Interesting sneaker choice, going with the Huaraches today, Jerry. Internet rumors say you have more than 500 pairs of sneakers.

Jerry Seinfeld: Nobody has 500 of anything.

Wale: I beg to differ.

JS: You have 500 sneakers?

W: Yeah. [Laughs.]

JS: Well, I never had that many.

W: I’ve lost 500 sneakers. I have two sneaker rooms, one in L.A. and one in Jersey. And I have what is essentially a sneaker room in my mother’s house.

JS: Why is it so important? To feel right?

W: I don’t know. White shoes make me happy. Remember? There’s a song on the album called “White Shoes.” On it, Jerry says he was wearing white shoes and a lady stopped him on the street and asked him why he liked white shoes. He said, “I don’t know. They make me happy.” The idea for the record was to call it “White Shoes” because, where we come from, it’s such a vanity thing. That’s the first thing a woman would notice on you, the shoes.

JS: They say you judge a man by his wife, his car, and his shoes. Those three things will tell you everything you need to know him. I got into white sneakers because of Billy “White Shoes” Johnson and Joe Namath. Those were the two guys wearing white in the NFL. All of a sudden, the game had a lot more flair.

Are you familiar with the “normcore” movement?

JS: Mmm hmm. Mmm hmm.

W: What’s that?

It’s stonewashed jeans, basic tops—dad style. It turned into a fashion statement recently, and Jerry is credited as being one of the forefathers.

JS: It’s kind of like, looking bad. My problem is, how do we make sure people know that I’m doing this intentionally? [Laughs.]

Was it funny that something you did in the ’90s came back now?

JS: Kind of funny, but kind of sad that we’re always looking back for a new idea.

W: It goes back to the idea that everything’s been done, essentially.

JS: Well, that’s not true, either.

W: You don’t think so?

JS: Everything’s been done? Then why get up in the morning?

W: Do it different. Find a new way to do something that’s been done.

JS: Or do something that’s never been done.

What’s tougher: to rap on the spot or be funny on the spot?

W: Probably to be funny. Because you gotta play off somebody’s emotions. Being a comedian is probably the most pressure, next to being a quarterback in New York City or something like that.

JS: Yeah. [Laughs.] I do this thing in my show where I say, “I know there’s a lot of people here because somebody wanted to go and you said, ‘If you want to go, I’ll go.’ You didn’t really want to go.” There’s always a lot of,“You want to go, I’ll go” people. So I acknowledge them.

But at this stage in your career, you don’t need to win as many people over as Wale does, right?

JS: I definitely have an advantage. Last night, I went up at a club and people were excited that I was there. And I said, “You’re just excited because you didn’t have to pay for this. And now you have a story and a picture you could show.” But then, I always say, nobody laughs at a reputation. A laugh has a pure, natural beauty to it. You don’t laugh because somebody made you laugh 10 years ago.

This may make you laugh. Wale is obsessed with wrestling. I kind of am, too.

JS: [Laughs.]

W: Stop it!

Jerry, how do you feel about that?

JS: About you two being wrestling fans and me not? I find it entertaining.

Do you guys discuss your wrestling obsession?

W: We talk but Jerry doesn’t understand it.

JS: I understand it!

W: He’s like, “You watch that rubbish?!”

JS: Everything’s rubbish. It’s all rubbish. Whatever you like, you like.

W: I like the rubbish.

JS: You should. If you like it, it makes sense.

W: Thank you, Jerry. You always make me feel better.

JS: I like a lot of stuff that I would never try to explain to somebody else. I saw this video years ago that started me thinking I wanted to do more Internet stuff. A guy made a video because he got new Timberlands. He slowly opens the box, and then—you know the sound that the paper makes? He puts the Timbs on and just walks around. His polished wood floor makes that squeaky sound. You never see him above the ankles. And I’d watch it over and over again. He made a beauty video of when you get your new shoes home and you open the box and you’re going to put them on for the first time. That’s a special moment, right? I like people who say, “Let’s just do something with this moment.” A forgotten moment. A meaningless moment. I probably can’t get you into that, but you understand?

W: I get it, yeah. I totally get it.

JS: I like the tissue paper of the shoe box.

W: Respect. [Laughs.] I think [wrestling’s] a little more fascinating, but you probably think shoe opening is more fascinating. I’m going to Google the Timberland man.

JS: You can’t find it anymore. I tried. And they were blue.

W: Blue Timberlands! Gotcha.