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The rap world is leaving Cristal

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Ok, this has to be said. Yeah there are people who did and continues to be overly showy with their wealth in the hip-hop industry. It's been done in the 80's with Kangols and thick gold chains, in the 90's with fancy cars, Versace(sp?), and "ice", and even today with the "grills". But (and I stress this) that is only part of the culture-- the commercial version might I add. The only thing is that now it's (the hip-hop culture) is becoming over-saturated with it.
 
<SIGH>... someday our children's children' children will all be some sort of Latino/Asian/African/Caucasian mix... then at least we can finally get off this bus...






...and hopefully gangsta will be long dead and buried by then...
 
weepy said:
Ok, this has to be said. Yeah there are people who did and continues to be overly showy with their wealth in the hip-hop industry. It's been done in the 80's with Kangols and thick gold chains, in the 90's with fancy cars, Versace(sp?), and "ice", and even today with the "grills". But (and I stress this) that is only part of the culture-- the commercial version might I add. The only thing is that now it's (the hip-hop culture) is becoming over-saturated with it.

I agree 100%

Mainstream rap is absolute shit. How idiots like Lil Jon and Young Joc can dominate the charts is beyond me. This shit has been going on for far too long, and it's not slowing down.

It reminds me of the asstastic glam metal age of the 80's. You had no talent bands like Poison running things, while real metal bands were in the limelight - but still popular to an extent. That scene became overpopulated and replicated for years before dying off in the early 90's. Something new in rock came around (grunge and better metal) and replaced the BS.

I'm still waiting for the next big thing in rap to come along and knock this shit out. But sadly, mainstream rap is just devolving. A few years ago it was Diddy's shit, and now we have the south "crunk" shit dominating. Ugh.
 
PhoenixDark said:
I agree 100%

Mainstream rap is absolute shit. How idiots like Lil Jon and Young Joc can dominate the charts is beyond me. This shit has been going on for far too long, and it's not slowing down.

It reminds me of the asstastic glam metal age of the 80's. You had no talent bands like Poison running things, while real metal bands were in the limelight - but still popular to an extent. That scene became overpopulated and replicated for years before dying off in the early 90's. Something new in rock came around (grunge and better metal) and replaced the BS.

I'm still waiting for the next big thing in rap to come along and knock this shit out. But sadly, mainstream rap is just devolving. A few years ago it was Diddy's shit, and now we have the south "crunk" shit dominating. Ugh.

The worst thing about mainstream rap too is that most people associate ALL black people with the bad images seen on those videos.
 
PhoenixDark said:
I agree 100%

Mainstream rap is absolute shit. How idiots like Lil Jon and Young Joc can dominate the charts is beyond me. This shit has been going on for far too long, and it's not slowing down.

It reminds me of the asstastic glam metal age of the 80's. You had no talent bands like Poison running things, while real metal bands were in the limelight - but still popular to an extent. That scene became overpopulated and replicated for years before dying off in the early 90's. Something new in rock came around (grunge and better metal) and replaced the BS.

I'm still waiting for the next big thing in rap to come along and knock this shit out. But sadly, mainstream rap is just devolving. A few years ago it was Diddy's shit, and now we have the south "crunk" shit dominating. Ugh.
Simply music to entertain. Entertainment for most people is something listenable (ie not complicated) or something they can dance to.

Conciense Rap will never make it into the mainstream if anything you will get the Coldplay\James Blunt of Hip-Hop.
 
eminem_narrowweb__300x424,0.jpg


Can I still drink Cristal?
 
black people playing the race card? Jay-Z doesn't need to play any race card...he pulled the bottles out of his businesses and made a stand. How is that playing the race card? there is infact still serious amounts of racism worldwide. If you are a black American you are looked down upon everywhere. But using that as an excuse for not moving forward in life is playing the race card... making a stand for something you believe is wrong is not playing the race card. Now I am not saying that the guy is full blown racist that wants black people not to drink his drink. But Jay-Z felt that this was a shot against his race and his career, and what he stands for. I would feel the same way if someone said we don't want jr high school English teachers to use our products.

As business men Diddy and Jay-Z made a stand and feel that what was said was a shot at black culture, and their careers. how is that playing the race card? And to see another black man in this thread who cannot see that makes me sad for the progress we have made in the short life of America
 
Oldschoolgamer said:
What? Did you not just read what Blackace said?


I read it. It was factual.....how?


There was nothing racist being said. Jay Z didn't stand up for shit, he did exactly what PheonixDark said, played the race card.
 
