“When I made 400 Degreez I was 21 years old and full of ambition. Personally, I never thought it would blow up like it did. Looking back, it was a blessing in disguise.” - Juvenile
“BACK THAT AZZ UP” This song is pretty much the same party-starter now that it was when it was first released. Even my mother knows how to back that azz up. “HA” This record turned New Orleans slang into a full-blown cultural phenomenon. “RICH NIGGAZ” Everything about this record was perfect: the beat, the rhymes everything. It’s Mannie Fresh’s Mona Lisa. “400 DEGREEZ” The title track of a classic album, this joint clearly defined the Cash Money Records movement: “If I ain’t a Hot Boy, then what do you call that?”
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ESSENTIAL SOUTHERN ALBUMS
JUVENILE 400 DEGREEZ
“JUVENILE ON FIRE” This one is another Mannie Fresh and Juvenile masterpiece, proving why they compliment each other so well.
Cash Money/Universal - 1998
by Wally Sparks
L
ate in the winter of 1998, there was an unseasonably warm heat wave that was running crazy through the music industry. Cash Money Records had become one of the most successful independent labels in the history of recorded music, and in doing so managed to broker one of the most lucrative distribution deals ever. After scoring the infamous 30 million dollar deal, the pressure was on Cash Money Records to deliver a product that would justify a deal of that magnitude. Boy, did they ever come through with their end of the bargain. That heat wave I mentioned earlier, it was really hot. Some may even say it was 400 Degreez. That was the title of the Cash Money’s star artist Juvenile’s third solo album and the first album to be distributed nationwide through the allnew Cash Money/Universal Records. Thanks to the lead single “Ha,” which was basically a manual on to speak with a New Orleans hood accent, 400 Degreez skyrocketed to the top of the charts. Everyone and their mama was playing ghetto Jeopardy, asking questions like, “When you gon’ come around and pay your rent, ha?” The single turned into a phenomenon that carried from the winter all the way to the spring. The song itself became such a huge hit that JayZ, the artist who the industry looked to when determining what was “cool,” decided to hop on the remix. When spring came, the real monster record off the “400 Degreez” album was let loose on the public: “Back That Azz Up” still holds up today as one of the greatest club records of all time. If you are ever in a club and you hear those opening strings, you automatically know what time it is. It’s time to hit the dance floor and back that ass up. That record also served as an education in New Orleans bounce music. Bounce music was a hip hop sub-genre based on call & response type crowd participation, made popular by artists such as DJ Jubilee and DJ Jimi. This 1998 version of bounce music packed dance floors worldwide. Even with the success of the commercial singles from “400 Degreez”
there is just as much to be said for the rest of the album. Many fans and followers of Cash Money Records regard 400 Degreez as the defining sound of the Cash Money Millionaire movement. Music connoisseurs and production enthusiasts also regard it as Mannie Fresh’s production masterpiece. The production on this album can be described in one simple word: outstanding. Mannie Fresh took the art of the rolling drum pattern and created some of the most infectious music ever heard. For example, the song “Rich Niggaz” (which I consider Mannie Fresh’s best beat ever with “Real Big” coming a close second) has such driving momentum that it seems as if Juvenile, Lil Wayne, Turk, and Papa Reu were all trying to play catch up with the groove. Mannie Fresh clearly knew he was creating something special with that beat because song itself went in excess of five minutes - very rare in today’s microwave music society. When 400 Degreez was released, there was large void to fill. There really wasn’t any really gritty street music available to the masses. Of course you had fellow New Orleans hustler-turned-entrepreneur Master P and his No Limit empire supplying their own brand of ghetto dope, but for the majority of the nation, Bad Boy and their shiny suits had everyone’s eyes blinded. 400 Degreez’ gritty street anthems exposed the streets of New Orleans’ and life inside its now infamous Magnolia Housing Projects to the whole world. Songs such as “Run For It” featuring a pre-teen Lil Wayne, “Gone Ride With Me,” and “Rich Niggaz” all gave clear insight on what it took to be a hot boy. The overlooked gem of the album “Ghetto Children” provided real gangsta street music with a message. Overall, this album was a gift and a curse for Juvenile. It made him the star he was born to be, but it also left huge shoes to fill. Alhough he has been consistently dropping solid material since 400 Degreez, it’s only now with the release of his latest effort Reality Check that he has produced anything remotely close to the quality of this magnum opus. OZONE
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