It's been a subject of much discussion in ye olde blogosphere that Lupe Fiasco loves his sneakers. He's been heavily featured on this Summer's touring Sneaker Pimps tour, and long before his first single was getting heavy spins on the radio and MTV he had inked a lucrative deal with Reebok to produce three colorways of his signature "O.G." shoe.

However, keen observers of the kicks scene were perhaps right to think that something was a bit strange about that partnership. Not only are Reebok's not a terribly hot property amongst the footwear cognosenti, but at the press launch for the shoe, Fiasco was quoted as saying the John Lennon "Imagine" All Stars by Converse were his favorites of all time.

Then came a blogland scandal based on rumors that Reebok were deeply upset that the young protoge of Kanye West and Jay Z was playing an event in Chicago sponsored by rival sneaker company Puma. While no official word of any fallout from the alleged flap was ever made public, it nevertheless contributes to a growing sense that perhaps that endorsement deal was not all it was cracked up to be.

Now that Fiasco's EMERGE-approved debut album Food And Liquor is finally slated to come out in mid-September, it's curious that the promo materials such as this poster show the gifted emcee and design-afficionado rocking not Reeboks but still another pair of Chuck Taylors.

What is the deal? EMERGE wants to know.

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