by Greg Prato
How many more hip-hop/funk/alternative bands are going to crop up in the late '90s? Well, it doesn't seem like it's going to stop any time soon -- you can add Phoenix's Phunk Junkeez to the ever-growing list. Their third release overall, Fear of a Wack Planet proves that the band has all the ingredients for chart success in place -- a DJ scratching, rapped lyrics, and songs that alternate between laidback grooves and funky metal. &In the Dirt& and &Downtown& fall under the former category, while &Million Rappers& and &Phunky Phunky (I Am a Junkee)& would be classified under the latter. The album was produced by Lee Popa and the band, and is surprisingly full of pop gloss, in spite of the fact that real funk is supposed to be raw and anything but glossy. Phunk Junkeez will definitely appeal to the younger alternative crowd, but older music fans will have heard this style many times before.