Jay-Z: Cristal Chief's Comments "Racist"

Tweet

Jay-Z's 40/40 Club in New York City will no longer be serving Cristal champagne. Hova's decision to boycott hip-hop's favorite beverage is a reaction to comments made by Frederic Rouzaud, the managing director of Louis Roderer Cristal, who told The Economist that he approached rappers' constant name-checking of the brand "with curiosity and serenity" and went on to say, "What can we do?" when asked if association with the rap lifestyle could hurt the brand. Rouzaud also said, "I'm sure Dom Perignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business." Jay-Z responded by saying, "I view his comments as racist and will no longer support any of his products through any of my various brands." The 40/40 Club will now be exclusively carrying Dom Perignon and Krug as its high-end champagnes. This morning Roederer responded to the rapper's comments by releasing this 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 hip-hop -- keep us in touch with modernity." Uh-huh.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'This Is the End' Brings the Goods
• 
  TV The Women of 'Mad Men'
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“V.T.T.L.O.T.F.D.G.F.”

Fishbone | 1985

Quite a few musicians have utilized initials for song titles -- Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T.," Abba's "S.O.S.," Donald Fagen's "I.G.Y.," etc. But the more curiously initialed tune has to be "V.T.T.L.O.T.F.D.G.F.," short for "Voyage to the Land of the Freeze-Dried Godzilla Farts." Fishbone's original guitarist, Kendall Jones, explained to Rolling Stone, "When Norwood [Fisher] wrote it, he introduced it to the band saying, 'Man, I've been hearing about all these Nazi right-wing groups on the news saying the Holocaust was staged. So what if America said it never dropped two atom bombs on Japan, that it was actually Godzilla popping a couple off?' Only Norwood would come up with something that out." The same year "V.T.T.L.O.T.F.D.G.F." was released, the film Godzilla 1985 appeared in North America.

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter