking off, the plane, which never left the ground, overran the runway, struck an antenna array and several lights, and began sending up sparks. It skidded off the end of the runway, through a perimeter fence separating the airfield from a nearby roadway, and then crossed the roadway, coming to a stop on an embankment. The plane caught fire on impact. Douglas said two passengers — who were later confirmed to be AM and Barker — escaped the aircraft while it was on the ground, while the other two passengers and crew members died in the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed these details during a press conference, which was held shortly after 11:30 a.m. Saturday. A 10-member team from the NTSB, along with investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is on the scene, trying to determine what caused the crash. Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen described the post-crash fire as “significant.”

An eyewitness told NBC news affiliate WIS that he saw a fireball crossing the road near the airport and then realized it was a plane. He saw jet fuel shoot out across the roadway and then saw two men, who were both on fire, patting each other down to extinguish the flames.

Barker, 32, and DJ AM, 35, were the house band for the 2008 VMAs