#470: 400 Degreez [Juvenile, 1998]

I really like the beats on this album. Mannie Fresh had a knack for making delightful, joyful melodies with keyboards, 808s and synths to provide the structure for MCs to rap over. On a few tracks, such as Welcome 2 the Nolia and Rich N****z, he indulges in long outros to show off an instrumental he was really proud of. Besides production, Fresh is also one half of the Big Tymers with rapper Birdman, whose most important feature is on the hype opening Intro (Big Tymers). Other guest stars include B.G, Turk and up-and-comer Lil Wayne, who are ¾ of the group the Hot Boys, along with Juvenile. Juvenile is really the big problem with this album for me. He’s got a distinctive rubbery flow, especially on big hit Ha, but I’m irritated by his slurring of all his words, necessitating repeated visits to Genius.com to decipher his lyrics. I do find body positivity anthem Back That Azz Up very endearing, though. Overall, 400 Degreez is way too long (Three versions of Ha on one album?) but when Mannie Fresh is on his game and Juvenile can ride the groove without getting in the way, the album can be pretty good. 2.8/5.