One day last fall, while I used to be in school at Howard University, I felt a bit uneasy about the work that several of my students had become me. I don’t have to go into detail, but let’s just say I felt something like — RIP to Rich Homie Quan. My class felt it, so I closed the class and let everyone leave early. Anyway, I showed as much as my next class wearing triple-black (otherwise often known as all-black) Nike Air Force 1 Lows. One of my students, who can also be a sneakerhead, noticed my shoes and said something like, “Oh, what era are we in?” I began lecturing my class about how kindness is weakness and that they were confusing my desire for them to succeed with my willingness to just accept mediocre work. Although it wasn’t a fun class that day, all of us got here away with a clearer understanding of my expectations and their efforts. I had shown the black energy of the Air Force 1, they usually knew it.

The black Air Force 1 is a legend in the footwear industry. While the all-white Nike Air Force 1 Low is a beloved shoe worn by people from ages 8 months to 80 years old, when people think of its black counterpart, they think of sinister, mean, indignant, and destructive behavior. Anyone who wears black Forces just isn’t committing against the law, but anyone who does commit against the law is wearing (or has worn) black Forces. That last statement might be not true, however it could thoroughly be true. Black Forces are synonymous with the type of one who is above things and living that life; either they’ll show you that they’re serious, or they already are and you understand you shouldn’t mess with them anymore. The black Air Force 1 is the shoe of a one who stands as much as the system and every little thing in it.

That’s why I wasn’t surprised when Kendrick Lamar posted an untitled single on Instagram (the streets call it “Watch the Party Die”), which featured a worn, battered black Air Force 1 cover. It’s Kendrick Lamar’s first song since his summer heater and potentially the best diss album of all time, “Not like us.” The shoes in the Instagram post could thoroughly be the ones he stomped on Drake’s credibility and coolness; Kendrick’s entire record series criticizing Drake’s post “Yes,” gave the black Air Force 1 energy.

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The song itself is interesting since it almost feels like the thoughts of a man walking down the street whose favorite shoe is a pair of black Air Force 1s. Kendrick is sick of, well, all of you. Maybe even me. He’s annoyed by fake individuals and folks who haven’t got anything to do with anything, men here who don’t have anything to supply women there. Now he’s a considering man who’s on a mission to destroy and rebuild the game because, well, possibly he seems like he’s the just one who can do it. That’s definitely the black energy of the Air Force 1.

He can also be conflicted. He desires to have empathy for those individuals who just don’t appear to know any higher. He wants to wish for them, but… he’s wearing black Air Force 1s. He’s about motion and pushing boundaries for many who matter most to him. He also knows that the price of his fame, celebrity, and artistry is his peace of mind. The same con artists who’re a threat to the community through their music and their lives will attack him because he has something to supply.

Again, Kendrick feels like a person whose job and actions are about purpose and getting the job done, and he’s stuck in an industry full of individuals who care about nothing but destruction. He needed to get rid of Drake for being the epitome of that thing. Look, I do not know if that is what Kendrick actually thinks about every day when he goes into the studio (or in any respect), but when we later discovered he’s rapping in the same shoes he’s wearing on the cover of this song, I wouldn’t be surprised. This is a person who has every little thing, and who also knows what meaning. That’s what I got from this song: Kendrick, who may or might not be on the point of drop a brand new album — he tends to drop songs as precursors to his albums — is drained of everyone.

Now I can be remiss if I didn’t mention that Kendrick is an artist and he just competed in and won the biggest rap battle we have had in ages. He’s having the best 2024 ever, it seems. AND NOW he’s a Super Bowl headliner in New Orleans. But I feel that is the point; regardless of how high you’re, you possibly can’t stop being yourself, and Kendrick is willing to place that work into all of you who’re making the game worse for many who are coming up.

Kendrick says it is time to look at the party die. I’m guessing he’ll do it in his black Air Force 1s because that is 100% the energy he’s giving.