The 50 Greatest Sneaker References in Rap History

Check one, two.

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The relationship goes beyond business, though. Having the right kicks became a symbol of status, an extension of the artist, and even a key exertion of dominance (see Rick Ross). Classics like the Jordans and Uptowns had their iconic status further solidified as hip-hop artists continued living on these tropes. The fact that European brands were also brought into the fold made picking The 50 Greatest Sneaker References in Rap History that much harder. But rest assured, the following quotables and songs hold some sort of importance in their own way. Yes, even that Nelly song.

50. Nas f/ Mary J Blige, "Reach Out"

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Lyrics: "This is reminiscent to all the parks in the projects/When my British Knights, can rival your Foamposites/Don’t make me pull my Lottos out the closet"
Artist: Nas
Track Title: "Reach Out"

Nas ain't new to the rap game and in the track "Reach Out" from his recent Life Is Good album, he makes it known he ain't new to having fresh kicks either. We're gonna trust he has more heat in his closet in the form of British Knights and Lottos than the new breed of Foam 'heads.

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49. T.I. f/ Pharrell, "Amazing"

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48. Fashawn, "Sunny California"

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47. G-Unit, "Stunt 101"

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46. A$AP Rocky, "Goldie"

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45. Lil Wayne f/ Rick Ross, "John"

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44. Jay-Z, "S. Carter"

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43. Wu-Tang Clan, "Triumph"

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42. Styles P, "How We Live"

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41. Canibus f/ Panama P.I., "How We Roll"

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40. Kanye West f/ Pusha T, Jadakiss, Big Sean, & Jadakiss, "I Don't Like (Remix)"

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39. Big L, "I Don't Understand It"

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38. Jay-Z f/ Mya, "Best Of Me (Remix)"

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37. Juvenile, "Ha"

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36. DJ Khaled f/ Rick Ross, Drake, Lil Wayne, "I'm On One"

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35. Jay-Z f/ Rihanna & Kanye West, "Run This Town"

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34. Ghostface Killah f/ Jadakiss, "Run"

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33. Jadakiss f/ The Lox & Eminem, "Welcome to D-Block"

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32. Kanye West, Nas, Rakim, & KRS-One, "Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)" Remix

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31. Madvillain, "Meat Grinder"

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Lyrics: "The worst-hated God who perpetrated odd favors/Demonstrated in the perforated Rod Lavers"
Artist: MF DOOM
Track Title: "Meat Grinder"

On his Rod Lavers entry for The 50 Greatest Tennis Sneakers of All-Time list, Adam Leaventon wrote "The Laver was a grown man's shoe too. So whenever I saw it, it was on an older person." It makes sense DOOM refers to it because he's the very representative of grown man shit on Madvillainy. The kiddies weren't getting any hooks or any of that stuff; DOOM was spitting lyrical labyrinths over a hazed-out environment in that ever gritty, husky tone. It's OK to not get the villain. Just make sure you check the Rod Lavers. You're not invited to take those bong hits in the West Coast anyways.

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30. Jay-Z f/ Foxy Brown, "Ain't No Nigga"

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29. Wale, "W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E."

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28. Kanye West f/ Big Sean, Pusha T, & 2 Chainz, "Mercy"

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27. Ice Cube, "Steady Mobbin"

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26. Viktor Vaughn, "Saliva"

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25. Jay-Z, "What More Can I Say"

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24. Clipse, "Grindin"

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23. The Notorious B.I.G., "Suicidal Thoughts"

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22. Jay Electronica, "Exhibit C"

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21. Boogie Down Productions, "Word From Our Sponsor"

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20. Nas, "The World is Yours"

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20. The Notorious B.I.G., "Hypnotize"

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18. Compton's Most Wanted, "I Gots ta Get Over"

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17. Kanye West & Jay-Z, "N***as In Paris"

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16. Kanye West, "Everything I Am"

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15. Nelly f/ St. Lunatics, "Air Force Ones"

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14. Raekwon f/ Ghostface Killah, Masta Killah, & Blue Raspberry, "Glaciers of Ice"

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13. The Game f/ 50 Cent, "Hate It or Love It"

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12. Kanye West f/ Ghostface Killah & Pusha T, "New God Flow"

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11. A Tribe Called Quest, "Buggin' Out"

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Lyrics: "I sport New Balance sneakers to avoid a narrow path"
Artist: Phife Dawg
Track Title: "Buggin' Out"

New Balance kicks are known for their comfort, how they're made in wide sizes, and their propensity for causing spiritual/lyrical enlightenment. OK, that last part isn't entirely true, but it might as well be if the Five-Foot Assassin shouted them out in one if his best verses on The Low End Theory. Dawg does name drop Nike later in the song ("Once again a case of your feet in my Nikes"), but the New Balance reference stands out more because it sums up ATCQ's album in an abstract sense. The Low End Theory had this centralized sound, but it was somehow able to avoid that narrow path. Its influence is universal.

10. Slick Rick & Doug E. Fresh, "La-Di-Da-Di"

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Lyrics: "Threw on the Bally shoes and the fly green socks"
Artist: Slick Rick
Track Title: "La-Di-Da-Di"

You have to be a stickler for detail if you're going to be the greatest storyteller in rap history. Anybody could throw on a pair of Ballys, but the freshest of the fresh has to have the socks to stand out. It's the perfect way to round of an appearance that includes an eyepatch, Oil of Olay, and gold teeth. Don't forget that Kangol, either.

Plus, Slick Rick actually knows how to rock a pair of Ballys if you couldn't tell by the album cover.

