St. Louis native Nelly has chimed in on the viral debate about who made the world wear Air Force Ones.
Following the 1982 launch of Nike’s Air Force 1, it didn’t take long for the crisp sneaker to become a staple in Black culture and streetwear.
Rappers like Nelly and others gravitated toward the infamous shoe in the 1990s and early 2000s, which helped skyrocket their popularity in the North and South.
The shoes got an honorable mention on Jay-Z’s 1996 song “Can I Live II” as well as Nelly’s “Air Force Ones” in 2002.
Nelly was so inspired he named a 2002 single “Air Force Ones.” It reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and caught Nike’s attention.
Nike not only sponsored part of his “Nellyville” Tour but also signed him to a limited brand ambassador deal.
Many people, including Nelly, credit him with helping turn the Air Force 1 into a cultural phenomenon. Others disagree with that narrative completely.
During a July 14 interview with Complex, archivist Omar Maultsby argued that Jay-Z deserves the credit.
He criticized Nike’s decision to feature Nelly in its Air Force 1 campaign.
“I see they brought the shape back of the 2001 for this year. But it’s pissing me off that they keep putting Nelly’s face up there as the face of the sneaker,” said Maultsby.
Complex host Aria Hughes then asked, “You were saying Nelly is not the person who made Air Force Ones popular.”
Maultsby quickly responded, “Absolutely not!”
“I didn’t know about no Nelly in ’91, ’92 when I was wearing Air Forces and the white Air Force wasn’t big until Roc-A-Fella made the white Air Force 1s big.”
He referenced Jay-Z’s 1998 music video for “It’s Alright” featuring his artist Memphis Bleek.
The duo rocked white low-top Air Force 1s while lounging on the beach with their former business partner Dame Dash.
Recalling the momentum around the shoe at that time, Maultsby said, “You had to wear your joints one time. And the next time you wore them was to the store to get another pair and it was over.”
He declared it a crime if your Forces got messed up, adding, “No creases, none of that.”
He called it a crime to scuff a pair of Air Force 1s, saying, “No creases, none of that.”
Maultsby said the shoes climbed from $60 to $80 and eventually $100. He noted those price increases didn’t happen until the early 2000s, as the brand got creative with styles and colors.
Two years after Jay-Z released the music video, Nike created a limited-edition Roc-A-Fella Air Force 1 for his record label.
Maultsby reaffirmed his statement that the “white Air Force 1 went crazy” when Roc-A-Fella started talking about it.
Meanwhile, Nelly caught wind of the interview and attempted to school the hip-hop documentarian in Complex’s comments.
He replied, “The question ain’t who knew about something first .. it’s who made the something popular.. I.E POP CULTURE … not ‘local’ culture.”
He argued that whoever created global demand and drove up the price deserved the credit.
The “Dilemma” rapper acknowledged the price hike, saying Air Force 1s jumped from $59.99 to $100 in a single year after his song dropped.
At the end of his comment, he added several emojis with a raised hand.
Nelly wrote, “NEVER SAID WHO KNEW ABOUT THEM FIRST … NEVER SAID WHO WAS WEARING THEM FIRST… WHO RAN UP THE NUMBERS ???”
Former St. Lunatic Ali also chimed in to share his take on Maultsby’s statement, which many also agreed with.
“It doesn’t make a difference what he says. Nike told us, ‘Thank you, you are the reason the Air Force is the number one athletic shoe and has been the same since you all made that record. We appreciate it.’”
.
Ali continued, “So whoever, he could just continue to talk. I’m talking about the facts. He’s talking about Baltimore and the East Coast. I’m talking about Asia, Africa, Australia, South America so when you say ‘famous and popular’ that’s the St. Lunatics!! ~The End~”
However, fans online had their own debate about who should get the credit.
One person said, “@nelly DID IT ON A GLOBAL SCALE. Not a regional trend!!! After his song everybody wanted em. It’s not up for debate.”
Another person who agreed wrote, “When you speak about AF1 only rapper come to mind is Nelly.”
One person who had a different opinion said, “Been wearing uptowns since 1990. Maybe Nelly made them popular in HIS region, not here tho.”
Someone else said, “Facts Jay had everyone in Philly and NY wearing them.”
Despite differences of opinion, most people appear to agree that Nelly made the show more popular globally.
Nelly held his stance on this opinion back in 2020, when “The Breakfast Club” debated if A$AP Rocky brought the popularity of Air Force 1s back in 2010, 2011.
After acknowledging that he wasn’t the first to discover or wear the shoe, Nelly said, “when you say made them famous, you gotta understand that Air Force 1s was more of a New York, East Coast thing. We didn’t rock Air Force 1s in the South, we didn’t rock Air Force 1s in the Midwest and they wasn’t rocking Air Force 1s on the West Coast.”
Nelly even appeared on a 2022 episode of Complex’s “Sneaker Shopping.” He said, “Everybody that got Nike shoe deals need to be thanking us right now.”
He claims Nike only became open to doing deals from the momentum of their song.
