Juvenile has been winning over fans both old and new with his live performances as of late, and there’s no better example of this than his performance at this weekend’s Essence Festival.
Despite the organizers originally blowing off the Nolia legend from their “The South Got Something To Say” set, the Hot Boy “Set It Off” on Friday (June 30) with a set that began at about 10:30 p.m. ET.
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The crowd exploded when he launched into “Back That Azz Up,” his breakthrough song from 1999 that features Mannie Fresh and Lil Wayne, and appears on Juvie’s third album 400 Degreez.
Check out the performance below:
Juvenile gives blistering Essence Festival performance after booking blunder U-Turnhttps://t.co/52WCdDsvQrpic.twitter.com/CnBhWLO7Tg
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) July 1, 2023
After Essence Fest initially 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.
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But shortly after that shunning, Juvenile took to Twitter to announce that he’d be performing. “Hip-Hop 50 without Juvie? Not a chance. June 30th, NOLA we live!” he wrote. “#ESSENCEFEST #ESSENCEFEST2023 #EFOC2023.”
The performance at Essence Fest followed a G.O.A.T.-worthy performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series, where he and Mannie Fresh brought some New Orleans bounce by running through a few of their biggest hits.
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The former Cash Money duo kicked things off with the intro to his second Cash Money Records album, 1998’s 400 Degreez, and then went into a couple of other tracks from the multi-platinum LP including the title track and “Ha.” From there, they played “Set It Off,” “Slow Motion,” “Rodeo” and “I Need a Hot Girl.”
With a special appearance from John Batiste, the pair then closed things out with rambunctious renditions of “Project Bitch” and “Back That Azz Up,” which served as the first encore in Tiny Desk history.
The Tiny Desk performance came after Juvenile fans were already in a frenzy due to the NOLA rapper saying on Twitter that he’s contemplating doing a show in New York to celebrate the 25th anniversary of 400 Degreez.
In his tweet, he also promoted his new “Juvie Juice,” which is his new brand of hard iced tea alcohol.
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“New York City!!! If me and my band popped up to do a 25th Anniversary of 400 Degreez celebration and officially launch Juvie Juice in the big Apple … y’all coming? And where should it be?” he asked.
