Bigger Than the Game

Since Run-DMC donned their first pair of Adidas sneakers, hip-hop and sports have weaved through each others' histories. And so, as both spheres have grown increasingly profitable and thereby, corporatized, they've synergized to feed off each others' marketing clout. The singularly best example of this trend is rapper/mogul Jay-Z. Once a street hustler who idolized Michael Jordan, he's now a co-owner of the New Jersey Nets and the 40/40 Club (named for the exclusive list of baseball players with 40 home runs and 40 steals in a season), with his own line of Reebok sneakers to boot.