Off the Books
The Beatnuts · 1997Recorded between August 1996 and February 1997 at Worldwide Studios during the Stone Crazy sessions. JuJu and Psycho Les produced and performed the track as The Beatnuts, with Big Punisher and Cuban Link appearing as featured vocalists. Released by Relativity and Violator in 1997 as the third single from Stone Crazy, it became The Beatnuts' first Billboard Hot 100 entry. The record also gave Cuban Link his first documented on-record appearance and placed Big Punisher in front of a wider audience before his solo breakthrough. It remains one of The Beatnuts' signature singles and a key pre-Capital Punishment showcase for Big Punisher. Its sample-heavy production and later lyrical samples by Gang Starr and The Beatnuts have kept it visible in late-1990s New York rap history.