The Beatnuts

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The Beatnuts
Origin Queens, New York City
Genre(s) Hip hop
Years active 1993–present
Label(s) Relativity Records
Violator
Loud Records
Landspeed Records
Penalty Recordings
Members
Ju-Ju
Psycho Les
Former members
Kool Fashion (later Al' Tariq)

The Beatnuts are a hip hop group and production duo from Queens, New York City. Its current members are the Dominican producer-rapper JuJu (Jerry Tineo) and the Colombian producer-rapper Psycho Les (Lester Fernandez). JuJu is from Jackson Heights and Psycho Les is from Corona. The Beatnuts are the only Latino members of the Native Tongues Family. Although only peripheral members, they are routinely acknowledged by Q-Tip, who has shouted them out at least twice on record (once in 1991 and once in 1996).

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Origins

Both Juju and Psycho Les grew up in different communities in Queens, New York. Psycho Les started producing beats and DJing at age 15 under aliases including DJ Les Jams and DJ Incredible. At a high school in Flushing, Queens, a friend DJ Loco Moe introduced Les to fellow producer Juju. While crate digging, both Beatnuts ran into hip hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa. Bambaataa introduced them to fellow Native Tongues including De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and the Jungle Brothers. At this time, Juju and Psycho Les were DJing parties under the alias Beat Kings. The Jungle Brothers claimed that they were not kings, but rather two nuts for their comical nature. They thus changed their name and "it stuck."[1] The two Beatnuts members later met up with rapper Kool Fashion.

[edit] Early production work

The Beatnuts entered the recording industry in 1990 producing two tracks for the electronica group Stereo MCs. Over the next two years, they produced songs for rappers including Common, Pete Nice & DJ Richie Rich and Kurious, as well as a full album for Chi-Ali. As of 1992, Juju had not appeared on a record, but fellow Beatnuts rappers Fashion and Psycho Les appeared on tracks that he produced. In 1993, The Beatnuts produced more songs for the artists they had previously collaborated with as well as Fat Joe, Suprême NTM and Da Youngsta's. At the same time, The Beatnuts made their name as remix specialists by remixing songs for MC Lyte, Da Lench Mob, Naughty by Nature, Jomanda and others.

[edit] Debut albums

On April 6, 1993, The Beatnuts released their debut album, Intoxicated Demons: The EP. It featured 11 songs, including the two singles "Reign of the Tec" and "No Equal." The album was characterized by its hedonistic party-style lyrics and sample-heavy jazz beats. It was a critical success receiving favorable reviews by All Music Guide, The Source and Entertainment Weekly.[2][3]

Intoxicated Demons was followed in 1994 with the eponymous full length album The Beatnuts: Street Level. Street Level followed its preceding EP in style, but slightly surpassed its commercial success by charting on the Billboard 200. It featured two singles, "Props Over Here" and "Hit Me with That," neither of which were commercial hits. Street Level was the last Beatnuts album released before Fashion left the group to become a devout Muslim and solo artist under the alias Al' Tariq. He left The Beatnuts on good terms and collaborated with his former group on future albums.

[edit] Commercial breakthroughs

The Beatnuts did not follow up their 1994 album until releasing Stone Crazy in 1997. Although it contained "Off the Books", a single that charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and featured the first on-record performance by Big Pun, the album was not a critical success. Leo Stanley of All Music Guide attributed its mediocre reception to its lack of energy--not its "jazz-inflected rhythms and hardcore rhyming".[4] Chris Ryan of Rolling Stone conceded that the album was still "something of a breakthrough" for the Beatnuts in spite of itself.[5] Two weeks after the release of Stone Crazy, The Beatnuts released Hydra Beats, Vol. 5, a small-scale instrumental album. Vol. 5 was one album in a series of vinyl instrumental albums released by underground label Hydra Entertainment.

1998 saw the release of The Spot, a remix EP that revamped songs from the first three non-instrumental Beatnuts albums. It additionally featured sequels to older Beatnuts tracks and one new song, "Treat$". It was released in anticipation of 1999's A Musical Massacre, The Beatnuts' most commercially and critically successful album. A Musical Massacre reached #35 on the Billboard 200 due to its hit single "Watch Out Now". The album is hailed for its "eclectic" and "textured" beats as well as its "rough, rugged, and raunchy" lyrics with slightly more content variation than past releases.[6]

After Sony released The Beatnuts's first hits compilation, 1999's World Famous Classics, The Beatnuts did not record another album until 2001's Take It or Squeeze It. Their 2001 album contained two slightly popular singles, "No Escapin' This" and "Let's Git Doe," but was unable to match the commercial or critical success of A Musical Massacre. Reviews by both All Music Guide and Rolling Stone claimed that Take It or Squeeze It had a mix of inventive production and clichéd gangster rhymes.[7][8]

[edit] Return to underground

In November of 2001, it was announced that Loud Records--whose father label Relativity Records had released all Beatnuts albums since their 1993 debut--had cut ties with The Beatnuts. This decision was followed by the release of two greatest hits: 2001's Beatnuts Forever and 2002's Classic Nuts, Vol. 1. While The Beatnuts were free agents, a rumor surfaced that Juju and Psycho Les were going to collaborate with Al Tariq under the group alias 'Intoxicated Demons'.[9] The Beatnuts did not reunite with Al Tariq, but instead signed with the underground label LandSpeed Records. In 2002, they released The Originators, a commercial failure that did not reach the Billboard 200 or contain charting singles. The album was still was a critical success because of its catchy hooks and creative beats. Steve Juon of RapReviews.com remarked on the correlation between The Beatnuts' critical and commercial success:

