Jay-Z Leads Boycott Against Cristal

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RACIALISM PT. 72

ahttp://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.4217

Jay-Z has taken the first step in boycotting the popular Cristal champagne drink by removing it from his 40/40 nightclub, after the ‘racist’ comments made in The Economist magazine by Louis Roderer courtesy of Cristal’s managing director, Frederic Rouzaud.

Last week, it was revealed that Rouzaud was unimpressed that the high market champagne had become popular with hip hop stars, calling the regular name-checks ‘unwelcome attention’.

“We can’t forbid people from buying it,” told Rouzaud. “I’m sure Dom Perignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business.”

His comments infuriated the Def Jam President, who has ordered its removal from his 40/40 sports club/restaurant.

“It has come to my attention that the managing director of Cristal, Frederic Rouzaud views the ‘hip hop culture’ as ‘unwelcome attention’,” said Jay-Z.

“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.”

The likes of Jay-Z, P. Diddy, and a whole host of other rappers have been supporting the upscale beverage since the late '90s, often including the name in their lyrics.

― Confounded (Confounded), Friday, 16 June 2006 16:48 (nineteen years ago)

fuckin french.

― Bea Arthur - Lost COmic GEnius ? (dubplatestyle), Friday, 16 June 2006 16:51 (nineteen years ago)

"first the friggin algerians and now the american CEOs"

― Bea Arthur - Lost COmic GEnius ? (dubplatestyle), Friday, 16 June 2006 16:52 (nineteen years ago)

So what shill are they going to edit into all those old songs in it's place? Pay-pal?

― mummy wrapped in bacon (nickalicious), Friday, 16 June 2006 16:57 (nineteen years ago)

MEZ-CAL

― rentboy (rentboy), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:02 (nineteen years ago)

also where have i been? since when has Jay-Z been President of Def Jam?

― rentboy (rentboy), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:03 (nineteen years ago)

Where HAVE you been?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:09 (nineteen years ago)

So Jay-Z's leading a boycott of a product because a journalist used the term "unwelcome attention" in an article about some random CEO but didn't actually use the term when interviewing him. Well done all involved. I'm sure this totally won't result in Jay-Z helpfully bringing out his own brand of non-racist over-priced fizzy piss in the near future.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:09 (nineteen years ago)

Hooray?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:11 (nineteen years ago)

Anything this can do for PayPal, I'm all for.

― Confounded (Confounded), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:13 (nineteen years ago)

POO -- Rap Song Which Mentions Paypal

I'll take Viktor Vaughn, "Change the Beat". Anyone got another one?

― Pessimist (Pessimist), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:22 (nineteen years ago)

I searched Economist.com and can't find any reference to the article where the supposed offense took place. I tried "cristal", "rouzaud", "roderer" but no luck. Perhaps a hoax?

― o. nate (onate), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:22 (nineteen years ago)

Bea Arthur OTM.

― Hoosteen (Hoosteen), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:28 (nineteen years ago)

I never thought I would say that.

― Hoosteen (Hoosteen), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:28 (nineteen years ago)

Oh wait, I found it through Google:

http://www.economist.com/intelligentlife/luxury/displayStory.cfm?story_id=6905921

I guess the Economist.com search function just sucks.

As Dom points out, the CEO didn't actually use the term "unwelcome attention" - he was more circumspect than that - but apparently not circumspect enough.

― o. nate (onate), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:28 (nineteen years ago)

"That’s a good question, but what can we do? We can’t forbid people from buying it. I’m sure Dom Pérignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business."

To me, that reads "I wish they weren't buying our stuff" while he turns up his nose and implies the competition can have the market share that is lower-class, or criminal, or just unsophisticated. Whatever unstated opinion he has of rappers and such.

― mike h. (mike h.), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:37 (nineteen years ago)

that's because that's pretty much the only way to read that statement....

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:45 (nineteen years ago)

40/40 Club Now Proudly Serves "Freedom Sparkling Wine"

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:47 (nineteen years ago)

"We can't forbid people from buying it - but we wish we could!"

― dmr (Renard), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:49 (nineteen years ago)

how french to turn up your nose at the very people championing your product and giving you free advertisement

actually... how stupid.

― rentboy (rentboy), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:54 (nineteen years ago)

Put in some more context and the quote gets even tamer:

"Asked if an association between Cristal and the bling lifestyle could actually hurt the brand, he replies: “That’s a good question, but what can we do? We can’t forbid people from buying it. I’m sure Dom Pérignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business.”

This could quite easily be interpreted as a attempt to duck the leading question.

And "Racist"? Whatever.

