Naeem Juwan, better known by his stage name Spank Rock, is an American rapper and songwriter from

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

. He rose to fame with his 2006 album '' YoYoYoYoYo'', which was produced by former group member Alex Epton (

XXXChange Alex Brady Epton, known professionally as XXXChange (formerly known as XXXCBIOSCCC), is an American, New York-based record producer, mixer and film composer. In 2014, he joined XL Recordings in New York, and as their in-house producer/engineer wo ...

). A harbinger of post-millennial alternative rap, the duo became known for its mixing of disparate hip hop and club genres, including

Baltimore club Baltimore club, also called Bmore club, Bmore house or simply Bmore, is a fusion of breakbeat and house genres. It is often referred to as a blend of hip hop and chopped, staccato house music. It was created in Baltimore, Maryland, United States ...

, Miami bass,

electro music Electro (or electro- funk)Rap meets ...

and rock. In 2007, Epton left the group to pursue his own production while Juwan went on to release the '' Bangers & Cash'' EP (2007) with pop producer

Benny Blanco Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is als ...

. After a five-year contract struggle with his label

Downtown Records Downtown Records is an American record label based in New York City with offices in Los Angeles. Owned and operated by Josh Deutsch and Terence Lam, the label is distributed by Geffen Records (formerly Interscope Records and The Orchard) in the ...

, Juwan released his second album, '' Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is a Fucking Liar'', with a range of producers including

Boys Noize Alexander Ridha (born 22 August 1982), better known by his stage name Boys Noize, is a Berlin-based German-Iraqi electronic music record producer, songwriter, and DJ. It is similar to the name of Ridha's label, Boysnoize Records, which he esta ...

, Le1f,

, and Squeak E. Clean.

Biography

Juwan grew up in West Baltimore in a row home alongside five sisters and two brothers. As a teenager, Juwan frequented clubs such as Paradox, where DJs played

music. In high school, his older sister introduced him to Brooklyn-based producer J. Period, known for producing records by underground rappers

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

and Artifacts. J. Period mentored Juwan and helped him improve his skills as a rapper for some time. After moving to Philadelphia and dropping out of college, Juwan met fellow Baltimore native Alex Epton, who had studied composition at the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on H ...

in Boston and learned studio production as an intern at the DFA Records studio in New York. Juwan and Epton started performing under the name Spank Rock together in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

and Phoenixville, where their reputation quickly increased. They later toured with Hollertronix and M.I.A. They also toured with

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical colla ...

in 2006. Spank Rock's debut studio album, '' YoYoYoYoYo'', was released in 2006 on the

Big Dada Big Dada is a British independent record label imprint distributed by Ninja Tune. It was started by reputed hip hop journalist Will Ashon in 1997. It is best known for marketing of prominent British hip hop artist Roots Manuva, poet and play ...

record label. It was nominated for the 2006 Shortlist Music Prize. In 2007, Alex Epton (

) left Spank Rock to pursue his own production while Naeem Juwan signed a deal with

. Spank Rock's first Downtown Records release came in the form of fall 2007's '' Bangers & Cash'' EP, a

2 Live Crew 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop group from Miami, Florida, which had its greatest commercial success from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The group's most well-known line up was composed of Luke Campbell, Fresh Kid Ice, Mr. Mixx, and ...

-inspired collaborative EP with

. In 2010, Spank Rock was featured, along with The View's

Kyle Falconer Kyle Francis Falconer (born 6 June 1987) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist of The View. Along with the other band members, Falconer hails from the Dryburgh district of Dundee. He shares songw ...

, on " The Bike Song" by

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, R ...

, which appeared on Ronson's 2010 album

Record Collection Record Collection may refer to: *Record Collection (record label), a Los Angeles-based music studio * ''Record Collection'' (album), a 2010 album by Mark Ronson & The Business Intl. *"Record Collection", a song by Kaiser Chiefs on the 2019 album, ...

