The last time we checked in with The Beatnuts here at TimeIsIllmatic (at least as far as an album is concerned) was in 1994 with their first full-length release, Street Level. A year before, The Nuts released their debut EP, Intoxicated Demons, which was flavorful but just an appetizer compared to the delectable audio goody that was Street Level. Street Level received a positive response from fans and critics, helping establish a solid foundation for The Nuts, but things would soon change.

The Beatnuts were billed as a trio (JuJu, Les, and Fashion), but they were really a foursome, with V.I.C. being the fourth official or unofficial member, depending on who you ask. After Street Level, V.I.C. would sever ties with the group, and Fashion would depart to start a solo career as Al’ Tariq, officially leaving The Beatnuts as a duo. Like they say, the show must go on, and after a three-year hiatus, JuJu and Psycho Les would return in 1997 with Stone Crazy.

With V.I.C. and Fashion gone, JuJu and Les would be forced to handle all microphone and production duties on Stone Crazy. Well, most of the microphone duties as they’d invite a handful of guests to share the lyrical load. The album produced four singles and was well-received, including a 3.5 mic rating from The Source.

I stopped following The Beatnuts after Street Level, but I bought a copy of Stone Crazy at least ten years ago, and I’m finally getting around to listening to it for the first time with this review. I’ve always respected The Nuts’ early production work, so I’m interested to hear how it sounds with half the team gone.

World Famous – Not to be confused with the intro from their debut EP, Intoxicated Demons (which has the same title), the Nuts kick things off with an ill David Axelrod loop and rugged drums. At the same time, a male voice repeats the track’s title, which is occasionally interrupted by sirens and screams. Dope beat to practice your freestyles over.

Bless The M.I.C. – The Beatnuts turn what was probably an innocent ukulele chord into a dark and demented loop. Les is back to his juvenile antics (driving drunk and wiping his ass with emcees) while JuJu assumes the role of… a drug dealer? The duo’s joined by Gab Gotcha (who also cameoed on “2-3 Break” from Street Level), aka the Hustler of bangin’ jargon, and the clever aliased emcee delivers a sufficient enough verse. This was a dark way to kick things off, but a dope record, nonetheless.

Intermission – Apparently, the previous track took a lot out of Les and JuJu. So much so they had to take a little break way early in the track sequencing. At least they left us with a funky little diddly to vibe to while they catch their breath.

Here’s A Drink – Thankfully, JuJu comes down from the gangsta persona he presented on “Bless The M.I.C.” as he and Les get back to their typical subject matter: ladies, liquor, and L’s. The loop in the instrumental borders on boring, but after a few listens, I found my head bobbing to the bouncy beat, and I’m sure the hook (which samples a Q-Tip line (Tribe Degrees of Separation: check)) helped make the track more digestible.

Off The Books – The Nuts build the backdrop around a loop of the perfect music for a belly dancer to twerk to. They invite Big Pun (rip) to the party, and we quickly learn that Pun’s girl has “the meanest ass” that he enjoys eating when he’s not “clotheslining muthafuckas” (envisioning Pun clotheslining some random rapper like he’s Hackshaw Jim Duggan is hilarious in my mind). Pun sets the bar high with his verse, and Les, JuJu, and their other guest, Cuban Link, never come close to reaching it. Yet still, this shit bangs.

Be Proud/Interlude – It plays just as it reads.

Do You Believe – This was the second single. The Nuts turn a Los Angeles Negroes loop into a hard-hitting emo-boom bap experience that finds JuJu paying respect to his gun (he also gives a nod to another classic Q-Tip line) while Les drinks, smokes, and talks about the greatness of their music. It’s a solid record, even if they did forget the question mark in the song title.

Finger Smoke – Yet another musical interlude. This shit sounds spooky if you’re listening to it outside when it’s pitch dark.

Stone Crazy – The title track’s instrumental is built around a sample from a record with the same title by an obscure seventies rock band called The Bozone. Aiming to live up to the song title, JuJu and Les present as manic maniacs, with JuJu doing a better job selling the persona than Les. I didn’t buy either of their contrived psychotic energy, but the bluesy-funk Bozone loop is absolutely bananas! The track ends with a random chick leaving a voicemail about how fucked up she is after smoking three blunts with her cousin.