― everything (everything), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:54 (nineteen years ago)

Where does the arrest of Jacob the Jeweller fit into this?

http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1534435/20060615/index.jhtml?headlines=true

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Friday, 16 June 2006 18:02 (nineteen years ago)

Is Jay-Z aware that the American Softball Association has banned backwards ballcaps? BOYCOTT the racists!

― everything (everything), Friday, 16 June 2006 18:05 (nineteen years ago)

You could easily interpret that response as meaning, "What could we do if we did think it was hurting the brand?" Unfortunately, he left the implied "if" clause unspoken.

― o. nate (onate), Friday, 16 June 2006 18:06 (nineteen years ago)

In other words, dumb Frenchies don't understand the difference between "What can we do?" and "What could we do?"

― o. nate (onate), Friday, 16 June 2006 18:07 (nineteen years ago)

BREAKING NEWS: Cristal CEO Announces Plan to "Dress Up Like Cops, Man"

― Pessimist (Pessimist), Friday, 16 June 2006 18:21 (nineteen years ago)

followup article: "Something, Somewhere, Said You Better Not"

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Friday, 16 June 2006 18:25 (nineteen years ago)

BREAKING NEWS: Cristal CEO Announces That His "Worst Color is Light Greene" while his "Favorite Hue is Jay-Z Blue"

― It's Rodney, pimp! (R. J. Greene), Friday, 16 June 2006 18:40 (nineteen years ago)

lol green, goddamn reflex

― It's Rodney, pimp! (R. J. Greene), Friday, 16 June 2006 18:40 (nineteen years ago)

wasn't there some similar timberland controversy a while back, about how the company wasn't thrilled their boots had been adopted as hip-hop gear?

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Friday, 16 June 2006 18:43 (nineteen years ago)

not to mention their annoyance at people walking into shoe stores asking "hey, do you have those boots, you know, like the ones timbaland was wearing."

― mike h. (mike h.), Friday, 16 June 2006 18:48 (nineteen years ago)

is this the sequal to Tommy Hilfiger vs. Hip Hop culture in the late 90's?

― grady (grady), Friday, 16 June 2006 18:49 (nineteen years ago)

Most rappers used to do shout outs to Snapple in the early 90s before everyone found out they were owned by the KKK.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Friday, 16 June 2006 18:54 (nineteen years ago)

The Hilfiger thing was only a rumor.

― It's Rodney, pimp! (R. J. Greene), Friday, 16 June 2006 19:00 (nineteen years ago)

where's ethan?

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 16 June 2006 19:02 (nineteen years ago)

I dunno Loyd. The French are assholes.

― cracker killer (crackerkiller), Friday, 16 June 2006 19:44 (nineteen years ago)

roderer shouldn't have said any of this publicly but i don't think it makes him an asshole or a moron. he obviously doesn't think that hip-hop fans can buy enough cristal to warrant a rebranding of the corporation, even though hip-hop artists are ruining the brand on their own.

i think jay-z is as much an asshole as 'the french,' and i think he's an idiot.

― lf (lfam), Friday, 16 June 2006 19:57 (nineteen years ago)

i don't think jay-z is an idiot.

when i went to paris the french were nice to me.

everything is cool.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Friday, 16 June 2006 20:19 (nineteen years ago)

Hey, remember when Dame Dash got attacked by french pimps?

― It's Rodney, pimp! (R. J. Greene), Friday, 16 June 2006 21:06 (nineteen years ago)

Tina Arena is in the French top 10 this week! Jay-Z has never recorded with Tina Arena. Advantage France.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Friday, 16 June 2006 21:09 (nineteen years ago)

i think jay-z is as much an asshole as 'the french,' and i think he's an idiot.

Heh heh. I just imagine Jay-Z with a beret, spitting at tourists during his 3-month long vacation.

― trees (treesessplode), Friday, 16 June 2006 22:13 (nineteen years ago)

I think the best thing for the zeezer to do would be to buy all the cristal possible and give it to anyone with a cristal tattoo and a police record for hard time. then, request them to rape like hell.

― wes fu (aWESome), Friday, 16 June 2006 22:34 (nineteen years ago)

rape like hell

Am I going to hell for laughing at that?

― Hoosteen (Hoosteen), Friday, 16 June 2006 23:26 (nineteen years ago)

no the Jesus is totally cool with laughs.

― wes fu (aWESome), Saturday, 17 June 2006 00:29 (nineteen years ago)

This is a complete outrage on Cristal's part!

I mean, imagine someone from Rammstein talking to someone in an article passively about their dedicated, loyal nazi fanbase, stating "We're not thrilled about racism, but we can't just tell them to stop buying our albums. I'm sure Skrewdriver would be very happy with their business, however."

