Nas is in full
support of a continued, formal boycott of Cristal–but only if Hip-Hop steps up
to replace the champagne, which typically sells for $450-$600 per bottle."I
support a boycott if we could come up–like if we put up something, our own champagne.
There’s tons of vineyards we could get into and buy," Nas told AllHipHop.com
in response to controversial comments made by Cristal’s managing director against
rappers who drink the beverage. "There’s
tons of ways to get inside of that, so that we can have ‘Diddy / Nas champagne’
and put them out, and drink our own thing."Both
Nas and Sean "Diddy" Combs are gearing up for fourth quarter album releases,
but the entertainers haven’t forgotten a non-rap beef they share in common. Diddy
told AllHipHop.com, "Cristal definitely caught us out there. It was a learning
lesson. At the end of the day, f**k Cristal. They don’t respect us. They’ll feel
it."Combs
vents about the brand on "Everything" featuring Nas and Cee-Lo. The
track is taken from the mogul’s upcoming album Press Play that features
Nas and Cee-Lo. For
years now, Cristal has been all the rage, though–and all over rap videos. In
1999, when Diddy lent his vocals to Nas’ hit song "Hate Me Now," the
pair brandished bottles of the pricey champagne in the Hype Williams-directed
music video.The
bottle was once a symbol of status for rappers until earlier this year when new
managing director Frederic Rouzaud made comments that were seen as prejudiced
to Hip-Hop culture.Asked
if an association with Hip-Hop could adversely affect the Cristal brand, Rouzaud
offered: "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," said Rouzaud in an interview with The Economist magazine.Although
he later adjusted his comments, it wasn’t long before music heavyweights like
Def Jam president Jay-Z vocalized a boycott of the brand.Nowadays,
Nas said he and Diddy muse over their past and newfound lack of respect for the
champagne."It’s
funny like, I said to Diddy, ‘You know…do you understand that’s the most illest,
flossiest video of rap ["Hate Me Now"]. Do you know we were the first
to disrespect the Cristal bottle?" said Nas. "I was like, ‘we spit the
s**t up, you [Diddy] spit on the camera and saying we disrespected them.’ We been
disrespecting they bottle–treat it like 40 ounce. It’s like any other brand of
hypocrites and it’s not surprising. It’s not surprising. It’s a joke."Nas
doesn’t claim racism on Rouzaud’s end, but an emotion even more basic. "The
bottom line is all these dudes is jealous of Black men. Look, we look incredible.
So stop making fly s**t, if you don’t want us to buy it, hell, how in the f**k
we gonna not drink the most [expensive] s**t," said Nas."[It’s the]
same with jewelry, man," he continued. "Understand I’m gonna wear this
motherf**king jewelry. I always buy some fly s**t, so they got a problem with
a Black man, I know they jealous of me. I’m gonna make ’em more mad. I’m gonna
drink more of their s**t [to upset them] and boycott em. F**k ’em."