28 years of Juvenile's “400 Degreez”
On this day in 1998, Cash Money dropped the Mannie Fresh-produced album that carried New Orleans bounce to 4× platinum.
Twenty-eight years ago today, on November 3, 1998, Juvenile released 400 Degreez on Cash Money Records and Universal. It was his third album and the first Cash Money release under the label's new deal with Universal, which let Cash Money keep ownership of its music and 85% of the royalties.
- Released
- Nov 3, 1998
- Producer
- Mannie Fresh (entire album)
- Billboard 200
- #9
- Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
- #2
- Certification
- 4× Platinum (Dec 19, 2000)
- Singles
- "Ha" (#68) · "Back That Azz Up" (#19)
Mannie Fresh, start to finish
Every beat came from Mannie Fresh, Cash Money's in-house producer, who blended New Orleans bounce with straight-ahead rap. Juvenile has described the sessions as "like… a job": the label's artists went to the studio every day and recorded for whichever album was up next.
"Ha" was the lead single, though Mannie Fresh later said it was the last song written for the album. Its remix with Jay-Z has been called "a key inflection point in the relationship between Southern and East Coast rap," and Mannie has said hearing that Jay-Z wanted on it was when he "knew [he'd] arrived." Then came "Back That Azz Up," released in June 1999 with Mannie Fresh and Lil Wayne. Wayne, who was in the studio, insisted on adding the New Orleans chant at the end. The song peaked at #19 on the Hot 100 and has never left a party since.
The album went to #9 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and was certified 4× platinum on December 19, 2000. It's still Juvenile's best-selling solo album, and a 25th-anniversary deluxe edition arrived in March 2024. If you play it loud today, you're marking the date the right way.
