Today, artist Naeem reunites with his long-lost indie darling rap persona Spank Rock for a new single, “Bankroll Peelers.” Coming five years after the release of Startisha, Naeem’s highly acclaimed debut under his given name and praised by NPR Music as “one of the most remarkable evolutions recently in popular music,” “Bankroll Peelers” is a gauzy banger that weighs a poet’s power amid late capitalism in America.

Written in the fall of 2024 in Philadelphia’s Callowhill district, “Bankroll Peelers” features the shoegaze and blown‑out Memphis‑rap production of Sam Greens, Noah Beresin, and Matti Free. Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders also adds backing vocals that lifts the chorus line: “Bankroll peeler, president killer, lawyer on the line and I’m chasing nine figures.”

“Spank Rock is the Goat!,” says Naeem, who broke out in 2006 with the seminal album YoYoYoYoYo, exporting Baltimore club culture to the world. “Actually he’s not the goat, he’s a Coyote, Monkey, Loki, or Eshu. Instead of feeling at odds creatively with my past and where I want to go, I invited my younger self back into the room. Spank Rock’s ephemeral energy rearranged the order of things. Personally I feel like I’m more risk-adverse than Spank Rock is. It’s fun to work with someone who doesn’t care how people perceive him. I would love for music to be surprising again.”

Photo Credit: Pamela Lin