Blackace said:
black people playing the race card? Jay-Z doesn't need to play any race card...he pulled the bottles out of his businesses and made a stand. How is that playing the race card? there is infact still serious amounts of racism worldwide. If you are a black American you are looked down upon everywhere. But using that as an excuse for not moving forward in life is playing the race card... making a stand for something you believe is wrong is not playing the race card. Now I am not saying that the guy is full blown racist that wants black people not to drink his drink. But Jay-Z felt that this was a shot against his race and his career, and what he stands for. I would feel the same way if someone said we don't want jr high school English teachers to use our products.

As business men Diddy and Jay-Z made a stand and feel that what was said was a shot at black culture, and their careers. how is that playing the race card? And to see another black man in this thread who cannot see that makes me sad for the progress we have made in the short life of America

He pulled the race card. When you call someone racist for no apparent reason, red flags go up in my eyes. Jay Z didn't make any logical comment, he didn't make his point clear. He called this dude racist, and has yet to point out why. I haven't seen ONE post in this entire thread that explains how his comments were racist, or why a boycott is even needed. Over reation.

I would feel the same way if someone said we don't want jr high school English teachers to use our products.

That's not a good analogy. As I said earlier, this guy is a pretty formal European dude, and it's not hard to understand why he would be annoyed by the way his product is being promoted by certain people.

Why would anyone want to be associated with a group of people (these rappers, NOT black people in general) who advocate degenerate, stereotypical behavior? I can't think of too many jr high teachers who advocate such behavior.

And to see another black man in this thread who cannot see that makes me sad for the progress we have made in the short life of America

What? Dude, if you call someone racist for no reason, you are playing victim in the situation. You are playing the race card to gain support or symphathy or whatever. That's my problem with Jay Z's comments here.
 
Without reading the articile (the one in The Economist) in which this news bit paraphrased, this argument really has no merit.

Curiousity and Serenity.

Serenity:
n 1: a disposition free from stress or emotion [syn: repose, quiet, placidity, tranquillity, tranquility] 2: the absence of mental stress or anxiety [syn: peace, peacefulness, peace of mind, repose, heartsease, ataraxis]

Curiosity

n 1: a state in which you want to learn more about something [syn: wonder] 2: something unusual -- perhaps worthy of collecting [syn: curio, oddity, oddment, peculiarity, rarity]

OMG RACIST!

And the other quote means "I bet the other companies would love to have this kind of business too."

So, was the article posted in this thread or a link? Or...what?
 
Kintaro said:
Without reading the articile (the one in The Economist) in which this news bit paraphrased, this argument really has no merit.

Curiousity and Serenity.

Serenity:
n 1: a disposition free from stress or emotion [syn: repose, quiet, placidity, tranquillity, tranquility] 2: the absence of mental stress or anxiety [syn: peace, peacefulness, peace of mind, repose, heartsease, ataraxis]

Curiosity

n 1: a state in which you want to learn more about something [syn: wonder] 2: something unusual -- perhaps worthy of collecting [syn: curio, oddity, oddment, peculiarity, rarity]

OMG RACIST!

And the other quote means "I bet the other companies would love to have this kind of business too."

So, was the article posted in this thread or a link? Or...what?

THANK YOU

What exactly is racist about his comments? Absolutely nothing.
 
The thing is (someone already pointed this out..myself included), was that this was an ambiguous statement. One can perceive this as racist. Their are plenty of ways to say something, and, if you want to make a statement like that, you need to look over those many ways, and present it as best as you can, without making statements such as the ones he said. Plenty of people (including artists) can't stand the image that mainstream hip hop presents, yet...they go over their statements carefully, and enough times, so that they won't have stuff like this happening.

Edit: It also doesn't help that something might have been lost in translation...
 
Oldschoolgamer said:
The thing is (someone already pointed this out..myself included), was that this was an ambiguous statement. One can perceive this as racist. Their are plenty of ways to say something, and, if you want to make a statement like that, you need to look over those many ways, and present it as best as you can, without making statements such as the ones he said. Plenty of people (including artists) can't stand the image that mainstream hip hop presents, yet...they go over their statements carefully, and enough times, so that they won't have stuff like this happening.

Edit: It also doesn't help that something might have been lost in translation...

No one couldn't. Unless they had an axe to grind.
 
