Crunk Juice is the fifth and final studio album by American Southern hip-hop group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released on November 16, 2004, under BME Recordings and TVT Records. The production was primarily handled by Lil Jon himself, who also collaborated in the executive production, alongside Bryan Leach, Rob McDowell, Emperor Searcy, Vince Phillips, the Neptunes and Rick Rubin. The album includes guest appearances from R. Kelly, Ludacris, Ice Cube, Usher, Bun B from UGK, Jadakiss, Nas, T.I., Ying Yang Twins and Pharrell.
Singles
Crunk Juice was supported by four singles.
Lead single "What U Gon' Do" was released on November 2, 2004.
The second single "Lovers & Friends", was released on November 9, 2004.
The third single "Real Nigga Roll Call", was released on December 21, 2004.
The fourth single "Get Crunk", was released on vinyl.
Commercial performance
Crunk Juice debuted at number 31 on the US Billboard 200 chart. In its second week, the album jumped to number three on the Billboard 200, selling 363,000 copies. It became Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz' first top-ten album in the United States. In the third week, the album remained in the top-ten on the Billboard 200, selling 196,000 copies. The album was certified 2x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA on January 12, 2005.
Critical reception
Crunk Juice received a wide range of reviews. Rating the album four stars out of five, David Jeffries of AllMusic called the album "just as exciting and remarkably powerful" as Back in Black by AC/DC, adding: "Production by production, record by record, Lil Jon has become a more detailed producer." Neil Drumming of Entertainment Weekly graded the album with a C, calling the songs "practically all hook...recited ad nauseam in Jon’s throaty growl...with over-the-top vitriolic rants and nausea-inducing misogyny." Matt Ozga of Prefix panned the album for what he called Lil Jon's "questionable ability as a producer" and "fingernails-on-an-eardrum voice" and lyrics with "vile, witless anti-woman venom", in rating the album 2.5 out of five points.
Track listing
Notes
- Track 6 contains samples of the remix of "Sippin' & Spinnin' [Remix]", as performed by Gangsta Boo, Playa Fly, and Bun B.
- Track 10 contains samples of "Mandatory Suicide" and "Raining Blood", as performed by Slayer.
- Track 12 contains samples of "Lovers and Friends", as performed by Michael Sterling.
- Track 17 contains samples of "Tonight", as performed by Kleeer; and contains an interpolation of "Saturday Love", as performed by Alexander O'Neal and Cherrelle.
- Early pressings of this album erroneously credited Fat Joe (rather than Jadakiss) as one of the rappers in "The Grand Finale".
Bonus remix disc
Confirmed by Artist Direct.