Spank Rock's debut full length, 2006's YoYoYoYoYo, paired the frantic tempo and raunchy sensibility of Baltimore-style club music with the shimmering glean of indie electro-pop and the impressively elastic flow and sharp diction of MC Naeem Juwan. The album painted a perfect picture of the raunchiest mid-2000s party. But it's been a half-decade since that record dropped. And to be honest, we're getting a little impatient for the follow-up.
Since 2006, Juwann has kept busy with an endless stream of live performances around the world (including occasional South Florida stops) and a series of Miami-related bursts of creativity.
In 2008, it was Spank Rock and Benny Blanco Present: Bangers and Mash, a Spank Rock'd tribute to Miami Booty Bass. And more recently, Spank has played the starring role in Mobroder, an Italo-disco thang with a Miami Vice-inspired aesthetic.
While we appreciate the love, the MIA worship didn't quite satisfy our yearning for another full-length record. So you can imagine we were stoked when German electro-house producer Boys Noize not only shouted out Spank Rock last week in an interview with MTV, but also spoke very highly about the rapper's upcoming sophomore record. In addition to unabashed praise for the album, on which Boyz Noise contributes, the technician revealed that in addition to signature Spank Rock club bangers, the record features Juwan settling comfortably into a unique style somewhere between "the '60s" and Prince.
Crossfade contacted Juwan to follow up and Spank says he hooked up with Boys Noize (AKA Alexander Ridha) at Winter Music Conference. But appropriately, he can't remember if it was in '06 or '07. (Something tells us he doesn't go to WMC to remember stuff.) Alongside Ridha, Juwan has assembled quite the production team: YoYoYoYoYo producer XXXchange is back, along with Sam Spiegel, whose pedigree includes productions for rappers like Ghostface Killah and Kanye West, as well as indie electro artists like Crystal Castles. Juwan also shared excitement for "a young kid named Leif," the producer behind Das Racist's generation-defining single "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell."
"I wasn't aware of the interview, or how he felt about the project until [I read it]," Juwan told Crossfade. "I've been working really hard to improve in a lot of areas. So it's nice to hear that someone else noticed some progress."
We can't wait to judge for ourselves because we're sure the record is going to be awesome.
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