Throughout their careers, both Kanye West and Jay-Z have looked to expand their business portfolios with various branding partnerships. From Jay’s paid endorsement of Armand de Brignac Ace of Spades Brut Champagne to Kanye’s partnership with Louis Vuitton, both emcees have alined themselves with brands willing to pay for the cultural capital they can lend. It would appear that trend continues as both Kanye and Jay-Z combined for Watch The Throne. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Mercedes Benz most likely supplied the Maybach that was deconstructed and customized in the recently released “Otis” video.
“It isn’t clear how deeply Mercedes was involved in the video’s production, but company spokesmen suggested the video’s producers worked with officials in the company’s German headquarters,” reported Jonathan Welsh via Wall Street Journal’s Speakeasy blog. “West and Jay-Z could not be reached for comment.”
Critics have called out Watch The Throne’s opulence, which has manifested itself lyrically and visually. As the “Otis” video points out, the nearly $400,000 Mercedes Maybach that was featured in the visual will be auctioned off, and all proceeds will be donated towards the East African drought disaster. The full article, which also weighs in on the chances of “Otis” boosting sluggish Maybach sales is available at the Wall Street Journal’s website.

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i guess $elling out is cool now
I guess bitching and crying on all types of websites is cool now.
So it’s okay to drive a Benz, but it’s not okay to get paid to drive a Benz?
Tell me how they are sell outs? Crab in a barrel syndrome, smh
your broke right ….
So it’s immoral and not cool for black men to be ultra-successful and be highly paid, because only white men should be. Damn Jay your not lying about narrowness of black success in America. This why Jay hardly has brothers to break bread with on the top with him.
”Would you rather be overrated or underpaid?”
”Uh, like you work that hard to stay the same.”
Those old rappers are BROKE NOW lol. Blacks are less educated so gotta work hard to earn money, you understand?
…….full
Fucking blacks.
look at the haters. lol. these niggas is winning
they mad aint they? lol….gotta luv it
damn kaney is wealthy he has 16 million thats crazy this what happens when you have a dream
keep going kaney
I’d like to see those rappers, who claim themselves richest, destroy Maybach or Buggatis like this couple do. I bet they never can, since all cars they ride are rented.
#RickRoss
#GucciMane
#YoungJeezy
#LilWayne
#Drake
#NickiMinaj
#Plies
FAIL LOL
dont forget birdman, the guy who brags about his money more than anyone
Damn! What a life. Jay Z is da man!
.I think if the brand bring in Kanye nd Jay and also some innovative idea ppl to help draft new car designs try build it over again, you can definetly make some progress, Cuz I dont think just bringing in a cultural force like those guys to get ya brand popular. You want to see consistent growth of the brand and that means re-working and approving new designs. Kanye and Jay would only inflate the actual value of the Maybach. I still like the car, got the nice hint of classic and modern feel.
MMMMMM–MAYBACH MUSIC (DROP) LOL