Jay-Z Still Hustlin’ With New ESPN Boxing Series & Budweiser Deal

Hov may have “un-retired” from the rap game, but that doesn’t mean he’s put aside his corporate hustle. The Brooklyn MC turned Mogul has recently inked deals with ESPN and Anheuser-Busch to promote boxing and beer.

For ESPN, he is working on the script for a show called “Hit Men,” which will follow the lives boxers tryin’ to make it at the Hit Men
Boxing Club in Louisiana. The program will start filming in early December.

Jay-Z has also been appointed “Co-Brand Director” for Budweiser Select. They’ve cut a commercial that will air during NFL and MLB
games on Fox. The spot features clips from his new single “Show Me What You Got,” as well as racing stars Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Danica Patrick. Despite heavy bootlegging, the final scene of the commercial confirms that his new album, “Kingdom Come.” will drop November 21st.

My how Hov’s tastes have changed! First he gives up the Cristal, now he’s dumped Heineken in favor of Budweiser. Perhaps ownership of a NASCAR team is in the works as well?

Sources: Rapper Jay-Z Producing Boxing Series and Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter Collaborates with Anheuser-Busch as Co-Brand Director for Budweiser Select

Jay-Z Bans Cristal and Cries “Racism!”

The Jigga-man, who was “popping that Cristal when y’all niggaz thought it was beer and shit,” has banned the $600 champagne from his clubs due to what he calls “racist” comments made by the company. What were these racist comments?

Asked about hip-hop’s obsession with Cristal, [the Marketing Director] said he treated it with “curiosity and serenity” and later, when asked whether he saw the publicity as detrimental to the brand, he 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.”

Funny, I don’t see any reference to African Americans, so how could those comments be racist? And furthermore, he doesn’t even say anything negative about hip hop culture. He says “That’s a good question, but what can we do?” meaning that even if it bothered them, it wouldn’t matter becuase they wouldn’t be able to do anything about.

But even if he did express a dislike of his champagne being associated with hip hop culture, would that be so bad? If you were the manufacturer of an expensive premium champagne, would you want rappers saying “sip the Cris’ and get pissy-pissy” in the same song that they talk about “the dope spot, with the smoke Glock, fleein the murder scene”?

We love you, Hov, but not everyone likes drug dealing and gun violence — Don’t take it personally!