Spankmaster

Spankmaster is the sixth solo studio album by American rapper and producer Kool Keith. It was released on June 5, 2001, through Overcore/Gothom with distribution via TVT Records. Recording sessions took place at Overture Recording in Michigan. Production was handled by Santos, Jacky Jasper, Esham, Marc Live, and Kool Keith himself, who also served as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Jacky Jasper, Esham, Brittany Hurd, Heather Hunter, Laura Ruby and Mary Santos.

The album did not reach the Billboard 200, however, it peaked at number 48 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, number 11 on the Independent Albums and number 16 on the Heatseekers Albums charts in the United States.

Critical reception
Spankmaster was met with mixed or negative reviews from music critics. Jeff Ryce of HipHopDX wrote: "the sound of this album lies somewhere in between Lost In Space and Matthew, the beats usually consist of heavy synthesizers to create a slow spaced out sound", he added, "while the production can get a little mundane and repetitive it doesn't faze the listener too much because his lyrics demand so much attention". AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier found that the album "heads even further toward insanity than his preceding trilogy of albums for Funky Ass foreshadowed", referring to Keith's albums Sex Style, First Come, First Served and Matthew, and concluded: "recommended to the open-minded, particularly if you admire creativity, long for the uncanny, and secretly have a desire for perversity. Definitely not for the lighthearted".

Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews wrote: "his last album Matthew was full of self-produced beats and meandering stream-of-consciousness thoughts that had little to do with what could honestly be called rapping – and the sad fact is that this album picks right up where Matthew left off". Critic Robert Christgau picked "Dark Vadar" song as a "choice cut", indicating a good song on "an album that isn't worth your time or money".

Personnel

 * "Kool" Keith Thornton – vocals, producer, executive producer
 * Brittany Hurd – vocals (track 2)
 * Heather Hunter – vocals (track 2)
 * Sean "Jacky Jasper" Merrick – vocals (tracks: 6, 8, 9, 16, 17, 20), producer (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 15-18, 20)
 * Esham Smith – vocals (tracks: 6, 20), producer (tracks: 2, 5, 17, 18, 20)
 * Laura Ruby – vocals (track 9)
 * Mary Santos – vocals (track 9)
 * Scott Santos – guitar (track 18), producer (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 15-18, 20) , recording & mixing (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 15-18, 20) , mastering, design, photography
 * Marc Giveand – producer (tracks: 12-14)
 * Michael Wood – booking