Ignore the hip-hop/nazi analogy, which is not my point at all.

Just concentrate on the idea of someone who runs a business who ends up getting a client-base that he/she is not too thrilled with... you may think those reasons for not being thrilled are awful. You may think those reasons are, well, reasonable. But he/she's allowed to have these reasons, and make statements like this, and shouldn't be given the racism card -- based on the above statement alone.

Jay-Z, conversely, has just as much freedom to decide on any random-ass whim to stop supporting Cristal and support other froo-froo centers of viticulture instead, whether his reasons are reasonable or fucked up as well.

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Saturday, 17 June 2006 05:34 (nineteen years ago)

but these guys have so much in common they should jsut cut some kind of deal. And now Cristal can advertise this-a-way...Cristal. It's not just about money anymore. The Champagne for the *really* discriminating...

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Saturday, 17 June 2006 06:01 (nineteen years ago)

Hahaha.

Jay-Z should urge hip-hop to boycott The Economist. Eh? Oh.

The article basically says that Krug felt the same way about Jeffery Archer. Which is quite funny.

― Jamie T Smith (Jamie T Smith), Saturday, 17 June 2006 09:04 (nineteen years ago)

donut, it's impossible to ignore the hip hop/nazi parallel, though! The point is that the Cristal guy finds rappers socially repugnant. If Rammstein made such a statement, no one would be offended except for the neo-nazis, since no one in their right mind likes nazis. I'm in my right mind and I like some of the rap figures who have namechecked Cristal, and I also consider myself capable of living in a sophisticated cultural sphere that could be conceivably in Cristal's preferred market. I'm unlikely to buy it, but if I'm at a social event where it is served, I'd be likely to voice my distaste because of the attitude expressed.

― mike h. (mike h.), Saturday, 17 June 2006 21:31 (nineteen years ago)

Mike, would you like to point out where Rouzaud says he finds rappers socially repugnant, if you can read the article from your high horse? I dunno, maybe you regard viewing things with "serenity" as being equivalent to "repugnance", which is quite a lousy thesaurus you've got if so.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Saturday, 17 June 2006 21:37 (nineteen years ago)

You're right, I'm pretty much extrapolating and exaggerating for effect. If the entire context of the boycott is over the Economist quote then it's an overreaction. The point of the boycott is a reaction against the perceived opinion I mentioned. For all I know, Rouzaud likes hip hop music and thinks that Dom Perignon has more rhymeable syllables, but that wouldn't make much for an ILM thread and that's not how the Economist article framed the quote. Rouzaud hasn't issued a press release claiming the Economist's interpretation of his interview is incorrect, though.

― mike h. (mike h.), Saturday, 17 June 2006 21:44 (nineteen years ago)

I'm not sure where my high horse came in either, since my skills as an equestrian are notably lax and I was just reacting to the lowest common denominator nazi invocation! There's a law of internet conversation here that applies..

― mike h. (mike h.), Saturday, 17 June 2006 21:45 (nineteen years ago)

I would like to star a boycott on Jay-Z and Cristal, since they're both just emblems of ugly capitalist culture.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Saturday, 17 June 2006 21:49 (nineteen years ago)

And for strike three, it's probably just as likely that the purveyors of Cristal are tired of their premium product being popped all over the place in videos and at parties. It's supposed to be an expensive niche product that's a rarity and a delicacy and some jerks are just spewing it all over the place and acting like they drink it all the time without a care why it's a premium product, with things like taste and comparative quality to other champagne ignored. Who cares if a random rich guy has a bottle if a rapper is popping open three or four and diluting the brand value?

― mike h. (mike h.), Saturday, 17 June 2006 21:54 (nineteen years ago)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/09/ScroogeMcDuck_Comic.jpg

― Marmot 4-Tay (marmotwolof), Saturday, 17 June 2006 21:59 (nineteen years ago)

I think that if Cristal don't want to be associated with the guy who made Streets is Watchin, it's perfectly understandable. That movie made me a) respect Jay-Z and b) hate Jay-Z. Hos and parties? I'm down. Petty violence? Uh....

― trees (treesessplode), Sunday, 18 June 2006 05:59 (nineteen years ago)

I'll admit the Rammstein analogy was very hasty... and, mike, you're right that someone being disgusted that neo-nazi's are one's fanbase is FAR different than discovering that 'bling culture' purveyors are one's audience.

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Sunday, 18 June 2006 06:36 (nineteen years ago)

"You can't boycott Cristal. You gotta boycott Crist-al...................scooby-doos"

― It's Rodney, pimp! (R. J. Greene), Sunday, 18 June 2006 07:26 (nineteen years ago)

rodney otm

― Thomas Tallis (Tommy), Sunday, 18 June 2006 13:52 (nineteen years ago)

Christ, since when does Frederic Rouzaud represent EVERY SINGLE FRENCH PEOPLE EVER. Narrow your hate targets, people.

