Producers: Jacky Jasper, Esham, Santos, L. Seven.

While gangsta rappers spend their time working a monochromatic style dependent on convincing listeners of their street cred, Kool Keith blazes a distinctive hip-hop trail distinguished by his loopy sense of humor and his willingness to take on any subject that crosses his irreverent mind. SPANKMASTER is no exception, as the disc finds Keith name-checking Teddy Pendergrass and quoting TP's hit "Love T.K.O." while female vocalists coo sensually in the background ("I Wanna Play"), berating those "stuck in 1974" ("I'm A Tell-U"), employing a quirky, narrative take on addiction ("Drugs"). Keith enjoys nothing more than offbeat role-playing, and here he takes on unexpected cinematic characters, such as "Blackula" and "Dark Vadar," all with his trademark humor fully in evidence. In a hip-hop scene populated by rappers overly concerned with keeping up a grim image, Keith stands apart from the pack by refusing to take himself or anyone else too seriously.

Rolling Stone (8/16/01, pp.106,108) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Anarchic and bizarre....Keith stays true to the homemade, gut-busting surrealism that animated early rap..."

CMJ (6/4/01, p.23) - "...The album is a one-trick pony - he has a Mini-Moog analog keyboard obsession, and he airs it out in public here. Most of the tempos are slow and the basslines are as thick as a city block...his tirades against unnamed MCs are amusing..."