You may have forgotten about Apple's tiny, wireless iPod-linked in-shoe pedometer, the Nike+, but the runners who've chalked up 100 million miles haven't. And neither has Nike--it just partnered with De La Soul to release a new albumAre You In?: Nike+ Original Run is the group's first original material in five years, and it's going to be an iTunes exclusive. Seeing one of hip-hop's most influential acts drop its latest tracks on marathoners is certainly unexpected. Is it a sign of desperation, or smarts?

The press release doesn't make much of a case for the smarts: it's filled with terrible marketing cliches. The band is "psyched" to provide some "sonic fuel" to get "bodies moving." The partnership with Nike isn't exactly new for the band--they've previously designed signature versions of the Dunk SB shoe, and performed at Nike events. This was a natural extension: "When an opportunity presents itself, and it's challenging, it's tasteful and it actually opens doors to new listeners, a new audience, we're up for it," is how founding member David Jude Jolicoeur (aka Trugoy the Dove) put it. (READMORE)