Kanye, Nas, KRS, Rakim honor Air Force Ones

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno

      Last night Nike celebrated the 25^th Anniversary of their Air Force Ones at New York’s Gotham Hall with performances from Nas, Kanye West, Rakim and KRS-One along with legendary producer Rick Rubin. The four rappers and producer also made an original track for the celebration and performed live last night.

      "Those that know the history of KRS-One’s recordings will recall a song called ‘Advance.’ We signed to this label to put this single out, and what I remember was the advance, what came back from signing this contract was a pair of Air Force Ones," KRS said regarding his love for the shoe. "You know, believe it or not, we were satisfied. We got a fresh pair of Air Force Ones and it was dope. I rhymed, and I got a fresh pair of Air Force Ones. The mentality was that my rhymes bring value. And the point was that Air Force Ones had value."

      At the celebration there were over 1,040 unique pairs of Air Force Ones, assembled from the Nike archives and key collectors attending the celebration. Nike also announced that the new Air Force 25 (which was on display as well) will hit store shelves in 2007. Fans will also be able to catch the live performance and part of the celebration on MTV sometime in January.