Music Review

10 January 2009 00:42 BST

Spank Rock: Bangers and Cash EP

Downtown, out now.

In a nutshell...

Follow up EP to 2006 debut YoYoYoYoYo by Philadelphia-based rapper Spank Rock.

What's it all about?

Spank Rock's last longplayer was an indie hip hop classic, noted for its cut and paste rhythms and reluctance to take the genre too seriously. This time, Spankrock ditches the sampler and instead hands production duties to Benny Blanco, who together have cranked out some of the best electro you'll hear this year.

Who's it by?

Originally a native of Baltimore, Spank Rock aka Naeem Juwan's hybrid of ultra-hip underground hip hop and electro has won him support slots with acts as diverse as Bjork and Beck. Producer and expert knob twiddler Benny Blanco is most often seen behind a pair of decks in scenester New York nightclubs.

As an example...

"I know I work it like a pro/ Smack it, shake it, take it low/ I will tell you how it's gonna go/ I ain't your average ho." - Spank Rock's respect for the fairer sex knows no boundaries.

Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys...

In a perfect world, very high. Unfortunately, Spank Rock's non-PC attitude to just about everything and penchant for the terms "booty" and "b*tch" aren't likely to win them too many friends in high up places. That said, plenty of inferior rappers have swaggered up the tacky red carpet in recent years.

What the others say

"An ambitious effort on all fronts ... it bumps hard" - Dusted magazine

"One of the most precise and brilliant records produced this year" - Pitchfork Media

So is it any good?

Yeah, pretty damn good in fact. While Spank Rock's debut YoYoYoYoYo drew its influence from the underground hip hop scene, Bangers and Cash is firmly rooted in an electro future. Throughout its six tracks, Spank Rock and Benny Blanco borrow the stream-of-consciousness rap style of legendary 90s duo Eric B and Rakim and throw in a bit of the 80s electro-master, The Egyptian Lover, for good measure.

All of the favoured hip hop stereotypes of "b*tches" and "hos" are also evident throughout, but they're turned on their head - lolled off the tongue in a manner that's tongue-in-cheek rather than ever threatening or misogynist. But Spank Rock avoid being cliched by never breaking the golden rule of rap and taking themselves seriously (see P Diddy, Fiddy, Dre, etc). While hip hop in the late 90s and noughties has been characterized by AK-47s and crack deals gone tits up, Bangers and Cash takes it back to the old school, when the genre was all about over-sized ghetto blasters, funky break dancing and high-top Nikes.

It's not only the party loving outlook of acts like the Beastie Boys and the Pharcyde that Spank Rock use as reference points, but also many of the sounds. Roland tr808 drum machines and chunky synthesis pervade through the 25 minute running time, Benny Blanco manipulating dated technology, making it sound as cool and revolutionary as it did when it was invented a quarter of a century ago.

Whether Spank Rock could keep the momentum going for a whole album remains to be seen, but Bangers and Cash provides the perfect answer to those who expect a bit more from their post-millenial hip-hop.

9/10

Daniel Shane