We never thought we'd say this, but last Friday we went to Jimmy Kimmel Live to watch Spank Rock, the self-proclaimed Third-Best Rapper Alive, perform on national television. Producer and hypeman XXXChange stayed home in New York, but Pase Rock, Santogold, BBC Soundsystem, Tyler from !!!, hand drummers and go-go dancers all made the trip, along with what seemed like a hundred Philly dudes. And Joan Rivers stood behind us the whole time. And she looked ravishing. But before all of that, we grabbed Naeem for a second to ask him about the new album, where he's headed next and which teen queens he's been rubbing shoulders with lately. We also took some photos backstage and during rehearsal and dug up footage of the actual performance, which we were told not to shoot by armed guards in Mouse suits. Check all and everything Spank-related after the jump.
Is this a one-off appearance or are you touring somewhere after this?
Yeah, it’s a one-off thing. We did New Year’s Eve in San Francisco. We’ve been hanging out on the West Coast for about a week and a half. We do this, and then we go out to Australia for Big Day Out.
What do think of L.A.?
It’s not real. It’s not a real place.
Have you had any good celebrity sightings?
Yeah, some of us here were spinning at The Standard Hotel, and as we were wrapping up, Britney was coming in.
Was she pregnant?
Nah, Britney’s not pregnant anymore. Britney’s making a comeback.
Have you had any run-ins with Lindsay Lohan?
I don’t want to namedrop.
Are you recording any new stuff right now?
We have some little sketches of songs, but I haven’t really had time to sit down and start working on the new record. As soon as the Australia trip is over, I’m gonna go in. But I’ve been working with Tyler from !!! and with all that Alex is learning without me being there, I can only imagine how strong the next project is going to be.
Are you going to work with a bunch of people on the next one?
The thing is, Alex’s diversity is so strong, and we have such a good relationship that, most likely, he will be the main producer.
Have you been working with anyone else?
I’m working with Boom Bip on one of his projects right now. I’m trying to put a song together for the Chemical Brothers, but I’ve been slacking off on it. They’ve been trying to get me to record this song for a long time.
Be careful, you’ll find your song on Monday Night Football like Q-Tip’s.
I mean, some money will come in. I don’t mind being on Monday Night Football or tampon commercials.