Sonar Sessions 2008

Black Spade

Om Records, St. Louis

Armed with little more than his father's extensive record collection of jazz, soul, psychedelic rock, folk, comedy and a Kurzweil 2000 keyboard - Black Spade's music is a melting pot of sounds hailing from St. Louis by way of New York, Detroit, LA, and everywhere that hip hop has carved a distinctive and influential sound for itself. The former Seattle participant doesn't make albums, but statements - about life, love, music, and true friends. His long player 'To Serve With Love', released earlier this year on OM Records, is a collection of tracks that threaten to break out of hip hop's vacpac cellophane and chart a bold, erratic course for the fullest effect. Throw in some Shuggie Otis styles with Cody ChesnuTT acoustics, and you have the snap shot of a future classic. In addition to music, Spade is a clothing designer who turns thrift store finds into hot couture. Music and fashion might have always been comfortable bed-fellows, but not many embody the hip hop ethos as succinctly as this. You got to be in it to win it.