400 Degreez [Orange Crush 2 LP] in Bloomington, MN

Among the flurry of
Cash Money
releases during the late '90s,
400 Degreez
certainly stands out, and not just as
Juvenile
's shining moment but also as the album that forced everyone to suddenly take this
Dirty South
collective very seriously. Before
,
had been operating relatively well, securing a distribution deal with
Universal
and broadening its audience with every successive release. But nothing prepared anyone for the success of
, particularly its two anthemic singles, the tongue-twisting
"Ha"
and the booty-calling
"Back That Azz Up."
These two songs alone make
noteworthy. They're absolutely two of the best songs to come out of the late-'90s
boom. Moreover, two remixes of
come late on the album, one with
the Hot Boys
, the other with
Jay-Z
. These four highlights --
"Ha,"
"Back That Azz Up,"
and the
remixes -- break up the album, somewhat concealing the filler. And, yes, there is filler here, as with any
album, but even it is worthwhile, either because of
's carefully structured rhyming or producer
Mannie Fresh
's seemingly bottomless well of hot beats. Among the singles and the filler here, there are also a few great album tracks as well. In particular,
"Flossin Season"
features some incredibly brash boasts from
the Big Tymers
, and
"Rich Niggaz"
features an absolutely frantic beat that ricochets on for five breathtaking minutes. All of this, along with perfect timing, dropping just as the
broke into the mainstream, made
a phenomenal release for
, quite arguably the label's crowning achievement. This album, of course, made
a superstar and, in turn, towered over him for years as the achievement by which he would always be measured. ~ Jason Birchmeier