Nike Air Force Ones were first released 25 years ago in 1982! Amazing that most sneaker collectors who salivate for these shoes weren’t even born yet let alone wearing them. The Nike Air Force Ones were the first Nike shoes to have a full length air sole. Nike Air Force 1s were originally considered the favored shoe of inner-city youth, then hip hop artists and streetball players. Rapper Nelly and his group, St. Lunatics, collaborated on a 2002 single entitled "Air Force Ones" about the shoes. As a performance shoe, the AF1 is still used for street play as well as for professional play. NBA players Jerry Stackhouse (who now wears Adidas) and Rasheed Wallace have worn AF1s on court. The Nike Air Force One shoes have been a major hit in the hip-hop community. Since their first release early 80s while the popularity of hip-hop grew, so did the Air Force One. Since hip-hop culture was so closely connected to the streets of New York and the basketball scene there, many of the up and coming artists from the streets of Brooklyn rose to the top while wearing the Air Force 1 sneakers.
