“IT’S ABOUT HERITAGE”: YOUSSOUPHA TALKS HENNESSY, HIP HOP AND CULTURE

Hip hop songs have not shied away from paying tribute to alcoholic drinks and the Hennessy cognac is one of rap’s most popular liquors, by the likes of Drake, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, and even Tupac Shakur singing about it. The latter had an entire song dedicated to the cognac brand, entitled “Hennessy”© in 1992 and rap artist Busta Rhyme’s song, “Pass the Courvoisier,”© has been seen as a historical marker as well. But Busta wasn’t rapping about anything new; rappers had clearly already been immortalizing cognac through their lyrics for decades. And that’s how that tale begun: icons grabbing the attention of a diverse millennial generation that essentially grew up on hip hop.

“Even in this Château life, the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the Hennessy cognac is rap, American rap. It's rap from the US that I grew up with and enjoyed.”
Congo born artist Youssoupha Mabiki, better known by his stage name Youssoupha, is no stranger to this tale. Known for his conscious and poetic lyrics, he’s no stranger to paying tribute to legacy either, in his case, his father’s musical legacy – one of the reasons why he was drawn to music. When Youssoupha was asked the same question but regarding cognac, he described the hype of hip hop lyrics as the source that continued to heighten his interest. An interest deeply rooted in the preservation of culture.

“The preservation of culture, of those who came before me and those who will come after me, matters to me a lot. For Hennessy, it’s cognac. For me, it’s music. My father used to make music. It's important to me that people know who I am, know what I've accomplished, know what my predecessors have been able to accomplish, what they have passed on to me and what I’ll be able to pass on. The Hennessy archives show that too: an obsession with lineage, an obsession with tradition, an obsession with preservation that brings stature.”

Being in Cognac, Youssoupha had the occasion to reflect on the Hennessy’s longstanding association with heritage and culture, associations that go beyond music, showcasing talents of legends across genre and time.
“Maison Hennessy’s story is more of a lineage story, with a trajectory that's very future-oriented. I get the impression that for the brand the past is protected only to build a better future. In the sense that what's happening now is already building what will happen next. We’re no longer talking about cognac, we're no longer talking about alcohol. We’re talking about heritage, we’re talking about legacy, we're talking about what the Maison is building. That is Hennessy to me.”