It’s been a busy month for the viral Nike Air Force 1 sneakers pictured on the cover art for Kendrick Lamar’s newest song.
The untitled song, which has been dubbed “Watch the Party Die” by some outlets, was shared by the rapper Sept. 11 on Instagram and featured an image of a pre-owned pair of black Nike Air Force 1s. It didn’t take long for internet sleuths to discover that the art was from an eBay listing which listed the shoes as “vintage” and sold for $70 the same day. But just when it seemed like the story would end there, the sellers of the sneakers came forward — and upped their asking price.
Billy Lingo and Darla Wilson, who run eBay the account Good2BYou out of North Little Rock, Arkansas, spoke with local affiliate THV11 on Sept. 24.
“What happened was I sold the shoes and I said, ‘Oh, great. I sold a pair of shoes,” Wilson told the station. “So I got them, boxed them up, printed the label. And all of a sudden, my phone was blowing up.”
After realizing they were holding a potential piece of hip-hop history, the sellers canceled the initial sale and relisted the shoes for auction, this time at a starting price of $5,000 with a Buy It Now option of $75,000.
“We had an opportunity put before us, and I’m not a greedy person,” Lingo said. “You know, I’ve got a Buy It Now for $75,000 and I know that’s probably not going to happen, but it could.”
However, as of Sunday, the shoes are no longer available for purchase on the account, which is instead selling T-shirts printed with the cover art.
When reached for comment, the account owners told FN they canceled the most recent auction after experiencing “cyber bullying and harassment” over the listing.
With plans to sell the shoes at a later date, the Air Force 1 owners said competing eBay accounts and e-commerce stores are now selling merchandise with the image, which they say they own.
As for Lamar, it was announced Sept. 8 that he’ll headline the Super Bowl LIX halftime show on Feb. 9, 2025.
