British car fans upset over Swizz Beats‘ involvement with Lotus Cars will be beside themselves when they learn that the rapper/producer is now the owner of the last bastion of Brit-snob motoring – a Morgan Aero Coupe.
Celebrity Cars Blog is showing photos of Beats with his new Morgan Aero Coupe – leaving British car enthusiasts in a tizzy over what obscure brand they can hitch their wagon to next.
Beats, real name Kasseem Dean, is a pretty accomplished fellow – married to Alicia Keys, renowned hip-hop producer, and composer of one of the most recognizable hip-hop anthems at the age of 17. Swizzy has also referenced obscure cars in some of his hit songs (Spyker, anyone), so his car guy cred isn’t exactly in doubt.
What makes the whole thing so deliciously ironic is that once Lotus had been “commoditized”, the cap-and-driving-gloves crowd, too young to have ever lived the horror stories that came with the purchase of a brand new British car, began to migrate to Morgan as the last hope for cars that had “”soul” or whatever code-word is in vogue to justify the fatal flaws and systemic crapiness of boutique sports cars from The Empire.
No doubt Swizz Beats will be lecturing his fellow rappers on how much better the Morgan is than their 458 Italia, how much “character” it has, how rewarding of an ownership experience is involved when taking it to the dealer multiple times per week and how his wood grain is in the frame, rather than on the dash.
Just remember: nothing is safe anymore.
So this is now how Ruff Riders roll?
Swizz Beatz is a horrible rapper, but when it comes to composing music for this genre, he is actually a genius, along the same lines as Billy Joel, and Elton John. He is a college graduate, and actually is rather conservative in his approach to life. Judging books by their covers is never a good thing. For the record, where I live, most of the blinged out Chrysler 300s and Escalades on huge eyesore rims are being piloted by non-minorities…Just sayin.
Every time one of these hip hoppity idiots gets into a brand it makes it automatically less desirable in my book.
What’s really pathetic is when dumb money starts copying them. The number of OC realtors running 26s on their Phantoms and Range Rovers is pretty shocking.
Harboring negative feelings about a brand once a celebrity is associated with it makes no more sense to me than feeling positive about the brand once a celebrity gets onboard. Either a Morgan is worthy of your interest or it isn’t, irrespective of what the either the old money crowd or the nouveau riche think.
Wait, because he’s a hip-hoppity idiot he automatically tarnishes anything he’s involved in? So you have to be a particular type of moneyed twit to be acceptable? Only noblesse d’épée need apply?
I’m sorry, the guy bought a Morgan. If he’d bought a Continental I’d understand, but really, it’s a Morgan.
And besides, why should my liking it have anything to do with it being liked by someone I find obnoxious. Isn’t that attitude the very apex of hipster douchery?
(I’ll take it back if he pimps it)
It’s because having someone as vulgar as a rapper liking a Morgan negates the ability to further entrench one’s high-status tastes by liking something so obscure as a Morgan.
So tweed-wearing British car snobs are the original hipsters?
It actually makes sense, when you think of plus-fours and skinny jeans.
psarhjinian,
I think you’re correct. The same impulses and psychoses that drive the hipster movement once drove MG and Austin Healey sales.
Every time some racist/culturist gets angry when someone who isn’t an obscure old white guy buys their favorite brand, I like their ex favorite brand even more.
News flash, dude. Young black people with money are allowed to like whatever the hell car they want. Somehow, if a young non white dude buys a nice car he is always a ‘poser’ or ‘someone who doesn’t appreciate the car itself’ according to racist car snobs.
These same racist car snobs are also the people who probably also believe that the only ways blacks and Latinos can ever get money for nice cars is via entertainment, athletics or selling drugs.
YOU are the one bringing race into this, so I won’t even bother with your stupidity. MY OPINION is that the whole rap-thug-urban-wigger-whateva culture is trash. Be they black, white, yellow or polka dot. Anything having to do with it repels me.
