*The Atlantic has posted an excerpt from the unauthorized Jay-Z biography “Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office” which details the mogul’s deal with the Champagne Armand de Brignac.
Jigga used to champion top-of-the-line Cristal – that is until Frederic Rouzaud, the manager of Cristal’s parent company, Louis Roederer, said the brand’s hip-hop devotees lessened the value of his brand.
Jay in turn denounced Cristal and began embracing Armand as his luxury drink of choice – as seen in the “Show Me What You Got” video.
But according to author Zack O’Malley Greenburg, Armand is less “luxurious” and more “overpriced garbage.”
In “Empire,” Greenburg quotes wine industry experts who vehemently bash Armand. Greenburg also claims that Armand is identical to the drastically cheaper Antique Gold, a brand distributed by Armand’s parent company, Cattier, until 2006 — right as Armand came on the market. The biggest takeaway: Greenburg’s anonymous sources claim that, despite publicly stating he has no financial ties to Armand, Jay secretly makes up to $4 million a year for his promotional work.
Note: The article Jay-Z’s Great Champagne Robbery was mysteriously removed from “The Atlantic’s” website. No explanation was given.
