50 Cent says that he initially clowned Juvenile over his project, 400 Degreez, for wearing too much baby oil, but quickly changed his tune when he saw the success of the New York rapper's third studio album. 50 Cent recalled his feelings at the time early in his career while speaking with The New York Times for the outlet's "50 Rappers 50 Stories" piece in honor of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
“When there’s no plan B, you looking at everything and saying, ‘I gotta figure out what’s gonna work or what’s not gonna work,'” 50 recalled. “There’s points where you’re laughing at a guy and then you look and it’s not funny no more.”
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He continued: “Like Juvenile. We would laugh at him on 400 Degreez. He was standing in front of the yellow Corvette and he had like a little bit too much baby oil on. He was shiny. We’re laughing like, this [expletive] is country. And when them numbers came back, listen, I said, ‘Get me some baby oil!”
Juvenile dropped 400 Degreez in November 1998 with two official singles, "Ha" and "Back That Azz Up." The album went on to become the most successful of his career. In two years, the RIAA already certified it four times platinum. Rolling Stone later named "Back That Azz Up" as one of the "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time."
2023 marks the 25th anniversary of the album, something Juvenile intends to celebrate with a special concert in New York City. He teased the idea on social media in June. “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 wrote at the time. He hasn't provided any further details on the idea.
[Via]
