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The Air Jordan 4 exists in several well known colorways. As an early Jordan model, it is iconic for sneaker collectors. Learn more below about the OG colorways of the Air Jordan 4.
OG Colorways Of The Jordan 4
The OG colorways of the Air Jordan 4 include Fire Red, Black Cement (or Bred), White Cement and Military Blue.
When The Jordan 4 Originally Came Out
The AJ4 debuted in February 1989 during the All-Star Game.
The original retail price of the Jordan 4 was $110. The sneaker was designed by Tinker Hatfield, fresh off the success of the Jordan 3.
Initially, people seemed to not be that into the Air Jordan 4 visually. The midsole, heel tab, side mesh and plastic wings were considered an “out there” design back then. The 4 is also notable for it’s elongated tongue featuring the Jumpman logo and Flight script.
Michael Jordan’s famous game-winning shot against the Cleveland Cavaliers brought the 4 a lot more shine. Additionally, being seen on the feet of celebrities like Ice T and in commercials with Spike Lee helped push the shoe out to the masses. Michael generally wore the White Cement, Bred and Fire Red colorways during the 89 season.
Read on about the different OG Colorways below:
Air Jordan 4 Fire Red
The Fire Red 4s are one of the primary pairs worn by Michael Jordan during the ’89 NBA season. The color designation of “Fire Red” had been born on the 3 and would also see a couple of slightly different versions on the 5.
MJ wore these often during the 1989
NBA season.
While many might argue that the White Cement or Bred 4s are the must-haves of the OG set, Fire Reds are equally as iconic as far as on-court time and accomplishments. While the Fire Red 4 was the last OG colorway to release to the general public, it was one of the first colorways actually worn in a game.
Some of the retros of this sneaker feature slightly different shades of red (i.e. the darker Varsity Red version from 2012), but are still counted as Fire Red 4s as long as the colors are blocked the same as the OGs. It’s clear those versions are intended to represent the same shoe. Some versions even feature Spike Lee’s Mars Blackmon character embroidered towards the rear of the sneaker.
Air Jordan 4 Black Cement AKA “Bred”
One of the most well-known Air Jordan 4 moments occurred during a 1989 playoff game between the Bulls and Cavaliers. MJ famously hit a game-winning jump shot over Craig Ehlo in the Black Cement 4s.
Worn famously during “the shot” during
the 89 season playoffs
Similar to the Fire Red 4s, several retro versions of this colorway have released over the years. And just like the Fire Reds, some versions feature a Jumpman on the back while others feature the classic Nike Air branding.
When it comes to the Black Cement colorway, one of the main differences between retros is the material on the upper. Some versions feature suede, while others utilize nubuck. Nubuck is what was used on the original release.
When I started collecting sneakers in the late 2000s, this colorway was referred to as the “Black Cement 4”. With recent retros, I’ve noticed collectors calling these the Bred 4s as well.
Air Jordan 4 White Cement
White Cement 4s were worn by Michael Jordan in-game during the 1989 NBA season. A standout bit of design on these is the speckling found on parts of the midsole and wings. This is my personal favorite colorway of the 4.
Another colorway actually worn by
MJ during the 1989 NBA Season
White Cements are the colorway worn by the character Buggin’ Out in the 1989 Spike Lee movie Do The Right Thing. Someone accidentally scuffs up his pair with their bike in a now-famous scene, leading to a verbal altercation.
Spike Lee also starred alongside MJ in commercials featuring the colorway. The screentime the sneaker saw in addition to the stats Jordan was putting up during the 1989 season helped increase the popularity of the model.
Air Jordan 4 Military
It seems like there is always one “off” or quirky non-Bulls colorway somewhere in the mix. The Jordan 3 had the True Blue colorway and the AJ4 had the Military Blue release.
As these were not Bulls colors
MJ did not wear these OGs on court
I Googled a ton and read a number of articles about this colorway, but could not find any evidence of MJ wearing these during the 1989 season. I’m not sure if these were strictly a lifestyle release for the general public.
The way this sneaker is treated by sneakerheads seems to match up with the lack of on-court wear by MJ. I’ve owned the 2006 and 2012 pairs and I can remember both pairs not getting a lot of love compared to releases of the other OG colorways. Even Nike seems to give these the short end of the stick with regards to material and build quality every time they retro. Which is a shame because these type of colorways present something different for the line.
In any case I turned both pairs of Military 4s I had into beaters eventually. I would love to see a pair retro with Nike Air on the back, which has not happened yet as of the writing of this article.
My Thoughts on the 4
I absolutely love how the Air Jordan 4 looks, especially in the nostalgic OG colorways. The elongated tongue and pulltab gave the sneaker a very unique look for its time, and it definitely screams “late 80s basketball shoe”. I’m generally a fan of the look of sneakers from that era. With all that said, I’m personally not a huge fan of the comfort on 4s. My foot shape just does not agree with the sneaker at all. Sometimes you have to suffer to look good!
The 4 is currently one of the more popular retro Jordan silhouettes. While popularity of kicks like these does go in waves, collaborations with Union and Travis Scott (among others) have drawn the attention of newer sneakerheads to the model. This has lead to more interest in the AJ4 overall.
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