The year was 1993. Tupac Shakur walked into the Soul Train Music Awards wearing a dark denim jacket, matching denim jeans, and a fresh new pair of wheat-nubuck Timberland boots. The year is 2016. Margit Herrmann walks into Ames High school wearing an army green jacket, dark-wash skinny jeans, and a fresh new pair of wheat-nubuck Timberland boots. Does this seem strange to you?

Timberland boots have been a staple of hip-hop culture footwear since Biggie rocked ’em in the way back. Since then, rappers from T.I. to D.M.X. to Drake to Future to Jay-Z to Kanye to Big Sean to Macklemore to Rich Homie Quan to literally everybody has been wearing them.

However, while examining the winter footwear donned by Ames’ female population this year, I noticed a large amount of wheat-nubuck Timberland boots. It took me by surprise to see the boots being worn by a demographic so far removed from the stage-rockers that have been wearing them for quite a long time.

Of course I’m sure that white girls have had Timberland boots before this winter. I don’t think that they all rushed out to buy a pair. But I definitely think that some of them did. It’s interesting to notice the cultural synthesis that takes place so quickly and efficiently in the modern age of massive mass media, and I wonder what hip-hop cultural icon will be the next one to diffuse to the white girl population of Ames. Gold teeth and face tattoos? Fake dreads and Jordan 6’s? Will Starbucks begin hosting rap shows?

Probably.