There are certain things you need to know. One of those is to allow Black Spade to take you on a glide-by of the future paths of your soul. The buzzing new EP Loves Right Here is a premonition of the soul-rebel's full-length To Serve with Love, slated to drop in February.

There is a sensation one feels around the presence of this universe's unseen energies. Some of us, including Spade, exist and interact as man through music. Hence Black Spade is a musician as naturally as most of us breathe. The sound of his breathing is theraputic - transporting its listener through realms of pensive self-exploration and cozy nostalgic reassurance.

You may have already experienced glimpses of Black Spade's gift on Garth Trinidad's Chocolate City. For those of you who have not, I'll give you the nutshell breakdown. Think vintage 2027 - clean but dusty electro funk and honest tales of profound life experiences. The music bubbles like black gold or a sulphuric hot spring. A mystic's dialogue slides like eggnog over ice expressing the forthright perspective of an old soul, injecting wit and comedy. The mushroom-soul voices give rise to the dead; fly like doves over a séance. Sit on that for a second.

Now that I've turned you on to the future, I'll get down to the matter at hand. Loves Right Here departs with the title track and lead single, an elastic, futuristic twist on a timeless theme - love and hate. Spade sums it up best: "Is it love when the president react late? Vacationin' when lives steady at stake. How could you possibly love when you love hate?"

"The Ship has Sailed" is a cry to "bring out ya' dead," leaving a trail of wrecked emcees in it's wake. Here Spade trades verses with LA-based, St. Louis-raised rapper Wafeek, who gets at ya' tough with a fistful of deadly shanks. The two cutthroat banditos cross you up with blade-sharp wordplay over a colossally macabre break, laced with haunting Gregorian chants.

"Not for the Bullshit," featuring the incomparable Coultrain, looks you dead in the eye while mashing down the muddy Mississippi. Ironically, it's that same mighty thoroughfare that once linked St. Louis (Spade's estranged hometown) to the Crescent City. "Ya'll waitin' for a change, like FEMA never came; New Orleans I feel your pain," Spade profoundly speaks.

The fourth and final cut, "Say So," (exclusive to the EP) is reminiscent of "Change Clothes" on syrup. It sinks in deep through layers of nostalgia with cracking pool-hall percussion, blessing us with the much-needed reminder of why we love music. Vocalist Phillipe adds even more fresh aire to the sound of music, taking us higher. The honest and forthright theme of the EP stays present to the end as Spade confides, "Sometimes I think I slept with the daughter of Satan. My friends sayin' to me, ‘dog you way too patient.'What you want me to do lock her up in tha basement?! Damn, they don't understand, but need to know - if she don't want to be with me, then she need to say so."

In sum, this four-song set succeeds in preparing travelers for the full length, To Serve with Love, sure to procure a space in our psyche.  Trust when I say so, Black Spade is a crusader who you need to know. But don't take my word for fact. Enhance your experience here:

http://www.myspace.com/blackspade

http://www.om-records.com/artists/black_spade

Pick up the EP Loves Right Here (immediately) and To Serve with Love (in February) at:

www.itunes.com

By Jeff Kuryak