With ninety nine problems, you'd think Jay-Z had his hands full. Rap star Jay-Z is currently challenging a trademark ruling over the ownership of the 'Roc-A-Fella' brand in the UK, clashing with a start-up catering service in the process. In 1996, Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter founded Roc-A-Fella records. Located in New York, the formerly independent label is now a subsidiary of the Universal Music Group. With Jay-Z alongside Kanye West and many other hot hip acts on their books, Roc-A-Fella Records are big business. But a big business isn't always a particularly nice business, and they're quite keen to bully anyone who accidentally scratches their brand.
'Rockafella' is a marginally more grammatically correct small catering service currently challenging kebab wandsworth restaurants in London. The gulf between the two company profiles hasn't always been so cripplingly massive, but it was always pretty big. The owner of Rockafella, Terry Miller, was once a contestant on 'Hell's Kitchen', the continually re-tweaked cooking gameshow that was at the time a two team, elimination show. In 2006, having won the 2005 edition of the show, Miller set up the Rockafella chain of restaurants. Jay Z chose to riff on the infamous John D Rockefellar when naming his hip hop label (with the obvious secondary and colloquial meaning of 'Rock A Fella'). But Miller's Rockafella was named after his speciality dish, the King Prawn Rockafella that helped him win the Hell's Kitchen contest. You're unlikely to find it listed on a Chinese menu, but it does cast Jay-Z's claims of infringement (in a totally different domain) in a different light.
The general sentiment is that Jay-Z should try picking on someone his own size: this small catering service is unlikely to smeer the name of his media empire any more than the legal action already is doing. Nevertheless, Jay-Z has had his appeal against the awarding of the trademark to Miller upheld, and the battle is likely to be protracted further. Miller must now fight off a billionaire's lawyers a second time, a feat that doesn't really seem achieveable when you're the guy who beat others to a £250,000 prize on a cooking show. Lie down into the grove in your sofa and order southampton delivery for this one, because it's going to take a while.
Black Universal Mini Mesh Grille 12" x 48"
