Jay-Z famously denounced Cristal champagne after its owner blasted the hip-hop community for lessening his product's value. But the switch over to Armand de Brignac -- the Ace of Spades champagne -- was more lucrative than one would suspect.

In a recent investigatory piece by 'The Atlantic,' the publication asserts that Hov secretly makes a cool $4 million in profit for promoting the champagne, which experts quoted in the story claim is "overpriced garbage."

Hov first embraced the French bubbly in his 2006 video for 'Show Me What You Got,' after Frederic Rouzaud, manager of Cristal's parent company Louis Roederer, fired shots at rappers for cheapening the brand.

The article purports that Jay came across the gold-plated bottle of champagne "by pure coincidence" in a New York City wine shop, but according to records, the bubbly had been shipped to NYC shops several months after Ace of Spades made a cameo in his music video.

The piece also reveals that several executives in the music and liquor industries fessed up that he gets a profit from every bottle sold. While the cost of production per bottle is $13, the market value is $225 for each of the 60,000 bottles made annually. If Jay split the profit evenly with the company, he would make over $4 million per year, though the article estimates that he makes much more due to the equity in the brand that's valued around $50 million.

Though the 'Empire State of Mind' performer denies that he's getting paid by Armand, he has made several references to the pricey sparkling wine in several of his tracks since 2006, and has been spotted with its signature bottle at public events.



Watch Jay-Z's 'Show Me What You Got'
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