The Beatnuts: Street Level
Encyclopedia
The Beatnuts: 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. Street Level boasts two singles, "Props Over Here
" and "Hit Me with That
," neither of which charted. The album is known for its diverse production and hedonist
ic lyrics. Its cover art is inspired by the cover of Hank Mobley
's The Turnaround.
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.
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
debut album by hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
trio The Beatnuts
The Beatnuts
The Beatnuts are a New York-based hip hop group and production duo from Queens, New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu is Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les is a Colombian American from Jackson Heights...
. It was released on June 21, 1994 by Relativity Records
Relativity Records
Relativity Records, often branded just Relativity, is an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his company, Important Record Distribution in metro New York. Early on, as an indie label, Relativity released music in a variety of styles, including dance, jazz, punk, and...
just a year after their debut EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Intoxicated Demons
Intoxicated Demons: The EP
Intoxicated Demons: The EP is the debut album by the hip hop trio The Beatnuts. It was released on April 6, 1993 by Relativity Records. It is the first of two EP's released by the group. All of its songs are produced by The Beatnuts...
. "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
Grand Puba
Maxwell Dixon is an emcee best known as a member of the group Brand Nubian.-Biography:He made his debut with the group Masters of Ceremony. Its album Dynamite was hailed by critics, but probably due to lack of sales, the group soon disbanded, and Puba emerged as the lead emcee of Brand Nubian...
, Miss Jones
Miss Jones
Tarsha Jones, better known as Miss Jones, is a former R&B artist and radio personality. Miss Jones is currently the host of the Power 99 morning show "Jonesy In The Morning" after previously working for Hot 97 until 2008.-Early life:...
and DJ Sinister amongst others. Street Level boasts two singles, "Props Over Here
Props Over Here
"Props Over Here" is the first single from The Beatnuts: Street Level, a 1994 album by East Coast hip hop group The Beatnuts. It was released by Relativity Records as a single with "Yeah You Get Props" as its b-side in 1994. The song is produced by The Beatnuts and features raps by Juju, Psycho Les...
" and "Hit Me with That
Hit Me with That
"Hit Me with That" is the second single from The Beatnuts: Street Level, a 1994 album by East Coast hip hop group The Beatnuts. It was released by Relativity Records as a single with "Get Funky" as its b-side in 1994. The song is produced by The Beatnuts and features raps by Juju, Psycho Les and...
," neither of which charted. The album is known for its diverse production and hedonist
Hedonism
Hedonism is a school of thought which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure .-Etymology:The name derives from the Greek word for "delight" ....
ic lyrics. Its cover art is inspired by the cover of Hank Mobley
Hank Mobley
Henry Mobley was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone that was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Stan Getz...
's The Turnaround.
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 |
The Average White Band Average White Band is a Scottish funk and R&B band, who had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million selling song, "Pick Up the Pieces". The band name was initially proposed by Bonnie Bramlett... |
| 3 | "Props Over Here Props Over Here "Props Over Here" is the first single from The Beatnuts: Street Level, a 1994 album by East Coast hip hop group The Beatnuts. It was released by Relativity Records as a single with "Yeah You Get Props" as its b-side in 1994. The song is produced by The Beatnuts and features raps by Juju, Psycho Les... " |
The Beatnuts | Fashion, Psycho Les, JuJu, Lenny Underwood Unlimited Touch Unlimited Touch was a New York based post disco group who had some regional fame in the early eighties. The group consisted of Audrey Wheeler, Phil Hamilton, Tony Cintron, Sandy Anderson, Stephanie James and Lenny Underwood. Raymond Reid and William Anderson from New York-based band Crown Heights... (keyboards Keyboard instrument A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... ) |
3:59 |
Donald Byrd Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a... & Booker Little Booker Little Booker Little, Jr was an American jazz trumpeter and composer.-Biography:Despite his premature death from kidney failure at the age of 23, Little made an important contribution to jazz. Stylistically, his sound is rooted in the playing of Clifford Brown, featuring crisp articulation, a burnished... MC Shan MC Shan is an American rapper. He is perhaps best known for collaborating with Snow in "Informer", an international number one hit single.-Biography:... |
