The Reason Rappers Create Their Own Spirit Brands
Spirit brands have always had a place in hip-hop.
Because it’s deeply intertwined with nightlife and other social situations, it’s practically a staple, even a signifier of one's proximity to luxury.
And whether the brand is Hennesey or Tequila, Four Loko or beer, one thing has always been clear: Rappers have no problem using their influence to share their affinity for the brands they love.
The smart brands accept the co-sign. After all, it’s good press. Liquor brands, however, have traditionally not been a fan. Today we’re talking about the most famous example: JAY-Z & Cristal
As my grandad would say: This story is an oldie but a goodie (I don’t think he’d say that, but you get the point)
So… What Is Cristal?
Cristal is a champagne that many older Millennials and Gen X’ers who were clubbing in the 2000’s are well aware of. It was created by Louis Roederer for Alexander II in 1876, and is still owned by the Roederer’s today.
Cristal’s popularity remained consistent in certain circles in the 2000’s, but it wasn’t until they got the JAY-Z/Roc-a-fella co-sign that their brand became a status symbol culturally.
Look below at the first 30sec of Jay’s “Excuse Me Miss” video - you can’t really ask for better product placement, even now; which is why Cristal saying they don’t want to be associated with rappers is… befuddling to say the least (trying some new vocab, btw)
JAY-Z’s affiliation with Crystal as the drink of successful people, luxury etc. did something that the Roederer family, and many marketers perhaps would fail to do — which is effectively break ground in a demo that they didn’t know would even be open to using their product.
While some may look at this as another instance of influencer marketing, it’s bigger than that. In essence, JAY-Z was bigger than a brand ambassador, he was the brand.
“I used to drink Cristal, them f*ckas racist”
In 2014, Frédéric Rouzaud from the House of Roederer was asked in an interview with the economist about Hiphop’s association with Cristal’s association. His reply was:
“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.”
Sheesh. Y’all know it what it is folks. And that statement was the reason hip-hop boycotted the champagne which lead to its decline in pop culture.
If you ask for Cristal in the club today I’m not sure if you’ll find it… But If you do, put on your best throwback jersey while you sip it. Or throw it out, that works too.
The Shunning Created Innovation
Rather than go back to brands that hate them, rappers opt to innovate. Going back to an earlier post, that’s the reason so many rappers opt for their own “house of brands.” Deep down, it’s because they know that the designers don’t want them in their clothes, or drinking their champagne, or flying on their planes.
As a result, rappers use their popularity to create things to create brands that are for everyone to experience regardless of who you are and where you’re from.
Jay- Z, for example, ditched Cristal to make his own champagne Armand de Brignac which many of us know as Ace of Spades, and a cognac named Dusse. He recently sold a 50% stake of Ace of Spades to LVHM for over $500 million last year. It would’ve never happened if Cristal embraced him.
Amid this Diddy, partnered with a liquor brand — the premium vodka we now know as Ciroc, which remains a staple in clubs across America. Asap Rocky recently announced his brand of whiskey entitled “Mercer + Prince,” and the list continues.
The key takeaway here is that rappers innovate. You don’t want to work with them? Cool. They were born hustlers, so it’s not a problem. They’ll build their own and, in the process, become more relevant than the brands that shunned them.
A bit karmic, no?
Anyway, that’s all I got today, folks. Catch y’all later.
Peace.