Juvenile has voiced his frustrations with Essence Festival for not including him in this year’s star-studded line up to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop in his hometown of New Orleans.
The entire ordeal unfolded when Essence Fest posted a picture of three flyers representing the acts who will be performing on each day. In the second flyer, the performers listed are broken down by sets which represent which region they’re from in the U.S.
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In “The South Got Something To Say” set, which is being curated by Jermaine Dupri, artists including Big Boi, Gucci Mane, Lil Jon, Ludacris, and T.I. were listed — but Juve was visibly absent from the lineup.
“How is essence doing 50 years of hip hop in New Orleans without me???” the former Cash Money hitmaker asked on Twitter on Thursday (June 1).
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After Essence Fest shunned the Magnolia Projects native, he decided to promote another festival that he and Mannie Fresh will be apart of called “Donna Fest.”
“F that Donna Fest July 2nd me w my live band +Mannie Fresh +Rebirth & more [gold star emojis] & the best food venders new orleans has to offer i should know im from here! Our [ticket emoji] are just $25!” he wrote.
How is essence doing 50 years of hip hop in New Orleans without me???
F that Donna Fest July 2nd me w my live band +Mannie Fresh +Rebirth & more ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ & the best food venders new orleans has to offer i should know im from here! Our 🎫 are just $25! https://t.co/PHMOpg0GSMhttps://t.co/UpJa5zd1oS— JUVENILE (@juviethegreat) June 1, 2023
After one fan responded to his tweet and said: “They have a segment called ‘the south has something to say’ with all Atl rappers,” Juvenile quickly reminded the fan that the annual festival failed to consider the obvious situation at hand.
“They did not understand the assignment,” he replied.
Juve is a New Orleans rap legend who was signed to Cash Money Records in the ’90s and started out as a member of the Hot Boys, alongside Lil Wayne, Turk and B.G. He has many classic Hip Hop records to his name including “Back That Azz Up,” “Set It Off,” “Slow Motion,” and more.
There have been a bevy of rappers paying homage to Hip Hop turning 50 this year. Also this week, Nas, Rakim, GloRilla and Latto joined forces with Sprite to pay homage to the genre’s 50th anniversary with a new ad spot.
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The commercial kicks off with each artist rapping a part of the Sugar Hill Gang classic “Rapper’s Delight.” Latto and Rakim also spit a few lines from their respective songs “Big Energy” and “Paid in Full,” before Nas closes it out with a new bar.
“The underground and overground keeping fans excited/ 50 years and counting? Y’all rappers delighted,” he raps.