. Spank Rock toured with Ronson for the album's 2010 UK tour. The following year, Spank Rock released his second studio album, '' Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is a Fucking Liar'', on his own label, Bad Blood Records. ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' premiered the first single from the album, titled "Energy," produced by

, and later selected the single "Nasty" as a "Best New Track." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' premiered the album in September 2011 on their website. The album featured production from Boys Noize, XXXChange,

Sam Spiegel Samuel P. Spiegel (November 11, 1901December 31, 1985) was an American independent film producer born in the Galician area of Austria-Hungary. Financially responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed motion pictures of the 20th centur ...

, and Le1f, as well as appearances by

Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. '' Billboard'' presented her in 2022, saying: "Spanning punk rock, hip-hop, and dance music, S ...

and Big Freedia. After the release of his album, Spank Rock was selected to be one of the faces of Alexander Wang's 2011 T collection, along with Santigold. In 2012, Spank Rock released a second EP, ''E. I. B. A. E. I. A. F. L. Remixes'', a collection of various producers' remixes of tracks from ''Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is a Fucking Liar''. He also co-wrote the Boys Noize-produced track "Look at These Hoes" from

's album, Master of My Make-Believe. Spank Rock released his third EP, ''The Upside'', in 2014 on Bad Blood Records and Boysnoize Records, with production contributions from Kid Kamillion, Boys Noize, and Damian Taylor. Lead single "Gully" was remixed by Brodinski and

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

, and received extensive play on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...

. Spank Rock began appearing in concerts in 2016 as an MC with

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n electronic music group

The Avalanches The Avalanches are an Australian electronic music group formed in Melbourne in 1997. They are known for their studio albums '' Since I Left You'' (2000), ''Wildflower'' (2016), and '' We Will Always Love You'' (2020), as well as their live and ...

. He subsequently appeared in performances at Coachella and

Vivid Sydney Vivid Sydney is an annual festival of light, music and ideas, held in Sydney, Australia. It includes outdoor immersive light installations and projections, performances by local and international musicians, and an ideas exchange forum featurin ...

in 2017. Under the Naeem moniker, Juwan released a solo studio album, ''

Startisha ''Startisha'' is the third studio album by American rapper Naeem Juwan, also known by his stage name ''Spank Rock''. It was released on June 12, 2020, under record label 37d03d. Singles The first single from the album, which features American mus ...

'', in 2020. It features contributions from

Justin Vernon Justin DeYarmond Edison Vernon (born April 30, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the primary songwriter and frontman of indie folk band Bon Iver. Known for his distinct falsetto voic ...

Francis and the Lights Francis and the Lights is an American pop project led by Francis Farewell Starlite. The term "and the Lights" refers both to the lights on a stage and pixels on a computer screen. Starlite often uses the Francis and the Lights name when credit ...

, Ryan Olson, Swamp Dogg, Velvet Negroni,

Amanda Blank Amanda Blank (born Amanda Mallory McGrath; March 21, 1983) is an American singer, rapper and member of the performance art band Sweatheart based in Philadelphia. Early life Amanda Blank was born in Germantown, Philadelphia, Germantown, a neighb ...

, and Micah James.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' YoYoYoYoYo'' (2006) * '' Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is a Fucking Liar'' (2011) * ''

'' (2020)

Mixtapes

* ''Couche Tard'' (2006)

DJ mixes

* '' FabricLive.33'' (2007)

EPs

* '' Bangers & Cash'' (2007) * ''E. I. B. A. E. I. A. F. L. Remixes'' (2012) * ''The Upside'' (2014)

Singles

* "Put That Pussy on Me" (2005) * "Rick Rubin" (2006) * "Sweet Talk" (2006) * "Bump" (2006) * "Energy" (2011) * "Car Song" (2011) * "I Know a Place" (2014) * "Gully" / "Vertigo" (2014) * "Gully (Brodinski Remix)" (2014) * "Assassin" / "Back Up" (2014)

Guest appearances

DJ Kentaro Kentaro Okamoto (born c.1982), better known as DJ Kentaro, is a musician and DJ from Japan.''Tuff Kuts'' review, ''The Wire'', 2008, vol. 293-298, p. 70 He won third place in the Technics category of the DMC World DJ Final in 2001 and won it in ...