Oldschoolgamer said:
The thing is (someone already pointed this out..myself included), was that this was an ambiguous statement. One can perceive this as racist. Their are plenty of ways to say something, and, if you want to make a statement like that, you need to look over those many ways, and present it as best as you can, without making statements such as the ones he said. Plenty of people (including artists) can't stand the image that mainstream hip hop presents, yet...they go over their statements carefully, and enough times, so that they won't have stuff like this happening.

Edit: It also doesn't help that something might have been lost in translation...

so me saying "I don't generally enjoy listening to modern rap music" could be perceived as a racist quote, because it's a "general" statement that lends itself to many different interpretations?
 
I'm sorry but someone can hate hip-hop culture and not be racist (I do, I think it's extremely harmful to society as a whole). I'd wager that a larger number of whites participate in it than blacks and NOT every black person in the states does, despite the impression the media might give. Assuming every black person you encounter likes rap and wears bling is FAR more ignorant than whatever this guy said.

Think about it...if you're trying to market a product to the "high-class" (snobbish types which include members of all races) the last thing you'd want is for mainstream rap artists to give it their thumbs up. Your target audience wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole.
 
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.”

You guys seriously don't see anything wrong with this?
 
Wafflecopter said:
He doesn't like the image mainstream rap promotes.


OMG RACIST


I am not saying he is... just that Jay-Z made a stand... if you agree with it or not is your own beef...
 
What Jay-Z did is no different than what Cristal did. Cristal didn't like the "image" that rap has and didn't want to be a part of it. They made their point clear. Jay-Z did the same thing, if they don't like rap then I am not going to help them in anyway. I don't understand all the **** Jay-Z comments. He felt that the comments of Cristal were out of line, and I tend to agree. Do I think that they are racist? no.. do I think they are a shot at only black people? no.. but with the majority of rappers being black I can feel that seed of doubt. Would I have said the comments were racist? no I would have said he took a shot at my career. But both sides took their stand and that is it..
 
Blackace said:
What Jay-Z did is no different than what Cristal did. Cristal didn't like the "image" that rap has and didn't want to be a part of it. They made their point clear. Jay-Z did the same thing, if they don't like rap then I am not going to help them in anyway. I don't understand all the **** Jay-Z comments. He felt that the comments of Cristal were out of line, and I tend to agree. Do I think that they are racist? no.. do I think they are a shot at only black people? no.. but with the majority of rappers being black I can feel that seed of doubt. Would I have said the comments were racist? no I would have said he took a shot at my career. But both sides took their stand and that is it..
My problem is, Jay's career is built on the exact shit Cristal doesnt want to be associated with. And my point was as a black man, Jay has done more to harm the black community than anything Cristal said.
 
Compton's Most Wanted said:
My problem is, Jay's career is built on the exact shit Cristal doesnt want to be associated with. And my point was as a black man, Jay has done more to harm the black community than anything Cristal said.

from a man named after MC Eiht's group.. :lol :lol
 
Blackace said:
from a man named after MC Eiht's group.. :lol :lol
Hey, I f*ck's with the Eiht....but if Cristal said he didnt want gangsta rappers drinking his shit, I would completely understand. And if MC Eiht started talking the same mess Jay was talking, I'd say he was wrong.
 
Compton's Most Wanted said:
My problem is, Jay's career is built on the exact shit Cristal doesnt want to be associated with. And my point was as a black man, Jay has done more to harm the black community than anything Cristal said.

Exactly.

And how does this:
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,'"

equal this?:
Jay-Z cont. said:
"I view his comments as racist"

What did Rouzaud say anywhere in either article anything close to racism?? It seems he just isn't a fan of hiphop or its culture. Actually more likely it seems he doesn't like the lavish/expensive/wasteful image that's portrayed in a few hiphop videos and concerts being associated with his brand. But, like he said, there's nothing he can do about it. Plus they do help sales, even though the image itself is being tarnished.

People like Jay-Z who associate hiphop culture with only black people are the ones who are racist.

I think Jay-Z would have been ok if he just disassociated himself with Cristal because he didn't like the comments (to him personally or whatever). But when he says that the guy is racist, Jay-Z just looks like an idiot who can't read.
 
Race (or ethnic before people start saying BLACK PEOPLE ARE NOT A RACE LOLZ) is still a touchy subject for people to deal with. Most the time I tend not to think in race, but every now and then you get a feel from someone and you can't help but to think would they have done/said that to another person of their own race? it still lingers, and not only in the states.

Both parties have said some really stupid things....
 
