LOS ANGELES (TVT Records) - The Atlanta-based torchbears to the hip-hop movement known as "Crunk"; with its signature rowdy choruses and block-rocking beats,
Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz will release their fifth album, CRUNK JUICE – the follow-up to 2003's RIAA double-platinum certified "KINGS OF CRUNK" - on November 16, 2004. The BME/TVT Records release features guest appearances from Ice Cube, Usher, Ludacris, R.Kelly, Snoop Dogg, 8Ball & MJG among others. The album is the defining work for Lil Jon as a producer.
Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz remain true to their gritty, club-ready roots with lead single "What U Gon' Do," which features Lil Scrappy. Releasing such a hard-core record was important to the group because Lil Jon as a producer has enjoyed so much commercial success through his work with
Usher and Ciara, among others. "Most people probably thought we were going to come back with something commercial instead of what we do, which is always come out with a street record first.
That's our base. It's classic Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz." The companion video for "
What U Gon' Do" is "Buzzworthy" rotation at MTV and in heavy rotation at BET. The group performed during the coveted MTV TRL "Spankin' New
Music Week" (11/11), on Last Call with Carson Daly (airs 11/19) and the MTV's $2 Bill tour (12/1). You can also catch the group presenting at the Billboard
Music Awards (12/8) and the Video Game Awards (12/14).
The cornerstone of the CRUNK JUICE online campaign is MTV.com's "The Leak" (11/8), which lets fans hear the entire record prior to release. Additionally, the AOL Sessions performance (11/19) and the Yahoo Launchcast exposure offer immense visibility for CRUNK JUICE online. In a groundbreaking partnership with MTV, TVT offered "
What U Gon' Do" as their first mastertone exclusively though MTV. It was MTV's first multilateral promotion of a ringtone on MTV.com, MTV's section of the Virgin deck and in television programming during MTV2 's Crunk Weekend (10/10).
CRUNK JUICE, a stirring 20-song collection that starts off strong with "Get Crunk" and sustains its explosive energy through the album-closing "
Grand Finale" with Nas, T.I., Bun B and
Ice Cube will make long-time hip-hop fans remember hip-hop's early years, when an album was potent from start to finish. "It's back to where you like the whole album," Lil Jon says. "The sorriest song on the album is still a hit record. That's how sick this album is."
A limited edition CRUNK JUICE will include a 10-track bonus CD with remixes of Terror Squad's "Lean Back," "What U Gon' Do," Trick Daddy's "Lets Go," and "Roll Call," as well as other material. There's also a bonus DVD that shows
Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz in the studio with 8 Ball & MJG, Rick Rubin, Bad Brains and others, as well as the trio at the MTV Video
Music Awards, on BET's How I'm Living and performing at Hot 97's Summer Jam in New York courtesy of FUSE.