- "Free" from ''Enter'' (2007) *

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

- "

D.A.N.C.E. "D.A.N.C.E." is the second single by Justice and the first from their album '' †''. It includes edited and extended versions of "D.A.N.C.E", a rougher mix in the style of their earlier releases, "B.E.A.T", and the track "Phantom" which was pr ...

(Remix)" (2007) *

Shy Child Shy Child were an American electronic music duo from New York City, United States, consisting of Pete Cafarella on vocals and synthesizers and Nate Smith on drums. History Shy Child formed in the summer of 2000, when former college friends Pete ...

- "Kick Drum" from ''Noise Won't Stop'' (2007) * Feadz - "Back It Up" from '' Ed Rec Vol. 3'' (2008) *

The Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat gen ...

- "Keep My Composure" from '' Brotherhood'' (2008) *

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

- "Heart Beat Rock" (Benny Blanco Mix featuring Spank Rock) from '' X'' (2008) * Santogold - "Shove It" from '' Santogold'' (2008) * Neon Neon - "Trick or Treat" from '' Stainless Style'' (2008) * Japanther - "Radical Businessman" from ''

Tut Tut, Now Shake Ya Butt ''Tut Tut, Now Shake Ya Butt'' is a studio album by American experimental punk band Japanther. The song "Radical Businessman" was used in Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned, the add-on to the video game Grand Theft Auto IV. The album includes ...

'' (2008) * Deekline & Wizard - "Roll That Shit" from ''Booty Breaks Vol. 3'' (2008) *

Steve Aoki Steven Hiroyuki Aoki (, ; born November 30, 1977), best known as Steve Aoki, is an American DJ, record producer, music programmer, and record executive.

- "We Are Rockstars" from ''Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles'' (2008) * Heartsrevolution - "Ultraviolence (Remix)" (2009) * N.A.S.A. - "Wachadoin" from ''

The Spirit of Apollo ''The Spirit of Apollo'' is the debut album by N.A.S.A., a hip hop duo consisting of Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon. It was released on ANTI- in 2009. The track, "N.A.S.A. Anthem", was featured on the official NASA Glenn Research Center website ...

'' (2009) * Ninjasonik - "My Eyes" from ''Darth Baño'' (2009) * Staygold - "Backseat" (2010) *

Crookers Crookers is the musical project of Italian DJ and producer Francesco "Phra" Barbaglia. Crookers was originally a duo consisting of Phra and fellow producer Bot, who worked together from 2003 to 2012. When the two artists met, both were trying to ...

- "Park the Truck" from ''

Tons of Friends ''Tons of Friends'' is the debut album by Italian electronic duo Crookers. It was released on March 8, 2010 on Southern Fried Records. Many of the songs feature collaborations, including Kid Cudi, Soulwax, Kelis, will.i.am, Róisín Murphy, Miike ...

'' (2010) *

- " The Bike Song" from ''

'' (2010) * Rebecca & Fiona - "Church Is on Fire" from ''I Love You, Man!'' (2011) *

The Death Set The Death Set (also typeset as TheDeathSet or The DeathSet) is an experimental music band with roots in punk rock, sometimes referred to as art punk. The band formed in 2005 in Sydney. Six months after its inception, the band moved to the Unite ...

- "7PM Woke Up an Hour Ago" from ''Michel Poiccard'' (2011) * Addison Groove - "Bad Things" from ''Transistor Rhythm'' (2012) * Le1f - "Star Alliance" (2013) * Cakes da Killa - "I Run This Club (Remix)" (2014) * Trippy Turtle - "Trippy's Theme (TWRK Remix)" (2014) *

- "Birthday" from ''

Mayday Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications. It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organiz ...

'' (2016) * Nick Hook - "Another Way" from ''Relationships'' (2016)

Compilation appearances

* "Hoodie (Spank Rock Remix)" on '' Chocolate Swim'' (2006)

References

External links

* *
Spank Rock
(archive) at Boysnoize Records {{DEFAULTSORT:Spank Rock Living people Year of birth missing (living people) African-American male rappers Rappers from Philadelphia Rappers from Baltimore East Coast hip hop musicians Downtown Records artists Big Dada artists 21st-century African-American people