Kanye West's 10 Most Surprising Sneaker Moments

If you were in a drunken slumber from the Knicks post-season exit you might have missed the craze behind Kanye West’s "Saturday Night Live" appearance. Not only was the music building plenty of talk on social media but ‘Ye’s sneaker cameo had the internet going nuts. This isn’t the first time, Yeezus has had the people talking — it seems like anytime people unleash our generation's Michael Jackson on the masses, he is bound to embed another pop culture moment in our minds for eternity. In case you need a reminder or you are new to the game we decided to put together Kanye West's 10 Most Surprising Sneaker Moments. Hit the jump to check them out and let us know which one is your favorite.

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Date: 2/2005

Before Kanye's craziest dreams of taking over Nike, he was forced to rock other artist's Swoosh collabs. Geoff McFetridge hit the nail on the head with his take on the Vandal. The tear-away (or burn-away) pinstriped first layer was pioneering and the teeth on the heeltab were subtle. And while Vandal madness was short-lived, this makeup stands the test of time thanks in part to Kanye donning them in our pages.

Date: 1/2007

When your passports on pimpin’ and you are frequently heading to Tokyo to hang out with artistic masterminds like Takashi Murakami and Nigo, you might get a few perks. When Bape was at the height of the streetwear game, the brand cooked-up a Dropout Bear version of the its iconic Bapesta model. We know you love your Air Yeezys but this is really the limited pair of Kanye’s kicks you should be after if you really want to stand out among your peers.

Date: 6/3/2007

Before the Nike x Yeezy rumors had turned to reality and before bulky high-top sneakers had become a must in all sneaker rotations, 2007's Summer Jam — one of the biggest platforms for rappers to earn respect in the streets — happened. Mr. West hit the stage killing verse after verse with his perfect blend of streetwear and high-end luxury, including the show-stealing, all-red Japanese sneakers. Fakes flooded the market and people were quickly hitting their far East Coast connects trying to get a pair of the Velcro-strapped jawns.

Date: 2008 & 7/1/2012

If you were fortunate enough to catch Kanye’s Glow in the Dark Tour back in ’08 the original Nike Air Yeezy prototype was a staple in his concert uniform. The blogs caught on quick, but we had no clue how much transformation the shoe would go through before the final version hit retail. The prototype was just as sick as the ones we actually got to rock — case in point was ‘Ye breaking them out again last summer while riding around in his new Lamborghini for his birthday.

Date: 2/10/2008

The prototype Air Yeezy surfaced first and then during an energetic and emotional performance of “Stronger” and “Hey Mama” at the 2009 Grammys, sneakerheads caught a glimpse of a sample all-black version of Kanye’s first signature shoe. Nike and Mr. West didn’t stray too far from this version for the retail model, maintaining a similar boot cut and mid-foot strap — forums flooded and the hype went from legit too “good luck getting a pair” in less than five minutes. Name another artist with all that power.

Date: 3/1/2009

At the time most of us were so focused on parts of Amber Rose that Kanye’s kicks got overlooked, but not when he stepped out in a pair of New Balances we had never seen. The United Arrows 997.5 collab has been in our eBay searches for five years and we still have never had a shot. Leave it to Kanye to flip the script even after he got his own shoes.

Date: 1/2009

As if the Nike co-sign wasn’t enough, ‘Ye teamed up with his good friends at Louis Vuitton for not one, not two, but three signature models designed by himself and named after his closest friends. Admit it, when he posted the selfie holding the white pair on Kanye University you were a little mad — mainly because your blogspot brags were never that good and you knew you would never be able to afford a pair, even at retail. Everybody hurts, sometimes.

Date: 2/2011 & 4/18/2011

Kanye hasn’t exactly relied on conventional rollouts for any of his projects, whether it’s his latest single being projected on 66 buildings or his then-upcoming sneaker making the quickest cameo in a Kobe promo. Nice Kicks caught it first and that Saturday morning the internets went crazy at confirmation that Yeezy II season was approaching. Even without a detailed look, hypebeasts were having wet dreams over the kicks and the next year was nothing short of chaos from the Coachella and Paris street spotteds to the actual release date.

Date: 9/16/2011

One of the single greatest sneaker geek moments is when Michael J. Fox went on television to announce that the iconic shoes from Back to the Future II were going to be for sale within hours, and better yet, for charity. The first week a few rappers popped up in pairs, including Kid Cudi, but it was just a matter of time before the fashion-forward artist had them on his feet. The photo came from ‘Ye’s Pyrex partner, Virgil Abloh — showing Mr. West donning a pair at Austin for the City Limits festival the weekend after the Air MAG dropped.

Date: 5/18/2013

Nothing is a secret on Twitter, after checking searches it looked like info was leaking fast that Kanye had something special planed for "Saturday Night Live." Within an hour Mr. West’s whole clique leaked photos of ‘Ye’s all-red Yeezy IIs and a decent look at the cover art for next month's Yeezus album. We are glad the CD is confirmed but we are still impatiently waiting thirsting over the redrum colorway of one of the most hyped shoes of all time.