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Jay-Z takes up creative position at Puma
By Andy Malt | Published on Wednesday 20 June 2018
Do you ever get nostalgic for that brief period a few years back when brands were all falling over themselves to give celebrities nonsense job titles? I know I do. So I was THRILLED to hear that Jay-Z has been handed a brand new made-up role by sportswear company Puma’s basketball division.
The rapper, of course, is on tour at the moment and is also busy promoting his surprise new album with Beyonce. So I’m guessing he’ll struggle to make it into Puma HQ at 9am every morning. But he can work remotely I suppose. All you need these days is a laptop and a decent wi-fi connection. I’m sure he’ll be turning in eight hours a day five days a week as if he was right there in the office.
No one seems entirely sure what Jay-Z’s new nonsense job title actually is. Originally it was reported that he would become President of Puma Basketball. However, this was later clarified by the company’s Global Director Of Brand And Marketing, Adam Petrick.
Petrick said that – in fact – he hadn’t been explicit about Jay-Z’s title in his initial statements, instead using an “informal designation”. However, he could now confirm what the rapper’s actual title would be. Which was good of him.
Except both ESPN and Complex have published that same clarification statement from Petrick, but with different clarifications. So the clarifying statement published by ESPN says that the rapper will be Creative Director, while the statement published by Complex says Creative Consultant. So I guess you can just take your pick.
“It’s clear that we’re looking at basketball through the lens of culture, and thinking about the fashion of basketball, the music of basketball”, blathered Petrick elsewhere to Complex. “All the aspects of culture around basketball, all the aspects of culture around basketball as much as the on-court presence that we will have”.
While Jay-Z himself is the figurehead of this new partnership, the deal really sees the extension of an ongoing alliance between Puma and the rapper’s Roc Nation Sports company.
