Millionaires Have a Mostly Poor Outing

For a rap collective whose favorite fixations are gaudy jewelry and exquisite women, the Cash Money Millionaires delivered a remarkably bland set Monday at the House of Blues. Juvenile, Lil’ Wayne, B.G. and the Big Tymers have a string of hit albums and anthem-like singles, but rather than maintain a fever pitch by stacking such striking songs as “Ha,” “I Need a Hot Girl” and “Bling Bling” back to back, the New Orleans rappers chose to proceed aimlessly, performing only a verse or two at a time before stumbling on to the next number.

The beats of producer and Big Tymers member Mannie Fresh have been among hip-hop’s most infectious and memorable over the last two years, but his stellar work was compromised Monday by muffled sound and haphazard raps from him and his friends, each of whom seemed more preoccupied with their drinks than with entertaining the capacity crowd.

Juvenile, whose 1998 album “400 Degreez” has sold more than 4 million copies, seemed almost anonymous--hardly the presence expected of a star who spearheaded the Cash Money label’s growth into rap’s most dominant outfit last year.

Even when the Millionaires attempted to add a little spice to their routine, they still fizzled. Nearly half of the hourlong set was dedicated to a contest named after the immensely popular Juvenile song “Back That Azz Up.” The Cash Money members and their enormous entourage took turns gawking at, making fun of and saluting a group of full-figured women from the audience who went on stage and attempted to live up to the title.

This was the evening’s lone spectacle, and it was a disrespectful and unnecessary one--especially considering that it was an all-ages show.