New Boyz

Colorfully clad duo the New Boyz are the breakthrough act for the grassroots suburban L.A. teen dance-rap subculture "jerking," and their debut largely comprises shamelessly rewritten variations on their deadpan Top 30 goof "You're a Jerk." Yet between cricket noises, Martian voices, Cool Kids one-upmanship, Fresh Princely skirt-chasing, fluorescent fashion and echo-spaced electro-beats that'd make Whodini or Run-D.M.C. grin, the cumulative effect is as sonically mesmerizing as it is silly. By the time you reach the album's final third, they've earned their Auto-Tuned R&B-crossover cuts.