"Off the Books" is the third single from Stone Crazy

Stone Crazy

Stone Crazy is the second full-length album by hip hop group The Beatnuts. It was released on June 24, 1997 by Relativity Records and Epic Records in later pressings. It is the first album released by The Beatnuts after rapper Kool Fashion left the group to pursue a solo career...

, a 1997 album by East Coast

East Coast hip hop

East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City, USA during the 1970s. Hip hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in the East Coast...

 hip hop

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 group The Beatnuts

The Beatnuts

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 is Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les is a Colombian American from Jackson Heights...

. It was released by Relativity Records

Relativity Records

Relativity Records, often branded just Relativity, is an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his company, Important Record Distribution in metro New York. Early on, as an indie label, Relativity released music in a variety of styles, including dance, jazz, punk, and...

 in both 12 inch

12-inch single

The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...

 and CD

CD single

A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...

 format in 1997. The song is produced by The Beatnuts and features raps by Juju and Psycho Les, as well as the first on-record performances by Big Punisher and Cuban Link

Cuban Link

Felix Delgado , better known by his stage name Cuban Link, is a Cuban rapper.-Biography:Delgado was born in Havana, Cuba in 1974. He and his family emigrated to the United States in 1980 and settled in the Morrisania section of the South Bronx neighborhood of New York City...

. Big Pun's real first on-record performance was the B-Side to Fat Joe's "Envy" single, "Firewater" with Fat Joe, Raekwon and Armageddon. Lyrics from Psycho Les's verse were later sampled in "The Rep Grows Bigga" by Gang Starr

Gang Starr

Gang Starr was an influential East Coast hip hop duo that consisted of the late MC Guru and DJ/producer DJ Premier. Their style combined elements of New York jazz and hip hop.-Background:...

 and two Beatnuts songs: "No Escapin' This" and "Slam Pit". The track's beat samples

Sampling (music)

In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...

 "Break that Party and Opening" by Melvin Van Peebles

Melvin Van Peebles

Melvin "Block" Van Peebles is an American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, novelist and composer.He is most famous for creating the acclaimed film, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which heralded a new era of African American focused films...

, "Sign Song" by Buddy Baker

Buddy Baker (composer)

Norman "Buddy" Baker was an American composer who scored many of Walt Disney's films, such as The Apple Dumpling Gang, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, The Shaggy D.A., The Million Dollar Duck and The Fox and the Hound.Baker was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri, and got his degree in...

, "Get out of My Life, Woman" by George Semper and "Hihache" by Lafayette Afro Rock Band

Lafayette Afro Rock Band

Lafayette Afro Rock Band was a French funk rock band formed in Roosevelt, Long Island, New York in 1970. Though almost unknown in their native United States, they are now universally celebrated as one of the standout funk bands of the 1970s and admired for their use of break beats.Upon their...

.

"Off the Books" was the most commercially successful single from Stone Crazy; it reached #86 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 making it the first Beatnuts single to appear on the pop chart. Tom Doggett of RapReviews.com explains the source of the song's success:
Its popularity landed it on two Beatnuts hits compilations: Beatnuts Forever

Beatnuts Forever

Beatnuts Forever is the second of three greatest hits albums by hip hop group The Beatnuts. It was released by Relativity Records in 2001 shortly after the release of Take It or Squeeze It. It contains songs from The Beatnuts' first four albums, as well as its two EP's. It most heavily borrows from...

 and Classic Nuts, Vol. 1

Classic Nuts, Vol. 1

Classic Nuts, Vol. 1 is the last of three greatest hits albums by hip hop group The Beatnuts. It was released by Loud Records during its merger with Relativity on February 19, 2002. Released prior to The Originators, another 2002 Beatnuts album, it only contains songs from The Beatnuts' first four...

. It can additionally be found on the soundtracks of two films, 1998's Butter and 2001's Blazin, as well as Big Pun's 2001 album Endangered Species

Endangered Species (Big Pun album)

Endangered Species is a posthumous and compilation of unreleased tracks, guest appearances, and greatest hits by the late rapper Big Pun, released in 2001 following his death in February 2000. The proceeds from the album were to be given to Pun's widow, Liza Rios, and their three children, The...

 and various hip hop compilation albums.

An "Off the Books" music video, which highlights the lavish lives lived by each rapper, was directed by Dave Meyers

Dave Meyers (director)

David "Dave" Meyers is an American music video director.-Career:Meyers has directed over 200 music videos including: P!nk's "There You Go", "Most Girls", "You Make Me Sick", "Get The Party Started", "Don't Let Me Get Me", "Feel Good Time", "Stupid Girls", "U + Ur Hand", "So What", "Please Don't...

.

CD single

1. "Off the Books (Album Version)"
2. "Off the Books (Instrumental)"
3. "Bless the M.I.C."
4. "Intermission"
5. "Get Funky (Remix)"

B-Side

1. "Off the Books (T.V. Track)" (3:34)
2. "Off the Books (Instrumental)" (3:34)
3. "Off the Books (Acapella)" (3:25)