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 (born Jerry Tineo on December 4, 1968) is
Dominican American from
Corona and Psycho Les (born Lester Fernandez on April 10, 1972) is a
Colombian American from
Jackson Heights. The Beatnuts are the only
Latino members of the
Native Tongues collective. Although only peripheral members, they are routinely acknowledged by
Q-Tip. The Beatnuts were originally a trio before Fashion, now known as Al' Tariq, left the group to start a solo career. The Mighty V.I.C. (Groove Merchantz, Ghetto Pros) was also a member of The Beatnuts' production team for a while.