In the latest episode of their Deconstructed series, Genius revisits a classic hip-hop song with a legendary hip-hop producer. Ahead of its 20th anniversary later this month, Mannie Fresh breaks down the making of Juvenile’s 1998 hit “Back That Azz Up,” walking us through each individual element while explaining how Ice-T, UGK and The Showboys influenced the song. Despite sounding relatively simple, Mannie actually went through a meticulous process to make the beat — and the result was nothing short of magic.
“20 years ago, ‘Back That Azz Up’ coming out, that was the introduction to bounce music to the world,” Mannie says. “A lot of people don’t know, it was met with, ‘Nah, maybe the world not ready for it.’ Like, we get it. This New Orleans, we get it.’ Fast forward 20 years later, it stood the test of time.”
Watch after the jump…
