Stretch and Bobbito x Omar Acosta

Legendary Hip Hop radio personalities Stretch and Bobbito collaborate with critically acclaimed designer/director Omar Acosta to create a 3D animated virtual cassette paying homage to Hip Hop’s transformative era. The NFT features a digitally remastered archival audio mic break from the duo’s groundbreaking 1990s radio show which was the launching pad for then unsigned and up-and-coming artists such as Nas, Jay Z, Wu-Tang Clan, The Notorious B.I.G., Mobb Deep, Big Pun, the Fugees, Cypress Hill, and Eminem. Stretch produced a new beat to score and enhance the comedic excerpt. 

Adrian “Stretch Armstrong” Bartos and Bobbito García are legends in urban culture, encompassing music, sneakers, DJing and basketball. Their groundbreaking WKCR-FM show defined street cred for the burgeoning 1990s scene and was the launching pad for artists such as Jay Z, Wu-Tang Clan, The Notorious B.I.G. and Eminem. In the Netflix documentary STRETCH AND BOBBITO: RADIO THAT CHANGED LIVES, Nas proclaimed their program “the most important hip-hop show . . . in the world.”

In addition to radio, the duo has been active collectively and individually in a myriad of projects.

As the progenitor of sneaker journalism, García penned his landmark Source Magazine article “Confessions of a Sneaker Addict” in 1990, then in 2003 became the critically acclaimed author of Where’d You Get Those? NYC’s Sneaker Culture: 1960-1987 (Testify Books). In 2005, ESPN’s “It’s The Shoes” series, hosted by Bobbito, became the first show on the subject in broadcasting history. 

A former professional basketball player in Puerto Rico, García has collaborated with Nike, adidas, and Puma to design releases for each brand’s most iconic models. The voice of EA Sports’ popular NBA Street video game is also a world-renowned DJ, who has headlined events at Lincoln Center, Central Park SummerStage, and the Smithsonian (DC).

Stretch is one of the most respected DJs in the game, having cut his teeth in downtown NYC venues in the ‘80s and is still flourishing today. He regularly plays events throughout the world, offering an eclectic mix of classic hip-hop, reggae, and club music, new and old. Stretch recently authored the acclaimed No Sleep: NYC Nightlife Flyers 1988-1999 (powerHouse Books), a definitive book on party promo art documenting one of the most important eras in dance culture, in which he played a significant role.

In 2017, the two created a podcast on NPR that was reflective of their varied journalistic interests and the respect they engendered from major cultural figures. Interviewees included superstars Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Dave Chappelle, and Lenny Kravitz, Academy Award winning actors Mahershala Ali and Regina King, and world-class chefs Jose Andres and Massimo Bottura.

Currently, Stretch and Bobbito are producing music with the M19s Band on 10x Grammy Award winner Eddie Palmieri’s Uprising NYC label. They also host/produce the bi-weekly “Stretch and Bobbito Radio” show for Apple Music Hits station’s 73 million subscribers worldwide.

Brands consistently take stock in their legacy, as Stretch has recently appeared in ads for Rag & Bone, Sergio Tacchini, Saucony, and Reigning Champ. Bob has recently done voiceover work for Nike, House of Hoops, Snipes, Bleacher Report, and the Brooklyn Nets. Together, they’ve appeared in international campaigns for Levi’s and Aimé Leon Dore.

Over the last three decades, Stretch and Bobbito have left an indelible mark in culture through music, radio, publishing, journalism, fashion and film, and the future holds nothing short of the same. 

Omar Acosta was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, then raised in New York City. This duality inspired elements of graffiti as well as urban and island culture into his developing aesthetic. In 1993, Acosta moved to Puerto Rico to study fine art, photography, and illustration at The Art League of Old San Juan. In 2002, the budding designer with past clients such as Saatchi & Saatchi and MTV continued his artistic studies at Parsons School of Design with a generous merit-based scholarship. Upon graduation, Omar Acosta became the Art Director at MTV Latin America. He has since served as Creative Director for Yahoo! and Microsoft, and has directed, designed, and produced numerous award-winning spots for the NFL, Mercedes Benz, Louis Vuitton, and multiple brands/platforms that continue to gain critical recognition as marks of excellence.

In 2015, Acosta transitioned from commercials to the big screen when he produced Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives, which had its broadcast premiere on Showtime and then became an instant classic on Netflix. His sophomore effort was the NY Times’ “Critics’ Pick” documentary Rock Rubber 45s, which was an official selection at the Smithsonian’s debut African American Film Festival in 2018.

Mixtape (2022) is Acosta's directorial debut. The film deals with the creation, rise, and significance of the cultural phenomenon known as the mixtape and will be premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival.

Currently, Omar Acosta is directing a documentary for Universal about the rise of Reggaeton, with Daddy Yankee as the executive producer as well as featured interviewee. 

Provenance: Courtesy the artists