Rating:
Genre:
Rap
Release Date: 04/18/2006
Spank Rock appear to revel in contradictions. Rapper
Naeem Juwan and production phenom
XXXChange (
Alex Epton) are an American group who record for the British flag-waving label
Big Dada, they're the only underground rappers to talk about sex more often and more explicitly than
Black Eyed Peas, and their tracks accept the limitations of
old-school rap and
bass music, but boast an agility that makes them sound positively post-millennial. Sex is all over this record, appearing on nearly every track, from the "ass-shaking competition champ" in
"Back Yard Betty" to the
50 Cent-style partying going on during
"Coke & Wet." Virtually every track -- notable exception:
"Rick Rubin" -- either references or focuses in on what you learn in anatomy and apply in life.
Juwan may sound like a juvenile
Q-Tip (minus the abstract rapping), but he's one of the brightest young American talents of the mid-2000s, using his voice in delightful ways (some helped along by post-production). Meanwhile, on the production end,
XXXChange concocts a series of deep bass hits, digital claps, and the occasional cougar scream to recall the type of stark, echoing productions and drum programming rarely heard since the mid-'80s. It's all performed so perfectly, and informed so well by
Juwan's lyrical finesse, that the vintage feel never seems like a crutch. Best of all is
"Bump," where first
Juwan takes a few minutes for a speed
rap, then guest
Amanda Blank enters halfway through, initially giving one of her stiffest
Roxanne Shanté impressions but, in a heartbeat, shifting into a higher gear like a sports car blowing away the competition.
~John Bush, All Music Guide
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