Juvenile has recently been gaining new and old fans with his live performances, and his appearance at this weekend’s Essence Festival is the best illustration of this.
The Hot Boy “Set It Off” on Friday (June 30) with a set that started at around 10:30 p.m. ET, despite the organizers initially ignoring the Nolia legend from their “The South Got Something To Say” set.
The moment he started singing “Back That Azz Up,” off Juvie’s third album 400 Degreez, which features Mannie Fresh and Lil Wayne, the crowd erupted.
The Magnolia Projects native chose to promote “Donna Fest,” a festival that he and Mannie Fresh will be a part of, after Essence Fest first turned him down.
“F that Donna Fest July 2nd me with my live band +Mannie Fresh +Rebirth & more [gold star emojis] & the best food vendors new orleans has to offer I should know since I’m from here!” Our [ticket emoji] are merely $25!” He composed.
But soon after that rejection, Juvenile announced on Twitter that he will be performing. Without Juvie, Hip-Hop 50? Zero chance. He wrote, “June 30th, NOLA we live. It ends with “#ESSENCEFEST #ESSENCEFEST2023 #EFOC2023.”
Following 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 performing a handful of their best hits, they gave a performance at Essence Fest.
The former Cash Money team opened with the 400 Degreez album’s intro, released in 1998, and then played a few other songs from the multi-platinum album, including the title track and “Ha.” From there, they performed “I Need a Hot Girl,” “Rodeo,” “Slow Motion,” and “Set It Off.”
The duo then wrapped things off with raucous performances of “Project Bitch” and “Back That Azz Up,” which served as the first encore in Tiny Desk history and featured a surprise visit from John Batiste.
Juvenile’s Tiny Desk performance happened when his followers on Twitter expressed excitement at the prospect of his performing at 400 Degreez’s 25th anniversary in New York City.
He also touted his new brand of strong iced tea alcohol, “Juvie Juice,” in his tweet.
“New York, NY! If I and my band showed up to perform at the official Juvie Juice launch party for the 25th anniversary of 400 Degreez in New York City… You guys coming? And where ought it to be?” he questioned.
