Will all four Hot Boys reunite for the Cash Money Records show at 2024 Essence Festival?

Will Cash Money Records’ four Hot Boys reunite at the 2024 Essence Festival of Culture?

A celebration of Cash Money’s 30th anniversary, hosted by label co-founder Bryan “Baby” “Birdman” Williams, was the first act announced for the 30th anniversary Essence Fest. The Cash Money crew is slated to headline Friday’s opening night at the Caesars Superdome.

That announcement set off a storm of social media chatter by fans of New Orleans hip-hop who harbor fond memories of Cash Money’s heyday in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The Hot Boys – Lil Wayne, Juvenile, B.G. and Turk – released their debut album, “Get It How U Live!,” in 1997. Their second album, 1999’s “Guerilla Warfare,” cemented their collective reputation even as the individual members – especially Juvenile and Wayne – achieved solo stardom.

The Hot Boys’ music and reputation have endured even though they have not performed in more than 15 years. One hindrance was that two of the Hot Boys – Christopher “B.G.” Dorsey and Tab “Turk” Virgil Jr. – languished for years in prison.

Virgil, who served nine years on various charges following a shootout with deputies in Tennessee, was released in 2012.

Dorsey exited federal prison in September after serving 12 years on gun possession and obstruction of justice charges and is on supervised released. A federal judge in New Orleans ruled last week that Dorsey does not need to tone down the content of his lyrics in order to abide by the terms of his release.

🗣️Cash money is an ARMY!

For the first time in over 15 years, the reunion you all have been waiting on comes to ESSENCE Fest.

BG will take the stage with Cash Money for a can’t miss moment in HIP-HOP History.

The Boys are back to takeover the city. This is your warning. Your… pic.twitter.com/diXt27TUzs

— ESSENCE Festival (@essencefest) July 4, 2024

Now based in Las Vegas, he turned up Wednesday in Central City to see the corner of Saratoga and Erato streets rechristened Williams Brothers Way in honor of Birdman and his brother and Cash Money co-founder Ronald “Slim” Williams. The brothers lived for a time above the nearby Gladys Bar, which is named for their late mother.

On Thursday, Essence Festival social media posted a brief video of B.G. confirming his participation in Friday’s Cash Money show. It will serve as his high-profile New Orleans homecoming.

“Don’t sleep on it, be on it,” B.G. said in the video. “All of us on one stage, one night, first time in over 15 years.”

What’s not clear is who B.G. meant by “all of us.”

Juvenile will be there. His 400 Degreez Band, the same band that will back him for his upcoming tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of his signature “Back That Azz Up,” will serve as the house band for the Cash Money show at Essence.

This week, Juvenile has posted updates from rehearsals. He was also on hand for Wednesday’s Williams Brothers Way street renaming.

Byron “Mannie Fresh” Thomas, the producer behind Cash Money’s essential recordings, will be onstage at the Dome as well. He was part of Juvenile’s much-acclaimed “Tiny Desk Concert” on NPR last summer. During that “Tiny Desk” taping, they performed the Hot Boys’ “I Need a Hot Girl.”

“I ain’t even on the song but I’m in the video,” Juvenile noted.

Fresh was with Juvenile in rehearsal photos posted this week. And back in the day, Fresh partnered with Birdman as the Big Tymers. The duo released a handful of albums in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including “I Got That Work” and “Hood Rich.” They might roll out a Big Tymers song or two on Friday.

Lil Wayne, still the biggest solo star to emerge from the Hot Boys, is likely to be in attendance Friday. He performed an unannounced 30-minute set during the 2023 Essence. And in 2022, he and Birdman were surprise guests during Nicki Minaj’s Essence concert.

Given that track history, it’s unlikely he’d skip a Cash Money celebration at Essence.

What’s not clear is whether Turk, the fourth member of the classic Hot Boys lineup, will participate on Friday.

Turk will be in New Orleans this weekend. He’s slated to perform at Juvenile’s fourth annual Donna Color Explosion on Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m. at Urban South Brewery (1645 Tchoupitoulas St.). In addition to Juvenile and Turk, scheduled performers include Baton Rouge rapper Boosie Badazz. The event concludes with a “color explosion war,” in which participants douse one another with colored powders from blasters and extinguishers.

Turk has clarified in recent social media posts that he’d like to participate in a Hot Boys reunion at Essence, and that he believes it wouldn’t be a true reunion without him.

But he also alluded to “business” issues standing in the way.

In a video posted to his Twitter account on June 30, he said that fans from all over the world have been asking if he’ll be at Essence.

To All My Fans Inquiring About Me Performing At @essencefest Interview Dropping Soon BTS STAY TUNED FOR MORE #HOTBOYTURK #TURKFANS #STILLONFIRE #JOSEPH pic.twitter.com/of9sniLkcX

— #MAGNOLIATURK🦍🔥 (@HotBoyTurk32) June 30, 2024

“I don’t even be knowin’ what to tell them because I don’t know if they gonna understand the business side of it,” Turk says in the video. “But I want them to know that I’m doing everything that’s in my power for them to see me. I don’t want them to think that I’m a no-show.”

He left the door open for a last-minute invite to Essence. “If it don’t happen, that’s just one day, one event….Let’s see what’s going to happen.”

Cash Money fans will find out Friday night at the Superdome.

During an interview in June, Essence Festival vice-president Hakeem Holmes declined to answer when asked if he was optimistic the Hot Boys would reunite at Essence.

But Holmes wouldn’t be opposed to a Hot Boys reunion, would he? He replied, “I would absolutely not be opposed.”