| 4 | "Hellraiser Hellraiser (Remix) "Hellraiser " is a 1994 single by East Coast hip hop group The Beatnuts. It was released by Relativity Records as a single with "Fried Chicken" as its b-side. The song "Hellraiser" is found on The Beatnuts' first full-length album Street Level, but the remix was only released as a single. The remix... " |
The Beatnuts | Fashion, Psycho Les, JuJu | 3:10 |
Woody Shaw Woody Shaw was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer and band leader, often referred to as the "last innovator" in the jazz trumpet lineage... |
| 5 | "Are You Ready" | V.I.C. | Psycho Les, Fashion, JuJu, Grand Puba Grand Puba Maxwell Dixon is an emcee best known as a member of the group Brand Nubian.-Biography:He made his debut with the group Masters of Ceremony. Its album Dynamite was hailed by critics, but probably due to lack of sales, the group soon disbanded, and Puba emerged as the lead emcee of Brand Nubian... , DJ Sinister (scratches Scratching Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the late 1980s, it has been used... ) |
3:14 |
James Brown James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr... Bill Doggett Bill Doggett was an American jazz and rhythm and blues pianist and organist. He is best known for his tracks, "Honky Tonk" and "Hippy Dippy", and variously working with The Ink Spots, Johnny Otis, Wynonie Harris, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Jordan.-Biography:William Ballard Doggett was born in... |
| 6 | "Superbad" | The Beatnuts | Psycho Les, Fashion, JuJu, DJ Sinister (scratches) | 3:57 |
|
| 7 | "Straight Jacket" | The Beatnuts | Psycho Les, JuJu, Fashion | 3:57 |
Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson... |
| 8 | "Let off a Couple" | The Beatnuts | Fashion, Psycho Les, JuJu | 1:43 |
Monty Alexander Monty Alexander is a jazz pianist and melodica player. His playing has a strong Caribbean influence and swinging feeling, but he has also been influenced by Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Wynton Kelly, and Ahmad Jamal.-Biography:Alexander discovered the piano at the age of 4, taking classical music... |
| 9 | "Rik's Joint" | The Beatnuts | Fashion, JuJu, Miss Jones | 4:01 |
Hugo Montenegro Hugo Montenegro was an American orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks. His best known work is derived from interpretations of the music from Spaghetti westerns, especially his cover version of the main theme from the 1966 film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly... |
| 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 |
Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound... |
| 12 | "Get Funky" | The Beatnuts | JuJu, Psycho Les, Fashion | 3:37 |
Roy Ayers Roy Ayers is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer and vibraphone player. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk .- Biography :Ayers... |
| 13 | "Hit Me with That Hit Me with That "Hit Me with That" is the second single from The Beatnuts: Street Level, a 1994 album by East Coast hip hop group The Beatnuts. It was released by Relativity Records as a single with "Get Funky" as its b-side in 1994. The song is produced by The Beatnuts and features raps by Juju, Psycho Les and... " |
The Beatnuts | JuJu, Fashion, Psycho Les | 3:36 |
David Axelrod (musician) David Axelrod is an American composer, arranger and producer, working in several musical genres.-Biography:... Wu-Tang Clan The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group... |
| 14 | "2-3 Break" | The Beatnuts | Psycho Les, Fashion, JuJu, Gab | 3:17 | |
| 15 | "Lick the Pussy" | The Beatnuts | Fashion | 4:18 |
Tyrone Davis Tyrone Davis , born Tyrone Fettson, was a leading American soul singer with a distinctive style, recording a long list of hit records over a period of more than 20 years. He had three no... |
| 16 | "Sandwiches" | The Beatnuts | Psycho Les | 1:33 | |
| 17 | "Psycho Dwarf" | The Beatnuts | Psycho Les, JuJu | 6:38 |
Lonnie Smith (jazz musician) Dr. Lonnie Smith is a jazz Hammond B3 organist and pianist.-Biography:He was born in Lackawanna, New York, into a family with a vocal group and radio program. Smith says that his mother was a major influence on him musically, as she introduced him to gospel, classical, and jazz music... Van McCoy Van Allen Clinton McCoy was an accomplished musician, music producer, arranger, songwriter, and orchestra conductor. He is known best for his 1975 internationally successful song "The Hustle", which is still played in dance halls and on radio to this day more than thirty years since his death... Woody Shaw Woody Shaw was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer and band leader, often referred to as the "last innovator" in the jazz trumpet lineage... |
Album
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
182 |
| U.S. Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums | 28 |
Singles
| Song | Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| "Props Over Here" | U.S. Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Tracks Rap Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets. From 1989 through 2001, it was based on how much the single... |
39 |