Jay Z's Probably Popping Bottles Over His Latest Business Move
Jay Z continues to expand his business empire with the acquisition of Armand de Brignac, a champagne also known as Ace of Spades.
“We are proud to announce that Sovereign Brands, a New York-based wine and spirits company owned by the Berish family, has sold its interest in the Armand de Brignac (‘Ace of Spades’) Champagne brand to a new company led by the globally renowned Shawn ‘Jay Z’ Carter,” Sovereign Brands said in a statement on Wednesday (November 5), according to The New York Times.
Yvonne Lardner, global director of brand communications for Sovereign, noted that they "have had a wonderful relationship with Jay Z in the years since he first discovered Armand de Brignac."
Though some suggest it goes deeper than that.
In the 2011 book Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner To Corner Office, Forbes writer Zack O'Malley Greenburg wrote about Hov's association with the drink.
"All of them confirmed that Jay-Z receives millions of dollars per year for his association with Armand de Brignac," he wrote.
"The connection wasn't through the Cattier family, but through Sovereign Brands. The production cost per bottle of Armand de Brignac is about $13; the wholesale price is $225. The maximum output is 60,000 bottles per year. If Jay-Z splits the $212-per-bottle profit evenly with Cattier and Sovereign, a back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests his annual take would be a little over $4 million. One of my sources confirmed that number, and added that Jay-Z may have received equity in Sovereign Brands worth about $50 million."
Whatever the official relationship has been to this point, Jay has definitely been rhyming about Ace of Spades for years.
"Hey, Guru, tell homegirl to open that Ace right there," he says before launching into his verse on Drake's 2010 "Light Up." Hov also shouted it out on songs like Rick Ross' 2008 "Maybach Music" and his own 2007 track, "Success." It also appeared in his 2006 music video for "Show Me What You Got."
And, he's not the only one.
Also on "Light Up," Drizzy raps that he "could use a glass of cold Spades," and on Big Sean's "Made" he raps, "Tell her bring some Ace of Spades no sparklers, though." Future references the beverage on "Karate Chop."
According to the Times, a bottle of Armand de Brignac Brut Gold will run you $300, and a 30-liter bottle, equivalent to 40 regular bottles, will cost you over $200,000.
That's definitely not cheap. The rest of us better drink slowly.
