The Top Sneaker Lyrics of All Time
From Run-DMC’s mythical ‘My adidas’ to Kanye West’s ‘All Falls Down’, kicks continue to elevate the narrative of hip hop. So rewind that cassette and track down your old Walkman – these are the top 10 sneaker lyrics of all time.
11. Nelly – ‘Air Force Ones’
Nelly’s 2002 track ‘Air Force Ones’ is definitely not the first song to drop sneaker references, but it’s perhaps one of the most spirited celebrations of leather and lace, plus the need for ‘two purrs’. In this case, it’s the Nike Air Force 1 – though the lyrics name-drop the word ‘Nike’ only once. The wings fall off the plane towards the closing verses, as the St. Lunatics’ Ali Jones mentions, ‘I’m just a sneaker pro, I love PUMAs and shelltoes’. However, the tune and its accompanying video still took flight, reportedly sparking a months-long shortage of the AF-1 in parts of the US.
9. A$AP Rocky – ‘Goldie’
The prettiest boy in hip-hop keeps his sneakers . From to his maximalist references to 90s skate and the , Lord Flacko’s wardrobe is vast. Rocky’s love of sneakers is peppered throughout his whole discography, but it’s in the second track of his Long Live A$AP LP we have his most memorable reference.
Featuring a pair of decadent Gold Mirrors in the video clip, Rocky tells us it was never Martin Luther King that he looked up to, but fashion houses like Margiela: ‘Let’s take it to the basics, you in the midst of greatness / My Martin was a Maison, rocked Margielas with no laces’.
8. JAY-Z – ‘S. Carter’
A bit like John Lennon comparing The Beatles to Jesus, likening oneself to can be a dangerous career move. Not so much for hip-hop magnate and sneakerhead JAY-Z, the 49-year-old artist continuing to have the kind of cultural relevance as nasty as the Jumpman himself. In ‘99, JAY-Z dropped ‘S. Carter’, telling us that he ‘stay sportin’, played Jordan’s before Jordan / Verses tight, hook harder than Ken Norton.’ Appropriating boxer Ken Norton’s vicious hooks to his linguistic acrobatics, JAY-Z bowled over the hip-hop industry in a similar way to Jordan breaking ankles on the NBA’s hardwood.
4. 2Pac – ‘California Love’
‘California Love’ was Tupac’s first drop after being released from prison back in ‘95. Fresh from inking a deal with Death Row Records, Tupac linked up with Dr. Dre to illuminate the Californian lifestyle whilst throwing shade at those with more bourgeois dispositions. During the second verse, Dr. Dre and Tupac praise the , ‘not Ballys’ (a Swiss-based luxury label): ‘Only in Cali where we riot, not rally, to live and die / In L.A. we wearin’ Chucks, not Ballys (yeah that’s right) / dressed in Locs and Khaki suits, and ride is what we do.’