“ "If they are less known and don't sell as well being on an indie imprint like LandSpeed Records, it will still be worth it if the increased quality of their beats and rhymes remain this high"[10] ”

Instead of remaining on LandSpeed Records, The Beatnuts signed to Penalty Recordings before releasing their 2004 album Milk Me. Although Penalty was also an underground label, Milk Me was still able to scrape the bottom of the Billboard 200. The album was almost unanimously held to be solid. Nonetheless, three singles and an Akon guest appearance did not propel the album to the commercial success of prior Beatnuts albums.

[edit] "Watch Out Now" controversy

Milk Me contained the song "Confused Rappers", a track that dissed Jennifer Lopez for essentially stealing the beat from The Beatnuts' "Watch Out Now" on her 2002 hit "Jenny from the Block". The song criticizes Lopez's singing ability and looks, but ultimately criticizes the track's producers--Trackmasters and Cory Rooney--for stealing the beat.[11] Although The Beatnuts did eventually receive royalties, Psycho Les is still critical of the track's producers. The beats on both "Watch Out Now" and "Jenny from the Block" sample "Hi-Jack" by Enoch Light.

[edit] Recent endeavors

In March of 2007, Psycho Les released his debut solo album Psycho Therapy (The Soundtrack) on Pit Fight Records. Psycho Les additionally joined with Al Tariq and Problemz to form the group Big City. In June, they released the The City Never Sleeps on Nature Sounds.

In June, The Beatnuts appeared on the Chinga Chang Records compilation Official Joints, a collection of previously unreleased songs by NYC rappers. It is unclear whether they signed to the Chinga Chang Records.

In December, Psycho Les was arrested in Stockholm, Sweden for an alleged assault. He was arrested for 36 hours for a "minor assault" after performing a concert.

[edit] Style

The Beatnuts are known for their sample-heavy beats and explicit party-ready lyrics. In early records, the beats had a jazz and funk-influenced sound, but later songs were influenced by Latin music. Critics have commented that The Beatnuts have consistently good beats, but lack in terms of lyrics. Juju addressed this in a 2004 interview:

“ We are all about the beat, that’s our formula when we produce s**t, the beats gotta be hot, it’s gotta grab you. ‘Cause I’ll be the first n*gga to say that we’re not the best MC’s in the world. It kills me to hear these nice MC’s rhyming over f***ing garbage.[12] ”

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 characterized by more Latin influences.

[edit] 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 Triple Seis, Tony Touch, Cuban Link, Chino XL, Prince Whipper Whip, Magic Juan of Proyecto Uno, Sick Jacken, The Delinquents, N.O.R.E., and the late Big Pun.

The Beatnuts have also worked with Cunninlynguists, Cormega, DJ Honda, Method Man, Non Phixion, Grand Puba, A.G., Freeway, Sonny from P.O.D., Tash from Tha Alkaholiks, Common, Akon, Jurassic 5, Dead Prez, The Madd Rapper,Gangstarr, and Large Professor, among others. Eminem has acknowledged them as an influence and invited them to tour with him.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Solo Albums

  • 1996 God Connections [Al' Tariq]
  • 1997 Kool Fresh [Al' Tariq]
  • 2007 Psycho Therapy (The Soundtrack) [Psycho Les]
  • 2007 The City Never Sleeps [Big City (Psycho Les, Al' Tariq & Problemz)]

[edit] Production

See The Beatnuts production discography

[edit] References

  1. ^ Features - The Beatnuts: Still 7:30. AllHipHop.com (November 27, 2002). Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
  2. ^ Intoxicated Demons: The EP Review. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
  3. ^ Intoxicated Demons: The EP Summary. CDUniverse.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
  4. ^ Stone Crazy Review. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  5. ^ The Beatnuts: Biography. Rolling Stone (2004). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  6. ^ A Musical Massacre Review. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  7. ^ Take It or Squeeze It Review. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
  8. ^ Take It or Squeeze It Review. Rolling Stone (April 16, 2001). Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
  9. ^ News: The Beatnuts Dropped From Loud. AllHipHop.com (November 7 2001). Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
  10. ^ The Originators Review. RapReviews.com (January 5, 2003). Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
  11. ^ Milk Me Review. AllHipHop.com (September 1, 2004). Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  12. ^ Features - The Beatnuts: Back. AllHipHop.com (July 14, 2004). Retrieved on 2008-05-26.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
The Beatnuts
Psycho Les · Juju
Albums
Compilations
EPs
Singles
"Reign of the Tec" · "No Equal" · "Props Over Here" · "Hit Me with That" · "Hellraiser (Remix)" · "Find That" · "Do You Believe?" · "Off the Books" · "Here's a Drink" · "Watch Out Now" · "Se Acabo" · "No Escapin' This" · "Let's Git Doe" · "We Got the Funk" · "Buying out the Bar" · "Duck Season" · "Work that Pole" · "Ya Betta Believe It" · "Simple Murder" · "Hot" · "Find Us" · "It's Nothing"