Set Free Richardson, the award-winning creative director and founder of The Compound, has delivered a grandiose story telling of New Era‘s 5950 legacy — all within 15 minutes.
Narrated by Yankees legend CC Sabathia, the documentary shares experiences, stories and even revelations from Spike Lee, Carmelo Anthony, Jayson Tatum, DJ Clark Kent, and others, proving just how much the cap has left an indelible mark on sports and culture.
The film delves into the sports brand’s rich history, “focusing on the evolution and cultural significance of the 5950 cap” — which was birthed in 1954. It also chronicles how the cap has been sported off the field and fashionably on to the heads of rappers, actors, and every role in between. The 5950 cap not only revolutionized baseball apparel, but has also become a staple in Hip-Hop; symbolic with the likes of rappers like JAY-Z, T.I., and so many more.
Jay-Z watches the New York Yankees play the Tampa Bay Devil Rays during their Opening Day game at Yankee Stadium April 2, 2007 in the Bronx borough of New York City.
Nick Laham/Getty Images
The 59Fifty Story accounts key historical moments, like New Era’s founding in 1920 and making an exclusive deal with the MLB in 1993, to Spike Lee going on to change the game all with one colorway request.
Free, who got his start with AND1 street ball mixtapes, used his unique vision and experience within art, music, sports, and fashion, to bring forth a story that not too many may have been privy to — although almost everyone has worn the athleisure head wear before.
Speaking with VIBE, the New York native gave insight into how he conjured such a visual masterpiece as well as shared his own connection to the New Era brand.
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“Look at the pride of people when they wear a New York Yankee hat, they feel like they’re on top of the world,” Free compared the 5950 to a crown; as Anthony did in the doc. “The hat is another realm for a crown. It makes you represent where you’re from and who you are.”
Explaining his own connection to the fitted, he reflected on growing up on the East Coast and rocking the Phillies, Yankees and Mets hats.
“The fitted hat was just something different; special,” he expressed. “Growing up, seeing all the New Yorkers from back in the day; Tribe, De La [Soul], all the way up to JAY-Z and Nas — everybody was wearing Yankee hats. Then in Philly, everybody was wearing Phillies hats.”
Speaking to the popularity of the hat in other parts of the country, he added, “With the South, we seen Big Boy wearing Atlanta hats all the time … T.I. There’s just so many cities you could name: Nelly in St. Louis … Ice Cube in LA. After the baseball field, Hip-Hop was just a direct correlation to these New Era 59FIFTY hats.”
Rapper T.I. performs onstage at the BET Awards 05 at the Kodak Theatre on June 28, 2005 in Hollywood, California.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Thinking of how to tell the story of the 5950 fitted in a unique, entertaining, but informative way, Free explained that he’s “always looking for two things that are already connected, that really don’t get highlighted.”
He recalled his start with AND1 as the first time he intertwined sports and Hip-Hop for a project, while sharing plans to do the same with his next gallery — but with art and music. “Even right now we’re building out an art gallery, but instead of just making it an art gallery it’s going to be called Compound Art and Sound Gallery,” he revealed.
“I think for me it’s always [about] finding people and different things that connect,” he continued. “Nobody’s telling the story of bringing two things together, that’s already there.”
Having the skills of a talented director isn’t something you just wake up with — it takes studying, practice, and of course, a peculiar vision. For Set, he’s watched his favorite directors for years like Chris Robinson, George Lucas, and Lee.
“I studied Spike Lee since I was young,” he admitted. “Between Spike and putting jazz in his movies and the close-ups on the faces, to Chris Robinson’s color techniques and storytelling — I try to look at myself as a student of them two.”
Free also shared that he was surprised to learn that it was because of the Do The Right Thing director that the signature navy blue Yankees fitted was created in a variety of colors.
Baseball: World Series: Closeup of celebrity film director Spike Lee in the stands wearing red New York Yankees hat and jacket during game vs Atlanta Braves. Game 2. Bronx, NY 10/21/1999
Al Tielemans /Sports Illustrated via Getty Image
“Being able to have him in the film was an honor. Surreal. A legendary moment for me,” he beamed. “The fact that he’s the reason that we have, not just Yankees hats, but colored hats in baseball and the NBA — he started something that was never really told, like nobody really knew.”
“We just knew one day you could buy a green Yankee hat or a pink Phillies hat for breast cancer, but we never knew how that became into fruition,” he went on. “That’s why I wanted to make sure that part of the documentary really had some good storytelling and animation.”
Take a look at The 59Fifty Story directed by Set Free below.
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