In a statement made Thursday, Jay-Z, responded to comments made by Frederic
Rouzaud, the managing director of Louis Roderer Cristal. The
comments were made in a special summer edition of The Economist. The
affinity from the hip-hop crowd labeled Cristal as the bubbly of choice
for lavish lifestyles. The gold labeled bottle has made its mark from
music videos to after parties and nightclubs. Jay-Z , the now
president and chief executive officer or Def Jam Records, decided
to boycott the bottle based on Rouzaud’s comments.
In The Economist article, Rouzaud described his company’s view of
the affection from rappers and their fans with “curiosity and
serenity.” When asked for a possible connection between the hip hop
lifestyle and Cristal, Rouzaud responded, That’s a good question, but
what can we do? We can’t forbid people from buying it. I’m sure Dom
Perignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business.”
Jay-Z , who is also a co-owner in the 40/40 Club empire, said he
would pull Cristal from his business, sports lounges – as well as from his
personal flutes. Jay-Z said “It has come to my attention that
the managing director of Cristal, Frederic Rouzaud views the `hip-hop’
culture as ‘unwelcome attention, I view his comments as racist and will no
longer support any of his products through any of my various brands including
the 40/40 Club nor in my personal life.”
In Rouzaud’s defense, the words ‘unwelcome attention’ were those of
the writer and not himself. Jay-Z will replace the popular brand
with Krug and Dom Perignon. The writer of the article, Gideon
Rachman also said about Krug and Dom Perignon, “Both have had
their share of unwelcome attention, too.”
Jay-Z spokesman Ron Berkowitz said the problem was still prevalent.
“They’re trying to distance themselves from the hip-hop
community,” Berkowitz said. “The hip-hop world
certainly helped elevate the presence of Cristal. At the end of the day isn’t
the goal for any company to sell bottles?”
