Hot Boys
New Orleans rap group formed at Cash Money Records in 1997 by Juvenile, Lil Wayne, B.G. and Turk, whose Mannie Fresh-produced albums led the label’s national breakthrough.
Formation
The Hot Boys were assembled in New Orleans in 1997 by Cash Money Records co-founders Bryan “Baby” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams. The lineup settled on four label artists: Juvenile, B.G., Turk and a teenage Lil Wayne. An early member, Bulletproof, left before the group's commercial run. All four rappers came out of the city's housing projects and neighborhoods, and the group functioned as a showcase for Cash Money's in-house roster.
Cash Money and Mannie Fresh
Every track on the group's first two albums was produced by Mannie Fresh, the label's in-house producer, whose drum programming, synthesizer lines and bounce-derived rhythms defined the Cash Money sound. The debut, Get It How U Live!!, was released independently by Cash Money in October 1997 and reached number 37 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In 1998 Cash Money signed a distribution deal with Universal Records, which reissued the debut and carried the label's releases to a national audience.
Guerrilla Warfare
Guerrilla Warfare, released in July 1999, debuted at number 5 on the Billboard 200 and number 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and was certified platinum by the RIAA that November. Its singles “We on Fire” and “I Need a Hot Girl,” the latter featuring Big Tymers, reached radio and video outlets as Juvenile's 400 Degreez, B.G.'s Chopper City in the Ghetto and Lil Wayne's Tha Block Is Hot were also selling nationally. The album is generally regarded as the group's most successful release.
Breakup and aftermath
By 2001 the group had begun to split, with members citing disputes over money and contracts with Cash Money. B.G., Juvenile and Turk left the label, and Lil Wayne remained to become its leading artist. Cash Money issued Let 'Em Burn, a collection of previously unreleased recordings, in March 2003; it reached number 14 on the Billboard 200. Turk and B.G. later served long prison sentences, which kept the group from reforming. Members have appeared together on stage and on occasional recordings since, including a 2012 remix of Turk's “Zip It” featuring all four.
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