Niggaz Know – The Nuts unleash haunted organ chords and do their best Mobb Deep impersonation: Les gives us a “What up, thun?” and JuJu’s whole bit sounds like imitation Prodigy.

Horny Horns – A fitting title for a Beatnuts interlude, but it sounds too peppy to be amongst the rest of the darkness that has overshadowed the album thus far.

Find That – JuJu and Les have a simple message for niggas, bitches, and promoters. If you owe them money, pay them, or they’ll kill you. Their violent message is backed by a gloomy loop and drab drums. This was decent, I guess, but an interesting choice for the lead single.

Supa Supreme – Les and JuJu’s tough guy talk rumbles with somber Italian mob vibes.

Thinkin ‘Bout Cash – The Beatnuts are joined by another duo, Hostyle and The Poet (collectively known as Screwball), turning this into a quartet cipher session. None of the four embarrass themselves as they take turns spewing hardcore bars (although JuJu sounds extra angry for some reason), but the Nuts instrumental sounds way more entertaining. They brilliantly weave dueling organ loops together (they sound like a demon and angel perched on each of the track’s shoulders), seamlessly rotating them in and out throughout the record. The instrumental sounds better with each listen.

Uncivilized – JuJu and Les take it to the gutter with a pensively grimy backdrop. They invite their homie, Don Gobbi, to join them and play in the muck and mire (it sounds like Les may have taken a shot at his former group mates, Fashion and V.I.C., with his line: “Why too many ears at my session with opinions? But not this year (no question)”). It’s a decent record, but it wouldn’t be missed if it were left off the album’s final cut.

Give Me Tha Ass – The Beatnut don’t normally use low-hanging fruit samples, but as Les says, for this cut, they chose to “hit you in the head with a joint you familiar with,” which comes in the form of Patrice Rushen’s “Forget Me Nots.” JuJu and Les take a break from their newfound thuggery and revert to the horny clowns chasing ass that we’re used to.

Strokes – This one begins with a very blunt chick leaving a voicemail for Les to let him know she wants to feel his agony. JuJu sits out for the last record of the evening and lets Les and his guest, Horny Man (who only adds adlibs to the track), get extra horny. This is easily the weakest record on the album. The instrumental is boring, the laughing/moaning chick sample on the hook was annoying, and I can’t tell if the male vocal snippet on the other side of the refrain is bustin’ a nut or taking a shit.

With the success of Jay-Z, Mobb Deep, and Nas’ Escobar persona in the mid-nineties, a slew of East Coast acts would copycat the thug/mafioso formula, looking to cash in on the lucrative sub-genre. When some of these acts jumped on the bandwagon, it was no surprise, as they never had any true artistic integrity, making it easy for them to go wherever the wind blew them. But when other artists jumped on the trendy style, it was shocking, or at least a bit surprising. Enter The Beatnuts.

On Stone Crazy, The Beatnuts abandon the playful hood frat boy energy that fans came to know them for on their first two projects. This time around, the duo (more so JuJu) adopt a hardcore edgy image. It’s not like the Nuts didn’t talk about violence and guns on Intoxicated Demons and Street Level, but it always felt like lighthearted banter. On Stone Crazy, their thuggery comes with a serious tone, and coming from these Native Tongue affiliates, it feels inauthentic. But does anyone really listen to a Beatnuts album for the rhymes?

A lot of hip-hop producers/beatmakers use samples, but The Beatnuts are what I call true crate diggers. The Nuts don’t recycle low-hanging fruit or Captain obvious loops from the catalogs of commonly sampled sources (i.e., James Brown, Issac Hayes, Barry White, Earth Wind & Fire, The Isley Brothers, etc.). They go deep into the crates, scouring every nook and cranny for the most obscure loop to stifle their competitors but, more importantly, blow the listener’s mind. Stone Crazy has a darker feel than their previous projects, but except for “Give Me Tha Ass,” all the loops are drenched in obscurity. There are a few dry moments on the album, and there’s a section during the second half where three or four songs kind of run together, but most of the tracks on Stone Crazy feature dope production from the newly thugged-out Queens duo. But it’s not nearly as dope or consistent as it was on Street Level.

-Deedub
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