YoYoYoYoYo [PA] (CD - 2006)

Personnel: Rosalie Parker, J. Uzi, Ben Folstein (vocals).

Audio Mixers: XXXChange; Hernán Santiago.

Photographer: Isaac Shel.

Undoubtedly one of the most inventive and unusual acts in hip-hop, the Baltimore-based group Spank Rock (made up of producer Armani XXXchange and MC Spank Rock aka Spank Disco) lays down 12 challenging tracks on their debut full-length release YOYOYOYOYO. Lyrically, Spank Rock mostly sticks to sex rhymes and clever braggadocio, while stylistically he delivers break-neck flows reminiscent of the earliest party MCs. On the production end, Armani XXXchange works with rapid-fire percussion and minimalist electro effects as well as classic break-beats from the days of Grandmaster Flash and Whodini. The result is something astonishingly different. YOYOYOYOYO moves from soundtrack music to an intense b-boy session to a backdrop for a spaced-out drum-and-bass party. What's most impressive is Spank Rock's ability to take the fundamentals from hip-hop's roots and mold them into a sound that is fantastically futuristic.

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 minimize