“My motto, stack rocks like Colorado/Auto off the champagne, Cristal’s by the bottle” -Jay-Z
Frederic Rouzaud, managing director of Louis Roederer, the company that produces high-end champagne, Cristal, told The Economist he found rappers fascination with the product, “curious.”
Asked by the magazine if the association between Cristal and the “bling lifestyle” could be detrimental, Rouzaud replied, “That’s a good question, but what can we do? We can’t forbid people from buying it.”
Multiplatinum rapper and chief executive officer of Def Jam Records, Jay-Z, is not pleased.
“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 response to the boycott, Louis Roederer said in a statement:
“A house like Louis Roederer would not have existed since 1776 without being totally open and tolerant to all forms of culture and art, including the most recent musical and fashion styles which — like hiphop — keep us in touch with modernity.”
[UPDATE] Jason Kottke, blogger par excellence, believes it’s not racism, but cultural distance that caused the conflagration.
