Entertainment

Juvenile is a bonafide hip-hop legend. Through the timelessness of his classic records, he has helped to cement the legacy of New Orleans’ Cash Money era while enjoying a cross-generational appeal via the magic of social media. Juvenile stays ubiquitous – you cannot go to a major event, a club night or even listen to a new music release without hearing Juvie’s influence or actual music and lyrics.

On his 3rd or 4th wave now, Juvenile’s most recent reinvention outside music revolves around strategic hometown partnerships and products that result from his burgeoning passion for all things culinary, along with his innate entrepreneurial spirit. Current plans beyond his already popular Juvie Juice and savory Cheewee’s snacks include his own coffee, a line of sauces and more varieties of Juvie Juice.

We got the lowdown on everything Juvie has in the pipeline, along with his recommendations for New Orleans hot spots and local gems. Juvie has us covered when it comes to the top crawfish and gumbo in NOLA, what makes Ruth Chris’ in ‘Nawlins like no other, and his personal snack indulgence; pretzels and Snickers mixed.

Whether it’s getting healthy with Caesar Salads and Nature’s Own granola bars, hitting every Benihana possible, playing the “Juvie Card” to get some late-night eggs at Waffle House or polishing off that mini-bar Toblerone, Juvenile is a man who knows exactly what he likes and wants at any given time. And if Juvie tells you that you look like a Toblerone kind of guy, that just means he sees a little bit of himself in you – there may be no better compliment. Join us and get to know the legendary “Ha” emcee, unlike you’ve ever known him before.

Where are you today?

Oh, I’m at my little spot where I make my lamps and stuff in New Orleans.

When you’re on the road doing shows, what’s on your rider as far as food and drinks and snacks?

Most of the time it’s Popeyes Chicken, full service. I got to have the rice, the red beans. I want mild chicken. I’m going to always have my chips, of course, the 400 Degreez Snack Chips. My main thing would be the Popeyes. I got to have the Popeyes.

Is that like a bucket of dark, white, a little bit of everything?

I get mixed. I get it mixed, so it’s a little bit of everything.

When you’re in the studio creating, are there certain foods or snacks or drinks that you need to have in the studio to get in the right mind state?

In the studio, I got to have my D’Usse or some form of cognac. I got to have some cognac in there, and I definitely got to have my Juvie Juice ’cause I’m blending them. We make drinks, we make all kinds of drinks with the Juvie Juice.

What about from a food perspective? Are you ordering takeout?

Usually, when I’m at home, I want crawfish, man. I’m tweaking for some crawfish right now. Most of the time when I go to the studio out of town it would be some form of seafood. So it might be like a grilled fish or something like that, nothing heavy.

How do you like your crawfish prepared?

Oh, they got to come from Cajun’s on Claiborne, on North Claiborne, first of all, ’cause they got a few Cajuns in the city. I got one specifically that I go to, right? My crawfish, they come one way, they hot.

They hot, they real seasoned up. It’s everything. You know what I’m saying? You really got to have a liking for them because they real hot.

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So do you like your food spicy in general, or is it just the crawfish?

No, it’s just the crawfish. When we say spicy in New Orleans, we mean spicy, we don’t mean spicy by pepper spicy. We mean a lot of seasoning, like a lot of vegetables and a lot of onions and bell peppers and stuff like that.

It sounds like you have a lot of big meals, but are you much of a snacker? Do you eat chips and cookies and candy and stuff like that?

Yeah, not a lot. I used to. I used to be a Snickers man but now I’m getting up in age, man, I don’t do too much junk (food), like I used to. But if I was to dive into some snacks, I like ice cream sandwiches.

What’s your go-to ice cream sandwich?

Strawberry Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich from, what’s the name of the ice cream place? I can’t think of the name right off the top of my head. I just walk in a damn store every other day and buy something. Why I can’t think of it? I got a big dude in here (who) can’t think of an ice cream place. Baskin? That’s it, Baskin-Robbins. Yeah, Baskin-Robbins.

Do you prefer sweets to chips and savory snacks?

I’m really a potato chip guy. I’ll be eating them Kettle Chips. I get the Kettle Chips from Whole Foods. I like Lay’s Kettle Chips. My brand, I’m a Kettle Chip head, and I’ll try some shit too when it’s Kettle Chips, honestly. I like the crunch.

They got the Zapp’s down in New Orleans.

Yeah. That’s the main reason I like Kettle Chips. I like all the Zapp’s, even though some of them are horrible, but I still eat them.

What’s the worst flavor of Zapp’s?

Probably the crawfish flavor, but I still eat them. If you give me a bag, I’m still going to eat them.

You’re a crawfish guy, how come you don’t like the crawfish chips?

It ain’t the consistency I’m looking for, but I ain’t trying to hear it on Zapp’s either because they got some good chips.

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When you’re on the road and you’re touring, what’s something that you like to have in your room or if there’s something in the mini bar?

