Spank Rock
Naeem Juwan, better known by his stage name Spank Rock, is an American rapper and songwriter from Baltimore. He rose to fame with his 2006 album "YoYoYoYoYo", which was produced by former group member Alex Epton (XXXChange). A harbinger of post-millennial alternative rap, the duo became known for its mixing of disparate hip hop and club genres, including Baltimore club, Miami bass, electro music 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. After a five-year  contract struggle with his label Downtown Records, Juwan released his sophomore album, "Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is a Fucking Liar", with a range of producers including Boys Noize, Le1f, XXXChange, 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 Baltimore club music. In high school, his older sister introduced him to Brooklyn-based producer J. Period, known for producing records by underground rappers Mos Def 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 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 and Phoenixville, where their reputation quickly increased. They later toured with Hollertronix and M.I.A. They also toured with Beck in 2006. Spank Rock's debut studio album, "YoYoYoYoYo", was released in 2006 on the Big  Dada record label. It was nominated for the 2006 Shortlist Music Prize. In 2007, Alex Epton (XXXChange) left Spank Rock to pursue his own production while Naeem Juwan signed a deal with Downtown Records. Spank Rock's first Downtown Records release came in the form of fall 2007's "Bangers & Cash" EP, a 2 Live Crew-inspired collaborative EP with Benny Blanco. In 2010, MC Spank Rock was featured along with The View's Kyle Falconer on "The Bike Song" by Mark Ronson, which featured on Ronson's 2010 album Record Collection. He was also the touring rapper on the  album's 2010 UK tour. In 2011, Spank Rock released his second studio album, "Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is a Fucking Liar", on his own label, Bad Blood Records. "Pitchfork" premiered the first single from the album, titled "Energy," produced by Boys Noize, and later selected the single "Nasty" as Best New Track. "Rolling Stone" premiered the album in September 2011 on their website. The album featured production from Boys Noize, XXXChange, Sam Spiegel, and Le1f, as well as appearances by Santigold and Big Freedia. After the release of his album, Spank Rock was 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 his second LP. In 2012, Naeem Juwan co-wrote the Boys Noize-produced track "Look at These Hoes" from Santigold's album Master of My Make-Believe. In 2014, Spank Rock released his third EP, "The Upside", on Bad Blood Records and Boysnoize Records, with production contributions from Kid Kamillion, Boys Noize, and Damian Taylor. The EP premiered on December 9, 2014 following a  premiere stream of the entire EP on "Dazed & Confused". Lead single "Gully" was remixed by Brodinski and Switch, and has received extensive play on BBC Radio 1. In 2016, Spank Rock began appearing in concerts as MC with Australian electronic music group The Avalanches. His first appearance was at a Splendour in the Grass lead-up event at The Northern Hotel in Byron Bay on July 21, 2016, followed by their featured performance at Splendour in the Grass on July 22. He subsequently appeared in featured performances at Coachella and Vivid Sydney in 2017, as well as the group's  headline tours in 2017 and 2018. Under the Naeem moniker, Juwan released his solo studio album, "Startisha", in 2020. It features contributions from Justin Vernon, Francis and the Lights, Ryan Olson, Swamp Dogg, Velvet Negroni, Amanda Blank, and Micah James.