Spy-fiction hounds in a genre filled with gangstas, Spooks are a new hip-hop quintet who want to keep fans guessing.

"We always say, 'We're not what you think,' so our name is not what you think," singer Ming-Xia said.

The band's four MCs — Mr. Booka-T, Hypno, Water Water, Vengeance — and Ming-Xia share a passion for spy novels and are secretive about their geographic origins and real names. But their debut album, S.I.O.S.O.S., Volume 1 (July 11), isn't hiding in the shadows.

Spooks' first single, "Things I've Seen" (RealAudio excerpt), is a gritty and hypnotic tale of violence and revolution. The video is in rotation on MTV, M2 and Rap City. (Sonicnet.com's parent company, Viacom, also owns MTV.)

The video is a surreal and dramatic look at various crime scenes and accidents. The Spooks members play a paramedic, firefighter, rescue worker, photojournalist and hospital nurse, rapping and singing about the chaos around them. "Things I've Seen" also will be on the soundtrack to actor Laurence Fishburne's directorial debut, "Once in the Life," due in the fall. Fishburne has a cameo in the video.

The members of Spooks said they were natives of the Eastern United States. They met in 1994 and took their name from the book and film "The Spook Who Sat by the Door."

At first, the group had a hard time finding a label. On the track "They Don't Know" (RealAudio excerpt), Ming-Xia sings, "Shopping for a deal with persistence/ Initially label heads were like, 'What is this?'/ It won't catch on, you're too original, too different/ Conceptual hip-hop will be resisted."

"We were constantly shut down and doors were closed because we had such a different sound," Ming-Xia said.

"We had to spook our way in the door," Water Water added.

They finally got through to Artemis Records, where Executive Vice President Daniel Glass said the label wanted a video reflecting the group's conscious brand of hip-hop.

"We wanted to make a video with integrity. I think that's one of the key elements of the group — integrity," said Glass, who has worked with D'Angelo, Erykah Badu and Arrested Development. "It's got a sense of humor about it, but also an edge about it. It shows them in a light of intelligence. The social commentary and timing are pretty important, especially with references to Amadou Diallo. [It's] their point of view of 'Things I've Seen.' "

"We use samples, we use guitars, we use drums, we use instruments that you would never even think of," bandmember Hypno said. "We use stuff that's not even an instrument and turn it into an instrument. It's about danger, about risk."

Booka-T said, "A lot of songs [on the album] sound so different, so diverse; that's because we don't have a formula."

The bandmembers said they were fans of innovative hip-hop acts such as Black Star and Slum Village. "I feel like there's something new about to happen," Booka-T said. "We're trying to be part of that, hopefully in the front."

The group cites influences including Cold Crush Brothers, Treacherous Three, Portishead, Björk and James Brown. On "Something Fresh" (RealAudio excerpt), Vengeance raps, "Too much integrity is getting lost in the art/ Hip-hop is not about money and bitches, so I'm a start/ Expanding your horizons/ Surprise."

"I guess if you have to categorize what we sound like or what our music is called, it would be conceptual hip-hop or ethereal rap," Ming-Xia said.