I get into the mini bar, I do. You know those Nature’s Own snacks in the green pack? I like those, bro. I ain’t going to lie to you. I like those. I’m hooked on those. If they got those in the hotel room anywhere, usually I’ll eat them. I used to be a Toblerone man. I’m telling you, man, I used to have it bad with that. I had to leave that alone.

A lot of people have that problem.

You look like a Toblerone guy too! Especially in the hotel rooms ’cause they usually always have them in the minibars and stuff. That’s a fact. So after you’re done a show, I know- also, Famous Amos Cookies. I knew I was forgetting something. Famous Amos Cookies, I love those.

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So after you have a show, I know it’s usually probably pretty late at night once you’re done. Do you usually go out to eat afterwards? Are you getting room service?

If I eat it’s going to be Waffle House, probably some eggs, grilled chicken. Whatever’s open 24 hours, usually late, I want eggs. I want some eggs and grilled chicken most of the time.

So you’re not doing room service?

If it’s open, and I can convince them to make what I want. I’m real talkative when I want some food, and I want something, I be, “Hey, this Juvie.” That’s when I start throwing the Juvie card around. “That’s Juvie, y’all. You know this Juvie, right?” “I’m going to tip you real good. Hey, could you get the chef to make me some eggs? You know what I’m saying? Some turkey sausage or something like that, man, just hook me up something special,” ’cause usually, they have pork on the menu for breakfast.

I’m not a pork eater, so I always have to ask these extra questions.

So it sounds like as you’re getting older, you’ve gotten a little bit healthier in your eating habits. You said you go to Whole Foods, you’re eating turkey sausage and it sounds like you might-

Nah, nah, I got to learn how, I’m trying. I’m trying, ’cause look, I got a stomach, bro. I’m trying to learn how.

Besides the granola bars, what’s some other healthy snacks that you like that maybe other people should know about that are trying to get healthier too?

Well, I’m a salad head. But as far as snack wise, healthy snacks, fruits, that’s probably it. I eat a lot of fruits too.

Do you have a favorite fruit? Favorite salad?

My favorite fruit is orange. I love oranges, mandarins or anything like that.

What’s your go-to salad when you’re eating salads or eating healthy?

I’m a Caesar head. I like Caesar. I like Caesar. I can eat it with chicken without chicken, just the Caesar.

So something that’s interesting that’s come up to us is that lot of times nowadays people are trying out new snacks and putting different snacks together. We had somebody that likes to eat Oreos and Doritos together. We had somebody that likes to eat Kool-Aid flavored pickles. I’m curious if there’s anything that you like that other people might think is weird or gross.

Yeah, pretzels and Snickers. I like pretzels with Snickers together. You know, the little Snickers? The little Snickers in the little pack… and pretzels. Try that.

That sounds good, actually.

Try that. Try that, brother.

Then on the flip side, is there anything that you see other people out there eating that you’re like, “That’s nasty?” Or, “Why would you eat that together?”

It’s been some weird stuff, man. I done seen people put peppermints in hot pickles, take a peppermint and stuff it into hot pickles.

I’ve never seen that.

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Yeah, man, like, what’s the purpose? Your breath, it’s not going to help. I don’t know, but people have some weird fetish. The weirdest stuff I done seen probably came from pregnant women. I think that was my aunt or somebody was eating pig lips. What they eat it with? Pig lips and potato chips, pig feets and potato chips. You ever had that?

No.

Down here they have pickled pig lips. Pickled pig lips and potato chips.

That sounds like a band name or something. That’s interesting.

Pickled pig lips and potato chips, that’s big down here.

I’ll take your word for it. I might have to try that on my next trip.

So that brings me to New Orleans. You come from somewhere that has a very rich food history, a very rich culinary background. What are some of your favorite restaurants or places that the tourists don’t get to that they should be checking out?

Well, Neyow’s would be one of them, a local spot that a lot of people do come through that know about it, but a lot of the tourists miss it. It’s a spot I eat at on a regular. We got a lot of trucks down here that’s real good.

What are you eating at Neyow’s that’s really good?

I like the gumbo and the fried chicken, but I’ve had the fish, I’ve had the salmon. They got different stuff on their menu, man. They got a big menu. It’s always packed in there, but I don’t know if there’s people from out of town. I think it’s locals.

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What’s another local spot that everybody should check out that maybe they don’t know about?

Definitely my guy, Skip, got Chicken & Watermelon. Everybody from out of town comes there. It is right there on Claiborne Street.

So would you say that Neyow’s is the best place to get gumbo or where’s your gumbo spot?

No, I think it’s called Orleans Cafe is another spot that’s in the New Orleans East that all they sell is gumbo, and they sell it by the gallons.

Oh, wow.

People say they have the best gumbo. I’ve had it one time, but I got to have it a couple of times. My taste buds don’t work like that. I got to have it a couple times to say if it’s the best or just have both of them together and compare them. But nah, Neyow’s have some good gumbo.

Then I know you said crawfish is your favorite local dish.

Nah, that’s number one, but we got Ruth’s Chris. Ruth’s Chris is from here. I always tell people from out of town like Ruth’s Chris is different in New Orleans. It’s not like the Ruth’s Chris you go to on the road or something like that.

