You might know it from the setting it provides forHairspray, or simply think of it as a pleasant, neighbourhood-oriented city. What you might not know about Baltimore, however, is that it has helped breed some of pop culture’s great weirdos and outside-the-square thinkers – John Waters, Dan Deacon, Billie Holiday, Animal Collective and Edgar Allen Poe are naming but a few.
It also gave rise to an offshoot hybrid of house music and hip hop that came to be known as Baltimore club – something that remained a relatively obscure insider secret until it was busted wide open around the mid-2000s thanks to the success of fellow outside-the-square thinkers Spank Rock.
“Outside of London, there weren’t many rappers hanging around electronic producers or the indie rock scene those days,” says Naeem Juwan, who originally founded Spank Rock as a duo but continued under the moniker following the departure of Alex ‘XXXchange’ Epton. “We put Baltimore club music on a pedestal that energised Philly club, Jersey club and the New York party scene. XXXchange, Amanda [Blank] and I created a lane for Kid Sister, Theophilus London, Le1f, Iggy Azalea, Azealia Banks… and we welcomed most of them.”
The album that launched Spank Rock, YoYoYoYoYo, is on the verge of celebrating its ten-year anniversary. A raving, sweaty masterwork, it astounded and excited everyone from hype-machine bloggers and in-the-know hip hop heads to big names such as Thom Yorke and Mark Ronson. Reflecting on the moment in which Spank Rock emerged as a formidable entity is something that still makes Juwan’s head spin.
“I was really proud and fortunate to be a part of such a great moment in independent music history,” he says. “So many stars were born at that time: Santigold, M.I.A., Flosstradamus, Diplo, Le1f, Das Racist, Amanda Blank… Independence is no longer revered like it was during those days. Now, the revering of pop culture causes very smart artists to not take as many risks, and puts greater focus on image over content. I think of those times and remember how much cooler some of us were back then. I remember the spirit and soul of the time, and realise that it is important to always begin each new project with the same intensity.”
Of course, the years since then have still been considerably kind to Juwan – even if he self-deprecatingly thinks of himself as less ‘cool’. The Spank Rock discography has gone on to include a follow-up LP – tellingly titled Everything Is Boring And Everyone Is A Fucking Liar – as well as a handful of EPs; the most recent of which was last December’s The Upside. Its origin story is particularly fascinating, as it entails the journey as much as it does the final destination.
“The Upside began with a road trip to New Orleans to work with [producer] Kid Kamillion,” Juwan begins. “My good friend Ryan [Lynch], from the band pwrTalk, flew to Philly from LA to drive me down to Louisiana, ’cause I don’t have a driver’s licence. It was really important for us to drive – I needed the freedom of the road. We partied like dickheads the entire way, making a stop in Atlanta to see Jared [Swilley] from The Black Lips. By the time we got to New Orleans, I was so high and exhausted I didn’t know what to do.”
Juwan then points to the work ethic of his producer as the catalyst – a creative relationship that sparked something adventurous and different for the Spank Rock project.
“Kid insisted we get to work,” he continues, “and we made ‘Gully’, which was to become the lead single. I didn’t expect him to make beats like that. I wrote that song fast, stowed away in our car, and snuck into Kid’s house to finish it. We wrote ‘Back Up’, ‘Burning Man’ and ‘Assassin’ that week. They just flowed out like water when I thought it was a drought. Kid gave me an experience I hadn’t had in a while – he just wanted me to be myself. He never dwelled on the past; he never compared me to, or spoke about, other musicians. He was just happy to collaborate. One night, we got high under the singing tree outside of the art museum down there, and I decided I loved him. He put me on the path to loving myself again.”
This month, Spank Rock returns to Australia for the first time in several years, as part of a showcase for Boysnoize Records that will see Juwan teaming up with labelmates Jensen Interceptor and Stephane 1993. Classic tracks from YoYoYoYoYo are in the pipeline, as well as choice cuts from The Upside, and maybe even a sneak peek into what’s next for Spank Rock. “I’ve been working on lots of new music,” says Juwan. “Hopefully something is going to come out before the New Year, but I shouldn’t talk about it yet – I’ll just jinx it.”
Ultimately, there’s no real agenda to Juwan’s Australian visit apart from celebrating his label and having some fun in a country he says has always treated him well. “Every single visit to Australia has been fond,” he says. “However, it’s been very, very hard to remember specific details. I had an amazing experience working with the Heaps Decent organisation, though. My fondest memories would have to be touring with Mark Ronson and The Business International – all details are incriminating!”
Spank Rock’s release The Upside is availablethrough Bad Blood/Boysnoize. V MoVement Sydney presents Spank Rock atJam Gallery onSaturday October 24 with Jensen Interceptor and Stephane 1993 as support.