Deal with it, or don’t, I don’t give a rat’s ass.
It’s Swizz Beatz, dude. He’s not friggin’ Kanye West. He’s never in the tabloids. He’s about as boring as they come in his personal life. Obviously your issue is race is you have NO other reason to piss and moan, because how dare those black people with their hippity hoppity and their money, how DARE they have the audacity to buy a Morgan. Right, Rican? Rap is still a predominantly black thing so don’t even pretend like you were totally ignoring race when you posted your comment.
Keep shootin’ at them hippity hoppity little urban kids as they run onto your lawn, Rican. Keep dreaming of your own little world where everyone knows their place.
“MY OPINION is that the whole rap-thug-urban-wigger-whateva culture is trash.”
Top tip: You may want to research the etymology and meaning of the word “wigger” before tossing it around in casual conversation.
Hint: It’s a portmanteau. One of the words that makes up that portmanteau is regarded as almost violently offensive by a significant part of the population, and extremely ignorant by an even larger group. Lots of people don’t draw a distinction between that word and it’s constituent parts.
@bikegoesbaa:
Yes, ‘Wigger’ is a portmanteau of ‘White’ and ‘Ni-[REDACTED]’.
EVERYONE Knows this, it has been known since the word first appeared.
This however is the first time I’ve ever, EVER heard-tell of the Existence of people who don’t distinguish between the word ‘Wigger’ and the word ‘Ni-[REDACTED]’.
One is a word with a sad history stretching back to the Antebellum South where it was used as an entirely dismissive descriptor for all people of a specific race, a word that was charged with more and more hateful and spiteful invective added to it’s meaning as the reconstruction years went on until it had become the vile epithet we know today.
One is a word for making fun of rich white kids who pretend to be poor black kids.
I could not even Conceive of the possibility of anyone getting as upset about the latter as much as they would about the former until you brought this up, even now after you have my incredulity knows no bounds.
I don’t know that it’s fair to assume that somebody who refers to “hip hoppity” culture knows much of anything about the origins of or meanings behind even common “hip hoppity” words.
Your incredulity aside, yes, there is a not insignificant portion of the population that does not draw a distinction between those words; especially when they’re coming from somebody who appears to be willfully ignorant and deliberately dismissive of anything even tangentially “urban”.
“I don’t know that it’s fair to assume that somebody who refers to “hip hoppity” culture knows much of anything about the origins of or meanings behind even common “hip hoppity” words.”
Well now you know.
And Knowing is Half-the-Battle. ^.^
“Your incredulity aside, yes, there is a not insignificant portion of the population that does not draw a distinction between those words.”
Well then they’re wrong. Their wrongness isn’t my problem.
You coming here and perpetuating said wrongness in my presence however Is my problem… thank you so much for making your problem, my problem. ^.^
Where does one find this cap and driving gloves crowd that is migrating to Morgan ownership? They pretty much stopped being culturally relevant thirty years ago and then the Miata killed them off for good.
Behind the wheel of their beaten Geo Metro, bitching from their flip phone Internet in the parking lot of their local Aryan Nation chapter.
LOL.. What you did there.. I see it :)
Why dump on a brand that has stood the test of time? Or, are you disappointed that the entire British auto industry didn’t commit suicide as did British Leyland, Rootes, etc.?
It’s really a mystery for someone outside Britain to see so many English seemingly consumed with self-loathing and denigration of their History that other Nations would envy. Are you going to get a head-start and undermine the 2012 Olympics? Why stop now?
You may be a Brit, but you have a German sense of humor
I don’t see anything particularly wrong with this. the man can own the car, it’s not like he’s putting 26inch wheels on it.
I personally LOVE morgans, i’d love to own one. too bad they’re outta my price range.
He’s a special breed of hip hop star, he admires cars for how they look like when they come to him, not how they could potentially look
Most people don’t know this, but Swizz has a ton of money invested in auto dealerships in AZ and NV. He’s as bonafide a car guy as they come.