So what makes it different in New Orleans, if you could explain?

I guess that base of the way they cook the steaks and cook the food and the know-how, you know what I’m saying? New Orleans is the cooking capital, so people in New Orleans tend to do things different, the chefs and all. So the cooks that they have that’s in the Ruth’s Chris down here will be totally different from the ones out of town. Even though they’re cooking the same thing.

When you’ve been on the road touring, are there any cities that you really look forward to ’cause of the food there or restaurants that you like to go to?

I’m big on going to spots that we don’t have here in New Orleans, but most of the time, it’s national spots. We don’t have a Benihana here, and I love Benihana. Every time I go to Dallas or I go to Atlanta or to New York, those are the spots that I look for. But New Orleans people, we so locked in on our food, when we go to another city, we like the people to tell us what’s the best spot and go there. I’ve been to a lot of spots, it’s just hard for me to just pull one out of my hat.

What do you like to order at Benihana, though?

Man, I be ordering damn near everything on the menu. We just order. I go for it. I go for it, man. I like the pageantry and everything, but usually I get the triple, the one with the chicken, the steak and the shrimp. Forgot what they call it. I don’t eat it all, but I just order it like that.

I want to get more into your snacks and products. So I heard that Juvie Juice was inspired by your love for Arnold Palmer. When did you get into the Arnold Palmers, and where did that come from?

I’ve been drinking that since a kid. We always took lemonade and mixed it with tea, and I never knew the name was Arnold Palmer until I got older. So when they started saying Arnold Palmer, especially when you’re going to bars or restaurants and you’re trying to make that order, it’s just easier to say that ’cause they know everybody knows what that is. But yeah, I just love the taste. Seltzer was something that I wasn’t a fan of. I’m not really a big beer drinker either.

So it was something that I had to be convinced to like. So my guy Travis took me over to Urban South and we had a taste test, me, him and my wife.

We went through all these different flavors and stuff like that. I kept telling him, “Ah, this ain’t it. This ain’t it. This don’t taste like Arnold Palmer, I don’t like it.” Eventually, we got to the flavor. We got to the consistency that I like, and shit, right now, it’s doing good. I think a lot of people feel the same way I feel about seltzers. A lot of them are just dry and horrible.

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So how does that feel for you to have something that you loved as a kid and now you have your own version on the market? You’ve been in the hip-hop game, you probably have had every honor and achievement in music, but having that outside of music, how does that feel?

Oh, it’s a good feeling, man. Tomorrow I’m doing a big in-store with Total Wine, Costco’s and Rouses, which is a local grocery store food chain down here, so I’m gradually growing a brand. To see a brand grow from one state to another state — right now, we’re in eight states — and do well and see the fans reaction when they drink it is great. Mmost of the people that come, they really haven’t drank the seltzer a day in their life. They’re getting introduced to something new and they really like it. For me, it’s a new world.

Then can you explain also how the CheeWees partnership came about?

Well, CheeWees is something that I’ve been eating since I was a kid down here. It’s a local company that’s been making these CheeWees before Cheetos. Actually, they sold the machine to Frito-Lay to make the Cheetos brand, so this brand’s been going… Down here, when you say Cheetos, we don’t say it, we say CheeWees. I call Cheetos CheeWees also, so it’s something that stuck with me and I saw an opportunity to have a partnership with somebody local and make a chip of my own, something that I really like, something that I enjoy with my face and my brand on it. I think it’s doing real good, man. The people down here, they love it.

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So I have to ask you, what’s next? Because it seems like this food and culinary world is something you’re really embracing.

We got the hot sauce we working on right now. Matter of fact, I’ll show you. I already got some bottled up, but I don’t have the pictures. We working on the artwork right now,

I’ll have to ask them to maybe send me some info on it, and maybe you could send me a bottle when it’s ready. I would love to try it.

Yeah, I can. I got a trunk full of it right now. I got A-1, when I say A-1, I got steak sauce I’m working on. Well, we’ve already finished with the steak sauce, and we’ve already finished with marinades, so I got a list of marinades. I got two more flavors of the Juvie Juice coming out. One is strawberry lemonade, the other one is mango. I’m working on a coffee, which is called The Great Company with my wife.

Oh, man, you got an empire that’s coming.

Yeah, I’m working, bro. I’m working.

One last question. I know you got your own stuff and your own brands going, but if you could own or operate a franchise that exists already, like a restaurant or something like that is already out there, would it be Popeyes or would it be something else?

Man, you hit it on the nose, bro. It would be Popeyes or Chick-fil-A. I love Chick-fil-A. I wish they would open on Sundays, but I understand ’cause from a Chick-fil-A person that loves Chick-fil-A, it hurts me when they close on Sunday ’cause I love my grilled nuggets.

Grilled nuggets is your go-to at Chick-fil-A?

Grilled nuggets, and then we never talked about that yet, I’m a Chick-fil-a man. I got to have my Texas Pete Hot Sauce with my grilled nuggets, my 12 count.

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