As if recording artist, music executive, fashion designer, hotel and nightlife impresario, wouldn’t be enough, Grammy-winning rapper Jay-Z recently announced he and hip-hop impresario Steve Stoute will be co-founding a multi-cultural advertising company, as part of what he called the “natural growth” of his career.

The new agency, which will be called Translation Advertising and will be based in New York, will focus on ”creating advertising programs for clients, including television, print and radio, which are aimed at African-American and culturally- blended consumers.”
“As an artist, you make music,” Jay-Z told The New York Times. “And if you see people who don’t know how to market your music, you get involved in it.”
 
Stoute, who sold Translation Consultation & Brand Imaging to Interpublic Group in October 2007 for $10-$15 million, was asked to stay onboard at the helm as part of the agreement.

According to The New York Times, Translation Advertising will be part of Translation Consultation and Brand Imaging. Interpublic will own 49 percent of Translation Advertising and its majority stake will be owned by Stoute and Jay-Z.

“We saw a place in the market for a new agency. The current fashion and standing that African Americans hold in the world today 'especially in American culture' isn't fully represented in the advertising community,” Stoute said. “We want to show this community in advertising that's fresh, accurate and perfectly executed. And we're excited to be doing it with a great partner like Interpublic, which has such deep relationships with the world's greatest marketers. Our plans for this new agency have been repeatedly speculated at in recent press reports. As a result, we're announcing Translation Advertising a little earlier than anticipated.”

Interpublic, the third-largest agency company (behind the Omnicom Group and the WPP Group) also owns agencies like Campbell-Ewald, Deutsch, Draft FCB, GolinHarris, R/GA and Universal McCann. Interpublic and Translation Consultation share clients like the Chevrolet division of G.M.

“This partnership with Interpublic and Translation Advertising is a natural business pairing. I look forward to sharing ideas and breaking new ground once again in a new area. We are not looking to just have an agency, we are looking to perfect our relationship with the consumer,” Jay-Z added.