Kendrick Lamar’s star power has reached an all-time high. Earlier this month, he once again captivated the rap world by dropping an untitled track on Instagram, just days after announcing he would headline Super Bowl 59. The cover art for the song features an image of worn-out black Nike Air Force 1s, aligning with the aesthetic of his previous artwork for “6:16 in LA” and “Meet the Grahams,” though the story behind the shoes remains unknown.
A new twist emerged recently: the image of the shoes comes from an eBay listing by Billy Lingo and Darla Wilson, a couple from North Little Rock, Arkansas, selling under the username “Good2BYou.” The internet had already identified the source as eBay, but the account owners were only revealed now.
Local news station THV11 interviewed the couple about the unexpected attention. Wilson recalled selling the shoes for $70 on a September night, only to cancel the order once they realized Lamar had used the image for his song. Lingo, sporting a shirt with the shoes’ picture, admitted he didn’t know much about Lamar until recently, though his kids had told him about the rapper.
Now, the couple is auctioning the shoes with a starting bid of $5,000, or a “Buy It Now” price of $75,000 or $100,000. Although there are no bids yet, they remain hopeful someone will jump at the chance to own a piece of rap history when the auction ends this Sunday, Sept. 29, at 1:00 a.m.
