We had to let y'all know we was doing it like that. "We first came with the bling bling sh- and hit y'all with everything. "You know we can't leave alone what made us," he said of the clip. Familiar yet undeniably fresh, “Beast Mode” is just as Juve intended—a great summer album.Lil' Wayne says that in his new video for "Way of Life," you'll see more of that stunning that's become synonymous with his label, Cash Money Records. With CMB miles in the rearview, he may not clock the sales he did in his heyday, but at 35 he’s still the rapper that Plies, Gucci Mane, and the latest generation of southern swagger rappers wish they were. Juvenile may be forever known for the singles encompassed by his 2004 “The Greatest Hits” collection, but a comparably good compilation could be made from his post-Cash Money catalog. The only missteps of note are the slightly forced “Drinks on Me” and “Pussy Kat,” and clocking in well short of 40 minutes, some listeners may actually be left wanting more. The spirited “Lights, Camera, Action” closes the album with a highlight. Get at you early in the mornin’ drinkin’ your apple juiceĪnd I don’t have to borrow shit, I have enough o’ toysĪnd what I need a team for? They make too much o’ noise” Shit stains on my tennis shoes, I be kickin’ assĬlash of the titans, somebody let the cracka lose You started ‘lone, you stuttered wrong, I make decisions fast It ain’t no way to walk over me, I’m a bear trap You used to lyin’, but me, I hit ’em wit’ bare facts Try me boy, see if you make it fuckin’ home You better chill boy, take you and your trouble homeĪnd pay attention to who the fuck you be buckin’ onĪnd if security come, you better say ain’t nothin’ wrong ‘Cause my thugs’ll kill everything that you love off What I done seen at my age, I oughta be shell shockedĪnd real talk, I’m not tryin’ to say that my thugs soft “I walk alone in this beef shit, though my trail hot on “Nothing Like Me.” The bouncy “No Team” pledges solidarity: The first single “Drop Dat Azz” is a club-tailored banger the likes of which Juve has made a career upon, and the frenetic “Bitch Instructions” recalls the wild, charismatic flow of “I Got That Fire.” S-8ighty’s beat on “La La La La La” is contagiously catchy, and he shares the mic with his own son Juvy Jr. Man I mix the purp with the Henny and I go loco”
I’m bouncin’ in this bitch spillin’ liquor all on my Polo…Īnd I don’t have no love for these niggas, bitches or po-po If you ain’t in this motherfucker thuggin’, whatchu doin’ bitch The opener “Go Hard or Go Home” is a horn-heavy manifesto that Mannie Fresh could easily have made, and Juve treats it accordingly:īut you, but you be losin’ like a Lions fan
Although they frequently give nods to his bounce music roots, these tracks are polished and contemporary, and Juve still sounds great.
“Beast Mode” also contains some of the freshest, cleanest sounding beats Juve has graced to date, courtesy of S-8ighty, Sinista, Niyo, Streets, C. What it may have over its predecessor is a lack of autotune and R&B influence and increased focus due to fewer guest appearances and a shorter running time. “Beast Mode,” Juve’s ninth solo by my count, picks up right where “Cocky & Confident” left off with an array of exuberant club-ready anthems. In December 2009 he released the dope yet quietly received “Cocky & Confident,” and just seven months later came back with “Beast Mode,” a lean eleven-track effort delayed due to Juve’s belief that it was a “summer album.” He returned with 2006’s chart-topping “Reality Check,” a triumphant first record since severing ties with his longtime label, but in 2008 was derailed once again by a perplexing triple-homicide in which his four-year-old daughter was murdered along with her mother and half-sister by her half-brother. Citing years of turmoil and lack of compensation, he left Cash Money for good following 2003’s “Juve the Great,” only to watch his beloved hometown decimated by Hurricane Katrina. However, to say that Juve’s career was all peaches and cream would be a gross oversight. An excellent rapper but an even more likable character, Juve rose from the streets of the Crescent City to attain legendary status, pioneering his city’s infamous bounce sound and selling millions of records both solo and as a member of the Hot Boys and UTP. Yet after a decade-and-a-half of recording, Terius Gray has attained unusual longevity in a career largely spent embodying the factors that made fans love and detractors love to hate the Cash Money Billionaires and New Orleans bounce music at large: shameless opulence and materialism, undisguised misogyny, sly humor amidst often simplistic lyricism, an inimitable swagger and style, addictive, irresistible cookie-cutter beats, and a penchant for making both club and street anthems and posse cuts. If you told folks back in ’98 that “400 Degreez” would be considered damn near a hip hop classic a decade later, most of them would have called your bluff.
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