Beatnuts
Beatnuts
[Psycho Les & Junkyard JuJu]
Some sounds rank high in priority. The sound of Latin girls in ecstasy squealing, "Aiye, papi!" The snap! pop! fizzle! of a six pack being cracked open. The crackling of trees bein' sparked...
But then there's the sound made by bad breath-stinkin', retarded from birth, ain't got no class intoxicated demons - y'know, the Beatnut sound. The sound that makes hell seem like heaven. The best sound in the world.
Beatnuts fans live and breathe the music. From the classic 1993 Intoxicated Demons EP to the banging 1994 self-titled LP to the unbelievable new STONE CRAZY joint, the words and music of Psycho Les and Junkyard JuJu (Kool Ass Fashion, the third of the trio, is now publicly known as Al Tariq and has gone solo) are unmatched. Discerning ears have caught The Exorcist references by Les on "Ya Don't Stop" ("...so fear it or you'll go out like the priest...") and Fashion on "Lick The Pussy" ("I'll make your head spin like the fuckin' Exorcist...") and the sampled "Your mother sucks cocks in hell" dialog on "Stone Crazy." Real fans caught the chickenhead connection on the Beatnuts-produced joints "Heidi Hoe" and "Ho" by Relativity labelmates Common and Fat Joe. Those with CD copies of the Beatnuts joint let their shit ride out and discovered the secret album-ending burp.
"The last album, I wasn't happy because it was mad, mad heads in the studio wit' mad different opinions," explains Les. "Now it's no opinions. It's me and JuJu. [We do a song], 'Boom. Yeah, it's fat. Press it. Drop it.'"
As the needle drops on the catchy "Give Me Tha Ass," which hijacks Patrice Rushen's '70s sensation, "Forget Me Nots," longtime Beatnuts fans undoubtedly were left wondering what the deal was. Although it's not the first time they've messed around with an obvious hit (check Common's '92 "Breaker 1/9" remix which finds the Beatnuts flippin' the familiar Isley Bros." "Between The Sheets"), the joint is till mad radio friendly. That is until you get to the nasty hook and raunchy lyrics that find Les lampin' on Chocha Beach tryin' to touch a girl's tatas (but she says, "Na-uh.") "It was sorta just a gig on what's goin' on [in rap right now]," clarifies JuJu. "Cuz all that champagne shit niggas is doin', that shit is just to get the ass. So instead of singin' that shit, just straight out say it, 'Gimme the fuckin' ass.'"
Heads who want the hot butter joints, STONE CRAZY gives 'em just that. "Off The Books" features a ridiculously sick beat highlighted by a crazy flute loop and the amazing lyrical stylistics of Punisher and Cuban Linx. "Thinkin' 'Bout Cash" is a nervy Queensbridge and Corona assault in which Les and Ju are joined by up-'n'-comin' Screwball. And, of course, there's the fat sure-shot, "Do You Believe" that's already blown up worldwide.
What you might not believe is what happened to Ju the night he and V.I.C. (the beat digger who rhymed on "World's Famous") were driving around listening to STONE CRAZY shortly after it was completed. It happened when the "God Skit" came on. An animated JuJu picks up the story here, in his own words: "Yo, we're listening to that shit, yo. And we started hearing this shit goin' [he does some scary, Satanic noise] "UHUHUHUHUHU." Yo, like a voice, man. And we were like, 'Yo, what the fuck was that shit?!' Yo, I swear. That shit freaked me out. If I'm lyin' to you, I'm dyin'. I was like, 'Yo, what the fuck have we made here?' Cuz there's a lot of foul shit on that fuckin' record, man."
Let's hope for him that his own description, "JuJu the beatman under God's protection," is in effect.
But regardless of what ill shit goes down, the Beatnut way of life is still the same. To the critics, Les says it best: "I tell 'em straight up, I'm not a fuckin' preacher. You don't fuckin' listen to me to learn from. You wanna learn, you buy a KRS album. Listen to Chuck D or somethin'."
And if you wanna learn about that sick, twisted shit, you listen to Beatnuts. Amen.
