SHOES

[Verse 1: Lupe Fiasco] Uh, yeah, uh Been standing in line since Thursday I heard a rumor they might be dropping them early Should have 'em just in time for your birthday, irrelevant holiday affair Got one of those three-leg folding chairs I am what you call prepared for the campout Evening brings the battery-powered lamps out Warm clothes but blanket 'case it get cold Corn chips and basic staples to hold Hunger over 'til Uber Eats is ordered Maybe pizza or quesadillas and sopa Got a little cooler with assorted waters and sodas Cinnamon sugar-coated malassada, the odor Makes me the envy of the line If not the enemy, not my energy, I'll be spending plenty of time Inside the books that I bought Got audios and regulars, quite the party goer and reveler Uh-huh, uh-huh [Interlude: Virgil Abloh] So, on today's to-do list is to design a pair of running shoes The goal is as always in my work is to add emotion to inanimate objects, so [Verse 2: Lupe Fiasco] Uh, release day is finally upon us More celebratory than the former But mixed with bittersweet vibes most certainly switched to different beats More policed than Justinian's Byzantinian Christian beliefs There's a risen rhythm you can feel it all in the streets Like a marathon or a parade Poets might wanna pull they pens out like grenades Or, or that model for a year and a half And write down all the tears and the laughs A shot across the bow of the tyrannous class Quote from man standing on float The whole event is just biggest-fan-channeling dope I mean, one just feels privileged and esteemed Inwardly serene and spiritually clean Even the line feels like a team In stark opposition to a competition for things [Interlude: Virgil Abloh] With that, these shoes that we are about to design with words Starts with a sole Not a sole, but soul, you know, what touches you to earth That's floating in nowhere, the soul [Verse 3: Lupe Fiasco] Yeah, uh With touching signs of equality to match White kid at the front let me go first cause I was black Said it was only right He was used to having head starts his entire life Maybe it was time to step aside like trilobites Touching, I never forget it like riding bikes The ordeal starts to spring feelings like guiding light Permanent villains go about chilling they psychic fights Nice, and to a buyer's delight You're limited to two so that means I'm buying them twice One pair to wear, one pair on ice Aftermarket speculation will surely hike up the price Call that all in the plans Feeling like Mike with the ball in my hands Swear to God, it's like the best game he ever played I get to wear the first pair possibly ever made [Interlude: Virgil Abloh] What does that sole look like? It's soft to run on But tough enough to withstand the reality of the ground Or the reality of the context we're living in, that's the soul Let's just call it black [Verse 4: Lupe Fiasco] Uh, yeah I get applause as I step outside the pop-up The shop resembles the unfinished house he was in before they shot us We fell down, then we got up Picked Pac up, picked Nip up This is the type of tripping that scuff kicks up Traditionally creases was a style to refuse But now they represent every mile in your shoes Any mud on your sole gets toweled and removed It's like I'm retracing every trial, know it took strength Giant steps flowers growing out of the footprints Liberation, here's your invitation It's a relay race, continuation Get the baton and keep bringing it back That string theory means we'll keep being attached Last thing, this is something of a sight Even when you take 'em off, they keep running for your life [Outro: Virgil Abloh] You know, can withstand multiple beatings by the ground But it's tough enough to continue on, that's the sole Now there's an upper on top of that sole The upper is made of leather Or maybe knit or maybe both, you know? That sole and that upper combined by stitches Leaves for a dynamic enclosure around the foot There's a tongue, there's even shoelaces You know, those shoelaces, they are literally as elastic as a rubber band But as tough as links of steel, let's call it chain links So, here we have the shoe taking shape There's a logo on the side, fill in the blank with your favorite one They're all man-made, it's all good But this shoe, these Air Ahmauds or these Air Arberys Are starting to take shape now, you know? They connect man and earth, they allow you to run That running is freedom, accelerated heart rate by design through design Air Ahmaud, Air Arbery What color are these shoes? The upper of these shoes Maybe white, maybe black, pick your favorite But, you know, the world's black and white anyways So might as well limit the whole color palette to that Signed, Virgil Abloh, in quotes of course Oh yeah, there's a red zip-tie on this thing, it makes it our own It's tied into a history of art that's now Copyright 2020