Steve 'Flash' JuonAs a self-professed fan of The Beatnuts, the existence of “The Spot” is a little bit baffling. The only reason I can think of that I don’t own this album is because it was released right before I graduated from college. In the process of moving from the Midwest to Eastern Michigan, I must have completely missed this album in stores, although Ann Arbor had a large Tower Records location along with many independent mom-and-pop record stores I frequented. How did I miss this? Hell even Best Buy should have had a copy. They used to have a large selection of compact discs from the mid 90’s through the last 2000’s, and it’s only in the last few years that music has all but vanished from their stores.
Now when you look up “The Spot” or look at the cover you’ll notice the words “Remix EP.” I think both words are inaccurate and I’m going to tell you why. First at over a half hour long, this extended play is longer than a lot of “albums” I’ve reviewed in the last five years. Secondly the word “remix” implies that’s all you’ll find here — The Beatnuts flipping their old hits with new beats. Nothing could be further from the truth. Three of the tracks are sequels to old tracks from the Nuts: “R U Ready II” with a welcome return cameo by Grand Puba, “Psycho Dwarf II” with Nogoodus, and my personal favorite “Let Off a Couple II” with A.L. and Rawcotiks. You couldn’t get more buttery if you stole a popcorn cart.
The album also includes the original track “Treat$” which features all of the previously named guests save for Puba Maxwell (that’s a shame). Now as for those remixes, “Get Funky” takes their original beat and gives it a sound that’s more Diamond D/D.I.T.C. to me, and it’s a welcome audio perspective. The “No Equal” flip doesn’t do it for me though. The original was a pretty mellow affair punctuated by some braggadocious samples, while this take sounds menacing and angry. The best of these remixes is “Off the Books,” taking the Big Pun and Cuban Link features and making them sound like they’re rapping to early 80’s synths. I get a Nu Shooz “I Can’t Wait” vibe from it.
In truth “The Spot” is not a must own affair, even though it presently annoys me as I’m writing this review that I don’t own it. I’ll find a used copy and change that at some point. In the meantime I’ll tell you that streaming it is a suitable alternative, because while it’s fun to hear sequels to some classic Beatnuts tracks, extending original tracks doesn’t make them better, and most of the remixes take songs that were already perfect in an entirely wrong direction. Did I need “Props Over Here” to sound like MC Eiht’s “Def Wish II” for some reason? No. No I did not. This is kind of a miss and I’m a little less sad I missed it moving to Michigan.