How an Arkansas couple’s Nikes wound up as Kendrick Lamar cover art

An Arkansas couple was trying to sell an old pair of Air Force 1’s on eBay last month when the promo image for the shoes ended up as cover art on one of rapper Kendrick Lamar’s recent songs. Now, the owners want to capitalize on the moment by auctioning them off on eBay.
For Billy Lingo, the Nike’s were just some sneakers he had lying around his home, but to Lamar, they seemingly were the muse for a new record.
“It’s just one of those situations, one in a billion of him picking our picture,” Lingo, of North Little Rock, said about Lamar using his sneakers for the song.
Lingo and his partner of 19 years, Darla Wilson, became aware of Lamar’s untitled song when it dropped on the Grammy award-winning rapper’s social media pages on Sept. 11. Lingo and Wilson had sold the shoes for $70 the same day Lamar dropped the song, but once other eBay sellers began blowing up the couple’s phones later that evening, they canceled the initial buyer’s order.
“We printed off the (shipping) label and everything,” Lingo, 59, told USA TODAY on Friday during a phone interview.”It’s just business, it’s not personal.”
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Lingo and Wilson, who have run the “Good2BYou” eBay account since 2021, have been together for 19 years and are still recovering after their home recently burned down.
“It’s been a busy year,” Lingo said.
Although the couple’s eBay rating took a hit when they reversed the sale, the shoes continue to attract buyers who may be fans of Lamar’s and the song he dropped with over 3 million likes on Instagram. The release of the song also came days after the 37-year-old was announced as the Super Bowl 59 halftime performer.
Lingo, who said he has been a fan of hip-hop dating back to Grandmaster Flash and Rapper’s Delight, acknowledged that he did not know much about Lamar. Now, since his eBay listing went viral and he heard Lamar’s recent song, he has become quite familiar with the “Not Like Us” rapper.
“Whenever God gives you a situation like this, the sin is not taking advantage of it to the fullest of your ability without hurting anybody,” Lingo said. “(Lamar) has been a blessing!”
It is unclear why Lamar used Lingo’s shoes for his song’s cover art. The Arkansas couple did attempt to contact the rapper’s reps but did not receive a reply.
The Nike Air Force 1’s had been listed on their account for a little over a year before Lamar used them as cover art, according to the Lingo. Now the couple plans sell the shoes during their first-ever auction on eBay, which he said could be this week or next week depending on how much interest there is.
“I’m not greedy,” Lingo said. “I might be a capitalist.”
Until the couple figures out when they want to hold the auction, they are selling t-shirts with the viral picture of shoes printed on them.
“I’m trying to make the best out of the situation that seemed to come my way,” Lingo said. “They look good on a shirt.”
Friends of the couple told them to keep the shoes, but since Lingo is close to retiring from his insurance job, he is OK with letting them go for the “right price.”
“This is not going to happen to me again, I guarantee you that, so I got to try to maximize it,” Lingo said.