Reflecting the party rap atmosphere of Baltimore's club scene, Spank Rock arrived as one of the best things to happen to both underground hip-hop and dirty rap, a pair of styles that rarely intermingle. Both grew up in Baltimore, though never met until both had been making music elsewhere for several years. Juwan was rapping by his middle school years, and a friendship with producer Shawn J. Period Mos Def , Talib Kweli helped him decide on rap as a career and Philadelphia as a starting point. Reflecting Baltimore's fertile but rarely exported club scene, Spank Rock tracks were influenced by the skeletal breakbeats of electro and bass, glitch and grime, while Juwan proved up to the task of conjuring the hyper-sexual rhymes necessary for a genuine Baltimore flavor. XXXchange also recorded a mix album, Voila, that married his bruising beats to a succession of pop songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s.
Naeem Juwan , better known by his stage name Spank Rock, is an American rapper and songwriter from Baltimore. 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. Juwan grew up in West Baltimore in a row home alongside five sisters and two brothers. 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. Period mentored Juwan and helped him improve his skills as a rapper for some time.