I’d be more interested in what the Insane Clown Posse drives.
The Juggalos drive hoopties, but it would be interesting what ICP themselves drive.
We know the public persona of the man and all that includes. Well, I’d have to Google his name to find out about him, not a rap fan here. We don’t know the private life of the man. He might just use it for puttering around and Tesco runs. I do wonder if Bobby Ritchie stops by his dad’s dealership when he’s in town.
I find the notion that because he’s a musician of a particular genre, he must automatically be loathed and also assumed to have poor taste, to be willfully ignorant. The fact that he actually went out and spent money on a Morgan of all things shows he’s a pretty serious gearhead and rather not what the North American stereotypes allege him to be.
I wouldn’t have bought one myself, if I had the means, but that’s due to Morgan’s build quality. He has the means, he had opportunity to buy all sorts of other stuff, and decided a Morgan seemed like fun. More power to him. I hope he enjoys it.
I haven’t a clue who he is, but I love the Morgan Aero. He should be commended for buying a Morgan instead of an Escalade or Bentley like the other rappers.
Derek – how can you possibly know anything about built quality or maintenance needs of current Morgan cars? Do you own one? Do you KNOW anyone who ones one? Does TrueDelta have any stats on them?
There are all sorts of entertainment industry types who are gearheads – Leno, Jay Z, Rowan Atkinson (who managed to crash a McLaren F1 recently), Nick Mason. What exactly is the point of this article??
How does liking a car NO ONE on this side of the pond has ever heard of “entrench ones high status tastes”. I like Skodas (even pre-VW ones), does that make me some sort of prole? Between you and Baruth, the level of snark around here is getting a bit much. Almost Baruthian, even.
So many complained when Swizz Beats got involved with Lotus, saying it ruined the brand. Then we’ve seen an uptick in interest with Morgan, as if it’s the last pure British sports car company. And now we’ve come full circle.
Like I said elsewhere in the thread, I think Derek’s post is a combo of ‘hey check it out, this famous dude owns this obscure car guy dream car, that’s pretty cool’ and trolling the lameasses whose panties get in a twist whenever young minorities buy their favorite cars.
Yup. Thank you. It wasn’t a race comment moreso mocking elitism in general.
How is Morgan in any way elitist? They are a tiny, family owned and operated company doing what they have been doing for 100 years – building sports cars. They are expensive because they are hand built in tiny quantities, but not egregiously so. The Morgan family is not getting stupendously rich off the cars. They will sell to anyone with the readies.
If only Porsche had such focus, Jack would be a much less bitter boy.
I think that the Morgan owner’s club (presumably a bunch of old white guys) should start dressing like rappers in an attempt to diminish Swizz Beatz’ street cred. That’ll show him.
Has he got some kind of skin condition? Only his trouser leg is rolled up like he’s got a really itchy shin, and he appears to be giving his crown jewels a good scratch as well… or is this just some new-fangled rap pose that I just don’t understand?
That line doesn’t even work if you’re old. LL Cool J has been doing the same look for nearly a quarter century.
LL who now?
Translation: What’s wrong with this guy? His clothes are different from my clothes. That’s crazy!
You know, that’s EXACTLY what I was thinking.
“He’s different to me, therefore I should mock him.”
I wasn’t at all thinking,
“Why the would anyone have a promo photo taken where your trouser leg is rolled up and when you’re scratching your balls?”
““Why the would anyone have a promo photo taken where your trouser leg is rolled up…”
That’s like asking why Frank Sinatra would wear a tie in a promo shot.
In both cases, the answer is because they are a highly visible person associated with a widespread and popular culture in which that is a very common manner of dress.
“and when you’re scratching your balls?”
Eh, you may want to either look more closely at the photo or brush up on human anatomy. Looks to me like a guy with his hands in his lap. Worst case, he may actually be using his left hand to pull up his right pant leg.
