The tracks, “Black Jesus” and “Let’s Go,” were meant to be part of a collaborative project called OMFGOD, which Mannie said he is still “waiting on the word” to release in its entirety. He connected with Yasiin once more on “The Very Best,” a 2025 track by fellow New Orleans native Dee-1. Kanye West, 2 Chainz, Young Jeezy, and T-Pain are a few more artists whose catalogs have benefited from Mannie’s production in recent years. To some,Mannie’s crowning achievement was molding LilWayne for global superstardom, from his earliest rhymes with the Hot Boys precursor Baby Gangstaz (aka the B.G.’z) in the mid ’90s to 2004’s legend-making Tha Carter album, and its signature single, “Go D.J.” He resumed his partnership with Wayne following the rapper’s 2015 departure from Cash Money, leading to beat placements on 2018’s Tha Carter V, 2020’s Funeral , and 2025’s Tha Carter VI . Today, the name Mannie Fresh is synonymous worldwide with the sound of modern New Orleans, to no surprise of anyone who knew him from his days mixing on that bunk bed in the Seventh Ward. “Manny is just a naturally New Orleans boy,” said Mia X. “I think we’ve always made something from nothing in this place. He embodies the spirit of who we are in this city.” Ask Mannie, and everything happened exactly according to plan. “I manifested this,” he said, speaking both of his personal success and the ascension of New Orleans hip-hop. “I lost girlfriends behind this...I used to write affirmations on the refrigerator that said, ‘I’m going to make a million dollars.’ People would pass by and say,‘Take that down, dude, it’s stupid.’ And I’d say, ‘No, leave it right there. Let me look.’”
and “#1 Stunna” from I Got That Work , his third album as one half of the Big Tymers with Baby.The duo’s bombastic 2002 single “Still Fly” became Mannie’s highest-charting Billboard single at the time, reaching #11 on the Hot 100. He topped that in 2007 with T.I.’s “Big Things Poppin’ (Do It),” which peaked at #9.That track also scored him his first Grammy nomination. Beyond commercial achievements, Mannie has been named on virtually every list of the best hip-hop producers of all time. And he is still filling venues after thirty years. In November 2025, he was joined by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra at New Orleans’s Orpheum Theater for a night of symphonic rearrangements of his classic Cash Money hits. Yet, for Mannie Fresh, there is still more to accomplish. “It’s time for us to stand up because we can’t be forgotten about. All the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame stuff, you know, we deserve that,” Mannie expressed. “We’re still selling out stadiums—yet we get no acknowledgment after we leave. Nobody speaks on the importance of Cash Money, and what our sound has done.” While Mannie worked exclusively with Cash Money artists from 1993 until his departure from the label in 2004, he never felt boxed in or stifled because of his “in-house” status, and it certainly didn’t stunt his impact and influence.Traces of Mannie’s Cash Money sound can be heard today in tracks from artists who weren’t even born when “Bling Bling” was released. Although he’s flattered that a new generation hears the timeless appeal of music he created from humble circumstances, he doesn’t see the work ethic duplicated at the same rate.“With this generation, I’m not scared to say it anymore: y’all lazy. Man, if you want something, put it in action.” While he is rightfully celebrated for his contributions to New Orleans hip-hop, fans have yet to hear every side of Mannie Fresh. In 2013, he released two singles with Yasiin Bey, formerly Mos Def.
For more New Orleans hip-hop history, dive into the Pen & Pixel Collection on Waxpoetics.com.
58 WaxPoetics
( opposite ) Mannie Fresh in 2002. Photo by Gregory Bojorquez.
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