A social media sneaker critique spilled into an in-person confrontation Saturday at ComplexCon in Las Vegas.
During the convention’s “Sneaker of the Year” discussion, rapper and panel member Lil Yachty addressed a recent Instagram video shared by industry veteran Brandon “Bimma” Williams, who was in the audience. The rapper’s expletive-laced rant lasted nearly seven minutes and was rooted in Williams’ criticisms of Lil Yachty’s upcoming Air Force 1 collaboration.
“It’s like bro, every shoe don’t gotta be fifty f**king colors,” Lil Yachty said. “I wanted to do some real calm, sexy s**t. Like, navy blue is a good-ass color. And white, you feel me?”
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The rapper’s Nike “Us Force 1” Air Force 1 collaboration, which is branded with the logos of his Concrete Boys group rather than his own, has received flack from Williams and other social media users for what they perceive as an overly simplistic design reminiscent of Nike’s widely available general release colorways. In his original video shared Nov. 13, Williams plays off of the rapper’s “Lil Boat” nickname, using several puns to dissect the collaboration.
“Let’s talk about why Lil Boat’s Uptowns probably should have stayed docked,” Williams said. “Look, after a year of unwanted white-on-white Air Force 1 collabs, these just feel like a general release. Maybe throw these overboard.”
Williams, who has parlayed his industry experience into his own collaboration marketing platform, said he believed Lil Yachty’s “It’s Us” branding was too similar to Kith’s “Just Us” mantra. Williams also questioned the rapper’s authenticity as “one of hip-hop’s biggest sneakerheads,” citing a story where Lil Yachty admitted to being unfamiliar with Jay-Z’s music.
“This is my thing, right?,” Lil Yachty said during Saturday’s panel. “I hate when people act as if all shoes must be like this…I don’t even understand. Everyone has their own take on a sneaker, so if I wanted to make an Air Force and I want it to be white and blue, if you don’t like it, that’s cool.”
Aesthetic aside, what Lil Yachty seemed to take exception with most was Williams questioning his personal ties to hip-hop and sneaker culture.
The profanity-laden clips circulated on numerous social media accounts Saturday, and Williams took to his own @bimmawilliams Instagram Monday to respond. Once again using nautical puns and Jay-Z references, Williams ran through his resumé and addressed the tense situation.
“There’s a difference between hate and a critique,” Williams said in the Monday response. “The latter is a gift and in return, you try to reduce me to a hater…and even though ya’ll tried to have standing up there silently, I didn’t need a mic because the community stood with me.”
Lil Yachty’s Concrete Boys x Nike Air Force 1 Low “Us Force 1” collaboration will be released first on Nov. 20 followed by a global release on Dec. 2. Retail pricing has not been confirmed.