“In both cases, the answer is because they are a highly visible person associated with a widespread and popular culture in which that is a very common manner of dress.”
Fair enough. I had to do some research as to what the trouser leg thing means (I’m still not sure). It’s not widespread enough to have crossed the Atlantic, as I have never seen it in the UK or up here in Canada (and yes, I have lived in places where there are gangs and drug dealing).
You guys have lost me on this one.
Because Swiss Beatz buys a Morgan its of interest to me how. So he’s a rapper, AND? So his purchase of this completely erases all other qualities all other associations all other attributes of Morgans. Your telling me a person who is a gearhead goes out buys a car. Because he is a rapper and labeled as being vulgar it means the brand,Morgan in this instance, it close to trash now. Wow, you guys have actually surprised me with this one.
And its Swiss Beatz, was the misspelling of his name unintentional? And lets not forget that Elvis Presley was deemed “Vulgar”
Pretty sure DK was just trolling the racist tards who originally bitched about the Lotus involvement, or the same people who bitched when Akon bought a Spyker.
“And lets not forget that Elvis Presley was deemed “Vulgar”.”
And look what happened to Cadillac…
What. Becoming a status symbol of wealth, prosperity, and celebrity for decades and decades after?
Ok I’ll give you maybe the 50’s and 60’s, but beyond that? No. They went the same way as Elvis, bloated lard buckets which got progressively watered down and became a parody of their former glory.
Alternate headline: “Successful young black man buys an expensive and interesting car. White people outraged.”
+1
In most cases I doubt it’s racism too, I just enjoy trolling, but it is elitism, and it also is likely to be underlying racism that is unspoken or even subconscious. When a young minority owns an expensive car they must sell drugs, unless they are in the entertainment industry. It can’t be doctor, lawyer, entrepreneur, real estate guy, professor or anything else.
Personally, I know one guy who is a mid 20s black man, who speaks in heavy Ebonics, who drives a Bentley Continental GT. his occupation, USAF air traffic controller and ATC instructor, who has done multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. In his spare time he makes some extra cash by winning poker games at the local casino. But I’m sure he gets stereotyped when he gets seen driving around town.
How the heck can you be an air traffic controller AND speak in heavy Ebonics? I assume you mean “speaks Ebonics in his spare time” – otherwise it’d be “yo, take that b!*&h to 12-fiver altitude, son. Delta one-nine out this piece.”
DK I understand your from Canada. I will not hold that against you. Just stop hating.
This has nothing to do with South Park. Swiss Beatz has no working relationship to neither Trey Parker, Matt Stone nor Comedy Central. So please just stop hating. That is all, thank you.
The guy made one of the most famous songs of my generation when he was 17…no hate here.
“In other news Morgan automobiles announced it’s most ambitious new product yet, the Morgan Un-Aero XYZUV. Morgan’s first dabbling into the new and exciting luxury-sport-touring-utility-crossover segment will feature a sound-system by Alpine with three sub-woofers, astonishing 42-inch wheels, and a new proprietary anti-rot treatment for the Un-Aero’s frame.”
….but seriously though, this article reminds me of how much I wanted to slap Richard Hammond in the mouth for insisting ALL Aston Martins are now rubbish because Wayne Rooney owned one.
Very disappointing.
One would hope that on a car blog, the poster would know that a Morgan Aero Coupe has no wood in it. It’s all-aluminum with a BMW V8.
Rather negates the naff comments on Morgan.
Should I expect TTAC to hold to a higher standard of knowledge? I think I should expect it, but increasingly of late, I don’t seem to be seeing it.
Perhaps we can soon expect an article on the Morgan’s “fatal flaws”, etc.
Gentlepersons:
It seems to be possible to avoid invective when talking about channel stuffing, but when it comes to race …
While I don’t see any bannable remarks yet, some came close. Please tone it down. Name calling will not be tolerated. Fight with arguments, not with bad manners.