Drensch said:
Shitting on customers, especially high profile ones that make your product sell, is stupid. End of thread.
Not really.If you take account that the established fan base (old money, entrepenuers etc) can drink it more often and do compared to the Hip-Hop fanbase (young adults) who might go crazy one weekend to celebrate something. Also Hip-Hop has a drink trend every month or so.

Basically you deteriarating established fan loyalty for a quick sell.
 
I could understand how Rouzaud's statement had became misconstrued. I mean given the circumstance it was as if he was saying "You people don't deserve to even drink my liquor let alone promote it but since you all are doing it anyway F*ck it". To be honest, that felt like a shot at the hip-hop culture so Jay-z took offense. Jay-z should have kept his fat lips shut and just severed ties with Cristal instead of crying racism.
 
weepy said:
I could understand how Rouzaud's statement had became misconstrued. I mean given the circumstance it was as if he was saying "You people don't deserve to even drink my liquor let alone promote it but since you all are doing it anyway F*ck it". To be honest, that felt like a shot at the hip-hop culture so Jay-z took offense. Jay-z should have kept his fat lips shut and just severed ties with Cristal instead of crying racism.

I agree. But you can also see where it could be seen as a backhanded rasict comment. But even if it was Jay-Z should have just stopped carrying it and left it at that
 
Agent Icebeezy said:
Given that the only people in videos I see popping Cristal bottles are black, it's safe to say his thought were practically parallel to that. No, he didn't just say, I want the black people to stop drinking my shit, but his comments can be interpreted as such. They list rappers, as a group and specifically name Jay-Z as an individual in the article. His stage name is under the title, unwanted attention. Do I think it was racism, not really. He just feels that rappers might give his brand unwanted attention. He's basically biting the hand that feeds him.

sounds like yet another pathetic byproduct of the hyperactive politically correct age. Dude doesn't want rappers drinking his shit. Good for him.
 
Imagine Iwata going on to say, we don't want those rabid Nintendo fanboys jumping into every game we make, its unwanted attention. They will go out of business tomorrow
 
Looks like the "news" spread to Wikipedia:

Asked by The Economist about whether associations with rap stars could affect the marque, new managing director Frederic Rouzaud said: "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." Since the release of this statement, rapper and hip-hop mogul Jay-Z has decided to boycott the product in his personal life and various clubs he owns claiming that the views expressed were racist. Jay-Z said he was suprised that upper class white men were disdainful of his thug lifestyle. "I sincerly thought that if I imitated their habits that I would become like them. I had no idea they were some kind of exclusive club that not even money could buy your way into. Boy, was I suprised when I found out that they still wouldn't let me into their golf club, not matter how much money I offered them." Jay-Z then began to sob and screamed "I just want to be what I'm not!"
 
It's good to see rap got it's social conscience back. Today Cristal, tommorrow Fair Trade Certified for everyone on Def Jam!
 
Amir0x said:
Dude doesn't want rappers drinking his shit. Good for him.

why is that "good for him"? excluding a music from your product is good?
 
truffleshuffle83 said:
kanye and jay z need to stop bein little bitches and STFU.

QFT.

F ucking hyper sensitive pussies is what they are. Claiming racism when it's not there time after time really delutes the issue and makes these guys look like total morons. If they're really concerned about racism they should be donating to the Southern Law and Poverty Center instead of buying truck loads of champagne and diamond teeth.

This Cristal thing is ridiculous.
 
soundwave05 said:
Maybe 10-12 years ago, but now, it basically *is* American culture.
I haven't said this for MicJac, OJ, Geroge W, Clinton, McVey, or nSync..... but this statement really makes me sad to be an american.
 
Jay-Z said "I sincerly thought that if I imitated their habits that I would become like them. "

How can anyone take this guy seriously anymore? He actually wants to become an upper class white guy?:P
 
http://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=5794

Louis Roederer Cristal has responded to a massive boycott over statements made about various rappers' patronage of the pricey drink.

In a special Summer 2006 article titled "Bubbles & Bling" in The Economist magazine, Rouzaud was quoted in an article stating that he viewed Hip-Hop's obsession with the brand with "curiosity and serenity."

Rouzaud also said "We can't forbid people from buying it. I'm sure Dom Perignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business."

The story caused massive backlash against Cristal, culminating in a boycott of the drink led by Jay-Z, who pulled the expensive drink from his popular 40/40 sports bar franchise.

"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," Jay-Z said in a statement issued on Wednesday (June 14).

"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," Louis Roederer Cristal said in a statement to AllHipHop.com.

Cristal imports over 50,000 cases of the champagne annually.
 
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