Spank Rock and Benny Blanco… Not Whispering, But Still Appealing

Published February 19, 2008

By Sally Wiebe

I am going to be fair and open this piece with the secret that I am one of those girls you would catch pre-gaming at a party listening to the Ying Yang Twins’ “Wait (The Whisper Song).” Maybe if I were solely focusing on the lyrics I might hate it, but instead I become mesmerized by someone whispering the lyrics through my sound system which somehow makes it seem less derogatory and, quite frankly, charming. This is the case with last November’s EP, “Spank Rock and Benny Blanco Are… Bangers and Cash.”

A friend introduced me to these boys, explaining that the lyrics were pretty standard in relation to the provoking song titles, but she thought I would like working out or dancing to it at nine on a Friday night. I went to the gym with Benny Blanco and Spank Rock fresh on my iPod, ready to run to songs titled “B-O-O-T-A-Y,” “Loose,” and “Shake That.”

Well, to my dismay, the Twins’ ballad “Salt Shaker” never came through my headphones. However, I still found myself running to the various techno beats and listening to Spank and Blanco’s demands like “Hoochies, wanna get on the guest list/Eat a small meal so you fit in ya dresses.” Uh, how empowering. But I will admit I kept running, and maybe it was to fit in my dress…

“Bangers and Cash” is Spank Rock’s 5-song EP recorded in collaboration with producer/DJ and previous Disco D intern, Benny Blanco. Spank Rock was interviewed explaining that he was inspired by the “booty bass sounds of 2 Live Crew,” a hardcore rap group from Miami, Florida. He started in Philadelphia and made music in a number of places for several years before Spank Rock, aka Naeem Juwan, teamed up with producer XXXchange in Baltimore.

Interestingly, XXXchange studied at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and then briefly at the New England Conservatory. His collaborator Spank Rock’s over the top sexual lyrics are concurrent with the Baltimore club scene and a favorite amongst kids who respond to his unambiguous rap ideology. He retains a solid mix of underground hip-hop and dirty rap. Benny Blanco, who graduated from the Berkley School of Music in the ‘90’s, is adaptable with the music he uses, which is why Spank Rock chose him for the collaboration.

Although the raunchy lyrics Spank Rock shouts into your ears are superlatively deprecating, he consistently acknowledges and states that this was his intention for the EP, similar to so many other dirty-rap artists on the scene. It is a compilation of vulgar poetry at its highest level of uncouthness, with rhymes like, “From the club to the bed/Brown bag on ya head.”

Once you listen to the songs you cannot help but “Shake that ass” to Benny Blanco’s clever composition and show the boys “Whatchya got.” The combination of strong tunes backing up typical hard-core rap lyrics still remains alluring to my friends and me before a night out.

Print This Article

Comments