Juvenile And Mannie Fresh Are Making Sure New Orleans Is Respected At Super Bowl LIX

As New Orleans prepares to welcome an influx of outsiders to town for Super Bowl LIX, musicians Juvenile and Mannie Fresh are doing their part to make sure the Big Easy is protected and respected by the excited crowd. This includes continuing their longstanding dedication to financially supporting their hometown, welcoming visitors with southern hospitality, and working with Crown Royal and Starter to give back where it matters most.

The city started the year as the target of an attack where someone intentionally drove into partygoers on the city’s famous Bourbon Street, killing more than a dozen people. Now a little over a month later, New Orleans is tasked with hosting thousands of revelers for the big game, a job that the aforementioned Hip-Hop veterans are sure it can handle.

“We’re in good spirits right now,” assured Mannie Fresh to VIBE on a Zoom call five days before kick-off. “It’s go time right now in New Orleans.”

“A lot of people [are] still mourning. When tragedy like that happens in your city, it’s kind of hard to recover. I’m not going to say that we fully recovered from that because I don’t even know all these individual’s families who were lost. But I can say New Orleans is a resilient place when it comes to culture and we’ve been through a lot. Hurricane Betsy, Hurricane Katrina, we still here, [and] we know how to celebrate,” added Juvenile in a separate conversation.

Together, the two have joined forces with Crown Royal and Starter, teaming up to continue their philanthropic commitment to NOLA, using the draw of Super Bowl LIX to raise money for The Foundation for Louisiana’s Freedom Forward Fund, an organization that is designed to be a standing disaster preparation, response, and recovery disaster fund.

All proceeds from the limited edition Crown Royal x Starter NFL Super Bowl LIX Satin Jacket will benefit the aforementioned nonprofit. Additionally, the whisky brand will host the Crown Royal Station tailgate experience for guests of legal drinking age. A visit to the Crown Royal Rig comes with the chance to participate in the Purple Bag Project, triggering donations for The Foundation for Louisiana.

Drew Brees, is also set to make an appearance with scheduled performances from Tank & The Bangas, Big Sam’s Funky Nation.

“Crown Royal has always been in our community,” asserted Mannie Fresh. “They’ve always paid attention. On top of that, the part that they came here and embraced New Orleans artists and New Orleans culture as well, that’s very important to us…That’s why this brand works for me.”

He continued to detail why he decided to join the festivities, explaining, “[They’re] a company that pays attention to like, ‘Okay, we’re going to employ people that’s in your city, and we’re going to pay attention to y’all’s culture. We are not just going to step on it or disrespect it.’ I think that’s my main reason, the fact that they know the importance of it. That’s why I’m here.”

Juvenile shared similar sentiments, elaborating, “I guess I’m the ambassador of New Orleans, right? To not only teach people around the world about the culture of New Orleans but be that ambassador or that lobbyist to get them to the people in New Orleans, to let the people know that Crown Royal and Starter is really giving back to Louisiana in a major way…I think it’s great,” adding, “I’m loving it…I’ve been a philanthropist in my city. I always tell people, ‘If you don’t believe me, Google me.’ I’m at the schools. I was cleaning up last week…I choose very carefully who I do business with and I think this is going to be a marriage for a long time right here.”

The Crown Royal x Starter NFL Super Bowl LIX Satin Jacket features the official Super Bowl LIX logo, featuring Mardi Gras-inspired red, green, and gold colored patterns that evoke the designs of the French Quarter’s balcony ironworks, designed by Tahj Williams, the queen of the Black Masking Indian tribe in New Orleans who Juvie solidifies did “a great job.”

Customers can purchase the one-of-a-kind outerwear at the Starter x NFL Shop Presented by Visa at 333 Canal Street in New Orleans starting this weekend, through August 2025, or while supplies last.

Outside of their initiatives with Crown Royal, Juvenile and Mannie Fresh welcome out-of-towners to party like never before in their city, which they promise keeps the good vibes going all night, well into the early morning. The pair will also perform at a private event, where the “Slow Motion” rapper plans to be “full” of the Canadian whisky.

“When you walk away, I want you to say, ‘Man, that’s the true meaning of southern hospitality.’ Eat some of our good food, learn about our culture,” advises Juvie. “We running things over here. Come out here, man, after the Super Bowl, and come show us some more love. Patronize our stores and we’re going to show you love back.”

He also shared, “I’m proud of the NFL. Because I was mad at the NFL at first, but I’m proud of them [and] the fact that they’re actually showing a lot of love to the local vendors and the local businesses down here and they’re doing business with them instead of the big conglomerates that come down here all the time and just suck all the air out of New Orleans. They leave here and we have to clean it up. I’m just glad that they’re showing us love now.”

Mannie Fresh recommends all tourists to “Party, party, party” with awareness and respect for residents.

“I mean, believe it or not, it is bigger than the clubs here. People from New Orleans like to tell people not from here, ‘Pace yourself.’ That’s number one. Number two, be conscious of your surroundings. Don’t go offbeat. Somebody tells you ‘stay on this street’, whatever that street is, stay on that street. You know what I’m saying? That is the rules around here. It is bigger than the party. Be open to new things.”

Super Bowl LIX finds the Kansas City Chiefs facing off against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday (Feb. 9) at 6:30 p.m. ET with Kendrick Lamar and SZA as the halftime show headliners.