Jay-Z took the witness stand in Manhattan Supreme Court on Friday to testify about perfume. This industry is not typically known for generating much controversy, But from what Ova Music understands; Parlux Fragrances is suing the 51-year-old rapper and accusing him of failing to properly promote his Gold Jay-Z cologne line.
The rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter, maintained his innocence on Friday, telling the court, “you have me on trial from something I didn’t do.” Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that his exchanges with Parlux quickly became testy.
The perfume company’s legal team, led by Anthony Viola, immediately dug into contractual minutiae, pointing the rapper to section 11E of a document he signed, which “calls for… promotional tie-ins” around his perfume.
Jay-Z and the lawyer for the fragrance company Parlux continued to spar in court over whether or not the rapper fulfilled his obligations around Jay-Z Gold perfume.
But the tone in court remained combative, with Viola talking over Carter on several occasions. (The rapper’s legal team objected each time; at one point, Carter said, “you’re cutting me off again.”)
Jay-Z blasted the perfume company’s “crappy” work — because it peddled his eponymous fragrance at a discount drugstore without his knowledge, he testified Monday in the ongoing breach-of-contract case.
The rap mogul recalled the moment he learned his cologne, Gold Jay Z, hit the shelves of a Superdrug, a UK-based drugstore.
“It’s crappy, lazy work,” the “99 Problems” rapper testified during his second day on the witness stand in perfume company Parlux’s lawsuit against him.
“Actually I’ve always had problems with the quality of the lazy work that was coming from Parlux,” he told Manhattan Supreme Court jurors.
The “Empire State of Mind” rapper testified that he never gave permission for Parlux to sell his fragrance at the discount shop in alleged violation of his contract with them.
“We are trying to build a brand,” Jay-Z — who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last weekend — testified. “You’re almost cutting the legs off from the brand [by] putting it in discount stores.”