9. Craig Mack f/ The Notorious B.I.G., Busta Rhymes, Rampage, & LL Cool J, "Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)"

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Lyrics: "I'm straight rap great, busting heads, straighten dreads/I'm everlasting, like the toe on Pro Keds"
Artist: Craig Mack
Track Title: "Flava In Ya Ear" (Remix)

This is one of the greatest sneaker references not because of the line itself but how crazy ironic it is. A verse earlier, Biggie literally had just killed Mack's career. So much for being everlasting. Also even though PRO-Keds aren't as popular nowadays, one can't deny its clean, aesthetic look. Mack's face looks the exact opposite.

8. Kanye West f/ Syleena Johnson, "All Falls Down"

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Lyrics: "Sophomore three years, ain't picked a career/She like fuck it I'll just stay down here and do hair/Cause that's enough money to buy her a few pairs of new Airs/Cause her baby daddy don't really care"
Artist: Kanye West
Track Title: "All Falls Down"

For this woman, sneakers are more of a short-sided substitute for self-realization. The "fuck it" lets the listener know those Airs aren't an actual prize in the long run. It suggests she finally succumbed to materialism: "Single black female addicted to retail."

7. Ghostface Killah, "Apollo Kids"

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Lyrics: "A pair of bright phat yellow Air Max/Hit the racks stack 'em up/Son $20 off no tax"
Artist: Ghostface Killah
Track Title: "Apollo Kids"

Woah, stop the record. You're saying someone is selling those yellow Air Maxes $20 off? With no tax? Even Ghostface knows a good deal when he sees one. In "Apollo Kids," Tony Starks had just high-fived Kojak, got domed off in a drive-thru, and forced foes to crawl up into their granny's bed out of fear (you know, typical Ghostface stuff). The fact Air Maxes are still pretty high up on the priority list is a testament to how great the sneakers are.

Which makes what happens later in the verse all the more tragic: "Heavy rain fucked my kicks up/Wasn't looking splashed in the puddle/Bitch laughing, first thought was beat the bitch up." Even Ghost Dieni goes through the same sneaker struggles we face.

6. Nas, "Halftime"

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Lyrics: "I drop jewels, wear jewels, hope to never run it/with more kicks than a baby in her mother's stomach"
Artist: Nas
Track Title: "Halftime"

We're pretty positive Nas didn't actually sit down and count how many times a baby kicks his/her mother's stomach, just like how we're sure Nas didn't snuff Jesus when he was 12. But nine months is ample time to get quite a few kicks in, and Nas probably rocked the freshest back in his day. This wouldn't be the last time Escobar expanded on his fetal knowledge.

5. Beastie Boys, "Shadrach"

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Snippet:
Lyrics: "More adidas sneakers than a plumber's got pliers"
Artist: Beastie Boys
Track Title: "Shadrach"

Paul's Boutique gained legendary status for its inventive production, as well as it's being a masters-level class in shit talk. Something that's covered in Playing the Dozens 101 is that you have to drop those culture references, especially fashion ones. If you're gonna say your year is "good just like Goodyear's tires," one would assume that you'd have at least a few kicks. The Beasties say screw just a few. They're gonna look into their plumber's toolbox and one-up him. Swag naturally comes with such ambition.

4. 2Pac f/ Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman, "California Love"

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Snippet:
Lyrics: "In L.A. we wearing Chucks not Ballys"
Artist: 2Pac
Track Title: "California Love"

California hospitality at its finest. 2Pac and friends have no need for those bougie Ballys, especially since they were celebrating Pac's return from jail. Give them some Chucks and some khakis, and everything will be all right on the West Coast

3. A Tribe Called Quest f/ Consequence, "Motivators"

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Snippet:
Lyrics: "You couldn't converse if you had fucking React Juice."
Artist: Phife Dawg
Track Title: "Motivators"

In the mid-90s, Converse was producing a line of basketball sneakers containing React Juice. This React Juice, held inside of a bubble underneath the sneaker, would move to the area of the foot that needed the most support to encourage optimal performance. Which means if you had React Juice and you were still struggling against Phife Dawg, it may be time for another job.

This line does have a new meaning years later. The React Juice line had to be recalled because the bubbles would break and leak liquid all over the court. Basically, when you think you should have the upper hand on Phife, he's still going to catch you slipping. ZING!

2. Nas, "Street Dreams"

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Snippet:
Lyrics: "I thought Jordans and a gold chain was living it up"
Artist: Nas
Track Title: "Street Dreams"

Along with being one of the greatest storytellers in all of rap, Nas was also able to portray a cold sense of nihilism in some his verses. This line, where he describes a street hustler ambitions, is one example. Drug trafficking, violence, and the corruption of the soul is done for kicks and chains. There's more to life than this, obviously, but this materialism is all a kid growing up in the ghetto knows. This is what street dreams are made of, folks.

1. Run-D.M.C., "My adidas"

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Snippet:
Lyrics: Entire Song
Artist: Run-D.M.C.
Track Title: "My adidas"

You guys probably remember that adidas commercial from a while back with Big Sean and Nicki Minaj. It has them cavorting along the streets of Paris, Tokyo, New York, Chicago, and Rio de Janeiro with all sorts of colorful outfits and people. It's all cute, but cutedoesn't exactly hold a candle to the iconic status Run-D.M.C. pushed the brand toward in the '80s.

The trio's representation of the brand went beyond style. Run-D.M.C. transformed shelltoes into a statement — almost a symbol of machismo that happened to have that swag. Once you put on those adidas you're doing the "illest things," which ranges from (but not limited to): stomping out diamond ring-clad pimps, rocking the beat, or just chillin'. Shoelaces aren't required

"My Adidas" was so good that it actually broke new ground for hip-hop, without even creasing the kicks. adidas ended up giving Run-D.M.C. an endorsement deal, which was a first for a hip-hop artist. It's a business, man.