Nineties hip hop sensation the
Beatnuts, the self-proclaimed “Supa Supreme team from Queens” opened the
9th Annual Hip Hop Theater Festival yesterday with a play entitled
Deez Nuts: A Musical Massacre. The duo (
Juju is Dominican from Corona and
Psycho Les is Colombian and grew up in Jackson Heights), inaugurated the festival with an offbeat show about their part in hip-hop culture. Some of the
Beatnuts’s most legendary tracks (think
“Se Acabo” and
“Off the Books”) were performed live by the duo, and in between songs actors performed short skits detailing the group’s history.
This was anything but your typical hip-hop concert, and kudos to the Queens rappers for daring to put something like this out there. The play begins with a simulated table reading of a supposed play about the
Beatnuts. Do not fear: this is a joke, and
Juju really is reading that slowly on purpose. Gaffs about the play within the play continue throughout as the duo complain to director
Sacha Jenkins about the way he’s mixed up their moms in a particularly crazy skit that had our stomachs begging for a break from so much laughter. The moment when the
Juju and
Psycho Les stand-ins hug and declare “Let’s go get our GED’s!” is nothing but genius. That said, the show is designed for
Beatnuts connoisseurs. In the fashion of all self-parodies, it’s funniest to those best acquainted with the lingo and habits that are constantly ridiculed through
Deez Nuts.
He had Dennis Davis on drums from Stevie Wonder's band and Zach Breaux on guitar. They smashed it and were gracious with their time afterwards, loads of jokes and stories.Hell of a catalogue. Gotta be RAMP Sunshine for me.
