The Beatnuts: Street Level

The Beatnuts
Studio album by The Beatnuts
Released June 21, 1994
Recorded May 1993-March 1994
Genre Hip hop
Label Relativity Records
Violator
Producer The Beatnuts
Lucien
V.I.C.
The Beatnuts chronology

Intoxicated Demons: The EP
(1993)		 The Beatnuts
(1994)		 Stone Crazy
(1997)
Singles from The Beatnuts
  1. "Props Over Here"
    Released: 1994
  2. "Hit Me with That"
    Released: 1994
Professional ratings
Review scores
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BrainOfHipHop

The Beatnuts (sometimes called Street Level) is the full-length debut album by hip hop trio The Beatnuts. It was released on June 21, 1994 by Relativity Records just a year after their debut EP, Intoxicated Demons. "Psycho Dwarf" is the only song found on both the EP and the album. The album is produced by The Beatnuts themselves, as well as V.I.C. and Lucien. It features guest appearances by Grand Puba, Miss Jones and DJ Sinister amongst others.

The Beatnuts boasts two singles, "Props Over Here" and "Hit Me with That," neither of which charted. The album is known for its diverse production and hedonistic lyrics. Its cover art is inspired by the cover of Hank Mobley's The Turnaround.[1]

The album's title is sometimes mistakenly referred to as Street Level, because those words appear on the album cover, however the words "Street Level" do not appear anywhere else on the CD (in the liner notes or on the CD spine label).[2][3]

The Beatnuts: Street Level is the last Beatnuts album before emcee Fashion left the group to pursue a solo career under the alias Al' Tariq.

Track listing

# Title Producer(s) Performer(s) Time Samples
1 "Intro" The Beatnuts *Interlude* 1:47
2 "Ya Don't Stop" Lucien JuJu, Psycho Les, Fashion 3:06
  • "School Boy Crush" by The Average White Band
  • "Smiling Billy Suite Pt. 2" by The Heath Brothers
3 "Props Over Here" The Beatnuts Fashion, Psycho Les, JuJu, Lenny Underwood (keyboards) 3:59
4 "Hellraiser" The Beatnuts Fashion, Psycho Les, JuJu 3:10
  • "Here You Are" by Glass Prism
  • "New World" by Woody Shaw
5 "Are You Ready" V.I.C. Psycho Les, Fashion, JuJu, Grand Puba, DJ Sinister (scratches) 3:14
6 "Superbad" The Beatnuts Psycho Les, Fashion, JuJu, DJ Sinister (scratches) 3:57
  • "Cannon Raps" by Cannonball Adderley
  • "En Melody" by Serge Gainsburg
  • "Cargo Culte" by Serge Gainsburg
  • "Reign of the Tec" by The Beatnuts
7 "Straight Jacket" The Beatnuts Psycho Les, JuJu, Fashion 3:57
8 "Let off a Couple" The Beatnuts Fashion, Psycho Les, JuJu 1:43
9 "Rik's Joint" The Beatnuts Fashion, JuJu, Miss Jones 4:01
10 "Fried Chicken" The Beatnuts Psycho Les, V.I.C., Fashion, JuJu 3:57
11 "Yeah You Got Props" The Beatnuts Fashion, JuJu, Psycho Les 3:29
12 "Get Funky" The Beatnuts JuJu, Psycho Les, Fashion 3:37
  • "Tramp" by Lowell Fulsom
  • "Painted Desert" by Roy Ayers
13 "Hit Me with That" The Beatnuts JuJu, Fashion, Psycho Les 3:36
14 "2-3 Break" The Beatnuts Psycho Les, Fashion, JuJu, Gab 3:17
15 "Lick the Pussy" The Beatnuts Fashion 4:18
16 "Sandwiches" The Beatnuts Psycho Les 1:33
17 "Psycho Dwarf" The Beatnuts Psycho Les, JuJu 5:25

Chart positions

Album

Chart (1994) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 182
U.S. Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums 28

Singles

Song Chart (1994) Peak
position
"Props Over Here" U.S. Hot Rap Singles 39

References

  1. ↑ Emery, Andrew. The Book of Hip Hop Cover Art, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. (2004). ISBN 1-84000-919-5.
  2. ↑ Discogs.com: The Beatnuts discography
  3. ↑ Rate Your Music: The Beatnuts