― alex in montreal (alex in montreal), Sunday, 18 June 2006 15:30 (nineteen years ago)

ahttp://www.slate.com/id/2144328

― Confounded (Confounded), Friday, 23 June 2006 10:27 (nineteen years ago)

Erm...Correct me if I'm wrong, but I wasn't aware that 'hip hop culture' was a race. I thought it was a musical movement myself. Nowhere did the guy say I don't want no black people drinking my champagne.The most evidence of racisim I've seen on this thread is targeted at the French.

― babysquid (babysquid), Friday, 23 June 2006 11:09 (nineteen years ago)

babysquid's right, there's no historical or cultural association of hiphop with black people, none whatsoever and where could anybody have gotten that idea, what're you-all getting so excited about

― Thomas Tallis (Tommy), Friday, 23 June 2006 11:13 (nineteen years ago)

I agree that the racism thing is a bit overblown but quite frankly if the manager of a business says of folks that have given him the equivalent of millions of dollars of free advertising "I wish they wouldn't," it's pretty reasonable for said folks to respond with a hearty "fuck you then."

― Eppy (Eppy), Friday, 23 June 2006 13:38 (nineteen years ago)

this story was on NPR the other morning. it said that Cristal claims that the quoute was fabricated and that they have no beef with kay-z or any part of the hip hop community. jay-z isn't buying it and is sticking to his boycott.

the best thing to come out of this story: hearing three jay-z tracks played on npr.

― grady (grady), Friday, 23 June 2006 17:34 (nineteen years ago)

I was listening to EPMD's "Business, Never Personal" this morning. Remember when Moet was the big thing?

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Friday, 23 June 2006 17:36 (nineteen years ago)

Still is--"Got the rolly on my arm and I'm pourin' Chaundon/I roll the best weed 'cause I got it goin' on"

― max (maxreax), Friday, 23 June 2006 20:17 (nineteen years ago)

Moet was a popular drink and it still is.

― M@tt He1geson, Rendolent Ding-Dong (Matt Helgeson), Friday, 23 June 2006 20:31 (nineteen years ago)

I guess they ran out of rhymes for -et, then. Still "I get wreck with the tec with the blunt and moet cause what you see is what you get and what you gettin' is yo aaaaaaassssss kicked!" will live forever in my heart.

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Friday, 23 June 2006 21:00 (nineteen years ago)

Hey if Jay-Z really wanted to get up the mans ass he shoulda kept on drinking that shit rather than boycotting the stuff. the man says he don't want no hip hoppers drinking his fine wine and Jay-Z stop drinking it just like that. Sounds to me like Jay-z is that man's bitch!

― babysquid (babysquid), Friday, 23 June 2006 21:57 (nineteen years ago)

The Miami Heat celebrated their championship with Cristal.

I suspect it's mostly about brand protection. The hip hop/Cribs thing with Cristal is not within the company's control and that probably makes them nervous. I don't know how their overall sales have changed since that fad but even if they're currently booming they fear a bust. Before they could probably count on reliable, consistent sales to a particular demographic. Whether Rouzaud himself is racist the problem for him is if his core consumer is racist. Or just snobbish (want to be the select few who drink it and/or doesn't want to be associated with new buyers they view as nouveau riche) or for whatever reason turns off of the brand. Remember, high end champagne isn't a product where most of its consumers actually care that much (if at all) about the product itself but what that brand announces to others about them. This snob premium enables them to charge the ridiculous price. But the buyers are sheep and might flock to something else. What happens if the hip hop crowd moves on to something else? Their drink could become like the Lacoste shirt and no longer appeal to either its old reliable customers or the masses who read The Official Preppy Handbook.

― Carlos Keith (Buck_Wilde), Friday, 23 June 2006 23:24 (nineteen years ago)

I, personally, drink André.

― max (maxreax), Friday, 23 June 2006 23:57 (nineteen years ago)

'Remember, high end champagne isn't a product where most of its consumers actually care that much (if at all) about the product itself but what that brand announces to others about them.'

I'm sorry but having tried a number of Champagnes including 'high end' products (though not as yet cristal) I'll have to say you get what you pay for. Having siad that I'd have to think very seriously about forking out the extra dough for a bottle of cristal rather than a cheaper wine, 'cos i'd be out of pocket for the rest of the month!

― babysquid (babysquid), Saturday, 24 June 2006 08:38 (nineteen years ago)

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