HOUSTON – Renowned rapper Juvenile stopped in Houston Friday to headline the F.O.R.C.E. Tour with LL Cool J at the Toyota Center and introduce fans in Texas to his new beverage brand.
The rapper made his first stop at H-E-B located at 2300 N. Shepherd Dr. Friday afternoon for a pop-up meet-and-greet, where he interacted with fans, signed autographs, took pictures and officially started selling his new popular “Juvie Juice.”
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Made in collaboration with Urban South Brewery, the beverage is a hard twist on the rapper’s favorite drink— an Arnold Palmer, which, for those who may not know, is a mixture of lemonade and tea. The drink’s fruition is a reflection of the rapper’s upbringing.
”Juvie grew up in the neighborhood right near where our brewery is in New Orleans, so his team grew up with one of our owners,” said Josh Bodenweiser, Director of Sales and Marketing at Urban South Brewery. “Juvie always wanted to do a beverage and because of the local partnership and that love in the community, he reached out and wanted to do an Arnold Palmer. We said, ‘We don’t really do that, but we can figure it out.’”
The brewery not only figured it out, they received an overwhelming response. The team spent about a year working on the recipe before launching the product in March.
”The sales are through the roof. It’s our number three brand now in our entire portfolio and he has been so collaborative and helpful promoting on social, everywhere he goes,” Bodenweiser said.
When KPRC 2 Digital Content Producer Erica Ponder asked Juvenile about the beverage, the rapper said he feels it represents him “to the fullest.”
”I’m one of them guys that love drinking Arnold Palmers,” Juvenile said. “I love Arnold Palmers with a passion. Every meal that I have, I’ve got to have something like that with it. And this (Juvie Juice) replaces it because I’m a guy that didn’t drink beer or seltzer.”
The rapper said after he and his wife Shadonna sat down with Urban South to try different flavors, he knew the drink would be a hit.
”Now, it’s starting to be this great mix where all these different people are making these ‘Juvie Juice’ drinks up,” he said.
A southern hip-hop veteran who hasn’t lost his momentum, Juvenile recently went viral after his highly-anticipated NPR Tiny Desk concert where he performed hits like “Back That Thang Up,” “Rodeo,” and “Ha.” The performance featured other notable New Orleans artists, including Mannie Fresh, Jon Batiste, and Trombone Shorty. Now at 5.2 million views on YouTube, the rapper said he didn’t know the response would be so big.
”It’s kind of crazy. My daughter, my baby girl told me, ‘Daddy, you really need to do Tiny Desk.’ I didn’t know what Tiny Desk was,” he said. “People really went crazy on the internet behind it and the performance part just added to it. Trombone Shorty and Jon Batiste, they were kind of educating me on it. And then the last idea was mine to invite Mannie Fresh down because I figured if we were gonna do something live and it’s music, Mannie Fresh has so many different elements that he can add like doing the talk box in a live performance, it would be great for him to be there.”
Since the performance, the rapper said exposure has been amazing. And although he’s honored to be a part of hip-hop history as one the rap pioneers in the southern region, he doesn’t feel other artists like him get the recognition they deserve for their contributions to the culture.
”They pretty much don’t include us in nothing,” he said. The rapper gave props to rap legend LL Cool J for extending an invitation to perform for the F.O.R.C.E. Tour, but said he wishes the south was represented better in celebrations that mark the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
“That’s somebody that I’ve really looked up to over the years, especially when it comes down to hip-hop. I give him props for that, but a lot of other things, like they don’t include Miami. Nobody from Cash Money was included in the BET thing. That was kind of weird to me. We’ve been fighting all these years, so I feel like it’s no reason for us to stop fighting. We’re going to have to keep fighting for our respect,” he added.
Juvenile’s music is widely known by people of all generations and ages. When asked how he felt about this, he jokingly said, “Whew, it makes me feel old in a sense but at the same time, I know I come from something.”
He elaborated, saying, “I know that my fan base has been supporting me 25 plus years and they’re still here. It’s kind of crazy for me to be able to stand here 25 years later and still have some steam under me. It’s all a blessing to me. I feel like one of the lucky ones.”
The rapper was also honored with a key to the city, recognizing his contributions to music.
Juvenile is set to perform with Rakim, The Roots, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Goodie Mob and more Friday night.
For more information on where you can get “Juvie Juice,” click here.
See fan photos from the meet-and-greet below: