Writing and producing all his music along with MC’ng, Spade’s one man team approach is full of burbling synths, and off-kilter drums while his voice slides smoothly over choruses coated in multi-tracked vocals and skipping roughshod drums. Attributing his distinctive sound to his home of St. Louis, Black Spade explains “We get a piece of everything by being in the middle.” However, he feels no harmonious connection to where St. Louis pop acts like Nelly, Chingy, etc. have taken hip-hop lately. Spade’s style is not like the norm. This undercurrent shows through all his music and can be heard in songs like ‘Evil Love,’ where the keyboard hits less than a second after you expect it to. It’s subtle, but these little things are what make Black Spade’s music so compelling.

Black Spade Live at OM Records CMJ, NYC