Drake’s Air Force 1 sneaker may be Nike’s most basic collaboration ever

Drake is notorious for doing the most. As of late, he’s promoted his anticipated album Certified Lover Boy for eight months via a heart-shaped haircut, and splurged on a custom Chrome Hearts Rolls-Royce Cullinan complete with quilted leather seats and rims engraved with the words “Fuck You.”

Yet Champagne Papi’s next Nike project — a classic Air Force 1 — is anything but flashy. With minimal branding and no dramatic change to the model, the collaborative sneaker barely differentiates itself from the Swoosh’s original version. “Sums up his music perfectly… plain,” writes one Twitter troll.

Simply put — Perhaps taking a page out of Supreme’s playbook, Drake hasn’t touched the Air Force 1’s design — instead, he’s just added his own branding. The sneaker’s toe cap now features miniature hearts instead of dots (surely a nod to Certified Lover Boy) while “Love you forever” is written out in a raised cursive font on the shoe’s rubber midsole. Besides those sappy details, Drake has left the AF1 alone: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

It’s unclear whether the shoes are considered part of the artist’s NOCTA sublabel — which recently teased its own Nike model, the Hot Step Air Terra — or if the Air Force 1s align with Drake himself as part of his Certified Lover Boy merch. The loved-up theme seems to suggest the latter, although Aubrey is subject to be in his feels whenever.

With Drake finally confirming a time frame for the release of his upcoming album — “by the end of summer,” he says — the Air Force 1s will likely drop simultaneously. Despite its plainness, the design is guaranteed to sell out thanks to the huge name behind it (Drake’s, not Nike’s).

Drip like Drake — As one of Nike’s biggest supporters — even going so far as to photoshop Adidas’s logo out of pictures — Drake has made it clear how proud he is to rep the brand through his NOCTA sublabel and Jordans. A collaborative Air Force 1 release seems fitting for the rapper considering he once called the shoe a part of his “uniform.”

While the “Love you forever” note on the sneaker could be a nod to one of Drake’s past loves, “Take Care” style, it’s likely meant for the rapper’s longest and most cherished relationship: The one between him and the Swoosh. “This opportunity is something that I’ve been waiting on for a really long time,” Drake said of his partnership with Nike — good thing he used all that time to brainstorm his revolutionary Air Force 1.