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Nelly, Air Force Ones, and the Song That Put St. Louis on the Map

Nelly, Air Force Ones, and the Song That Put St. Louis on the Map

— The Closet Inc.
Tagged: Air Force 1 history Country Grammar era fashion cultural-history Culture & Heritage Nelly Air Force Ones Nike Nike AF1 cultural impact Nike Air Force 1 07 WB (CJ9179-002) — classic white-on-white regional hip-hop fashion St. Louis sneakers St. Louis streetwear St. Louis Streetwear Stories The Closet Inc.
The Closet Inc. looks at how the Air Force 1 became the unofficial sneaker of St. Louis — and why the city had been wearing it for a decade before anyone outside the 314 knew the shoe existed. Most sneakers become regional uniforms long after the brand notices. The Air Force 1 did the opposite: it was the sneaker of St. Louis first, and the rest of the country caught up a decade later. In 2000, Nelly put the shoe on the radio with "Air Force Ones" and the country heard what every kid from the Ville to Pagedale to the Hill had been saying for years — that the AF1 wasn't a sneaker, it was infrastructure. Our latest blog traces how a 1982 basketball silhouette became the most-worn shoe in one American city, and why it's still the same white-on-white on the same sidewalks twenty-five years later.