The Beatnuts: Take It Or Squeeze It

The Beatnuts occupies an unusual position in hip-hop, having established itself as one of the genre's most distinct and sought-after production teams without ever attaining the producer-of-the-moment status currently held by the ubiquitous likes of Rockwilder and The Neptunes. Psycho Les and Ju-Ju started out as producers, and, like most acts that begin behind the boards and gradually take center stage, they do far better working the knobs than the mic. Thankfully, however, they're among the best production teams in hip-hop, and Take It Or Squeeze It finds them perfecting the carnival-music-for-gangstas sound that has become The Beatnuts' trademark. Paring down the eclecticism of 1999's Musical Massacre, Take It is much more consistent, built on a time-tested blend of choppy, sinister pianos and organs, tight bass, funky drum breaks, inventive sampling, and smart and irreverent use of television and film sound bites. Lyrically, the group hasn't changed much, still occupying the same endless blaxploitation loop: In its dark-humored rhymes, weed smoke perpetually fills the air, women are all porno stars (or act like them), and guns still bust with little or no provocation. Les and Ju-Ju temper their misanthropy with welcome humor—check out the No Limit-style foldout inside the CD booklet—but their monosyllabic hedonism isn't likely to make anyone forget Smut Peddlers, let alone Eminem or Ras Kass. But, despite the lack of lyrical growth, it doesn't really matter. When the pair is in the production zone, as it frequently is here, The Beatnuts could have MC Skat Kat and Brian Austin Green tag-teaming on the mic and it would still probably sound good. Oblivious to commercial trends, Take It isn't likely to score the breakthrough success that would catapult The Beatnuts into the musical mainstream. But, judging from the album's accomplished blend of sophisticated production and lowest-common-denominator thuggery, it's likely Les and Ju-Ju don't care. They've achieved something approaching sonic perfection, and that's all that matters.