The Beatnuts

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The Beatnuts
Background information
Origin	Queens, New York City
Genre(s)	Hip hop
Years active	1993–present

The Beatnuts are a hip hop crew from Queens, New York City. The members are Ju-Ju (Jerry Tineo), of Dominican descent, and Psycho Les (Lester Fernandez), of Colombian descent. The only Latino members of the Native Tongues Family, they have had long-standing involvement with the crew's activities. Although only peripheral members, they are routinely acknowledged as valued by Q-Tip, who has shouted them out at least twice on record (once in 1991 and once in 1996).

Early on in their career they produced whole albums for Family members Common and Chi-Ali. Their production is noted as some of the most accomplished, if unheralded, in all of hip-hop, often intricately detailed (as in their finely honed work for Mos Def on two tracks from Black on Both Sides) but more regularly barnstorming, club-friendly, flourish-laden party music.

The Beatnuts are noted for being unabashedly, bullishly ribald and in-your-face performers. Recent Beatnuts albums are characterised by more Latin influences.

In 2007, The Beatnuts will appear on Chinga Chang Records June Release The "Offical Joints" compilation, a collection of previously unreleased songs by NYC rappers.

[edit] Predilection toward collaborations

Collaborations with guest artists are a fixture of late-period Beatnuts albums. In particular, they have frequently acted in tandem with Masta Ace, who has aligned himself with them in light of his career resurgence, and Greg Nice of Nice & Smooth, who has reignited his career by playing the excitable hype man for both.

They are mainstays in the Latino hip-hop community, maintaining connections with Problems, Triple Seis, Tony Touch, Cuban Link, Chino XL, Prince Whipper Whip, Magic Juan of Proyecto Uno, and the late Big Pun.

Kool Fashion is the onetime third member of the group; he is now a devout Muslim pursuing a solo career under the name Al Tariq, and has collaborated with his former crew on occasion. The Beatnuts produced eight tracks on Al Tariq's solo album God Connections.

The Beatnuts have also worked with Cunninlynguists, DJ Honda, Akon, Jurassic 5, Dead Prez and Large Professor. Eminem has acknowledged them as an influence and invited them to tour with him.

Outside of the world of Hip Hop, the Beatnuts laid a vocal track down on British Techno artists Apollo 440 single "Dude Descending a Staircase", from the album of the same name.