It looks like Adidas is close to a deal to acquire Reebook for approximately $4.4 billion. Their merger would give them 20% percent of the sports footwear and apparel market. Nike is said to have “about a third of the $145 billion worldwide market.”

You know, it’s really crazy the way these three companies have become such a part of hip hop history. With Nelly recently signing with Reebok, the fact that he penned a song about the Air Force 1s is immediately remembered and, of course, any mention of Adidas and hip hop brings My Adidas to mind.

BEATS and RANTS 2.2 has recently been posting on the topic of hip hop marketing and Nike’s relationship to rappers with some interesting quotes from Jim Jones. A related no-holds-barred look at how advertisers view such endorsements with comments from an “advertising pimp” is also worth considering.