Who is Spooky Black?
August 7, 2014 6:40 AM   Subscribe

Spooky Black is (probably) a white 15-year-old from St. Paul, Minnesota conspicuously rocking a variety of gold chains, du-rags and FUBU and who on first sight may come off as a joke (or worse). Listen to his music, however, and you'll see why he's been referred to as "a motherfucking Internet monster with the voice of an angel." You can listen to his first album (released as "Lil Spook") Black Silk and a second release, Leaving, is dropping on 8.11.14.
posted by griphus (25 comments total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
 
I'm really enjoying that Without You track (the YT vid linked above)... how intriguing, what these young people get up to! Who knows, maybe the kids ARE alright?
posted by Philby at 6:52 AM on August 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


I was not prepared for this kid to actually sound pretty good. I got a J-Rock from Trailer Park Boys vibe from him, and was waiting to cringe hard when I clicked the soundcloud page. He can actually sing! Is this for real?
posted by Hoopo at 6:54 AM on August 7, 2014


Wow, yeah. You have to not look at him while you're listening, but it's pretty great music.
posted by something something at 6:57 AM on August 7, 2014


Who is making these freaking beats? WHO IS MAKING THESE FREAKING BEATS
posted by Poppa Bear at 7:41 AM on August 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


Okay, sorry. Just the beat for "Without You". Some of the stuff off of Black Silk is-- well, it isn't Caps Lock worthy, I'll just say that.
posted by Poppa Bear at 7:49 AM on August 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


Ha. After thinking about it a little I think I have the exact opposite reaction that many people have had. I don't care too much for the music, for me it's mehtastic. But. While it's a style I'd never adopt I find his looks to be pretty amusing, and not in a derogatory manner.
This is all predicated on assuming the whole package is authentic. if that is how he wants to dress and present himself more fucking power to him.
In fact there is a certain tension between the memorable image and the forgettable (again, to me) music.
posted by edgeways at 7:50 AM on August 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


I think I got linked to his stuff a few months ago, listened to part of it, and then moved on. I agree with the dailybanter piece that it just made me want to listen to James Blake (and maybe the Weekend).

The breathless 'what do we do with him?!?' is foreign to me now though. After playing basketball all over you learn not to judge a book by its cover. Surfer dude will cross you over and go left. That lady will hit a step back on you and not hesitate to throw an elbow to keep you out of the lane. And the guy that looks like spooky black has handles that you can't get near, no matter how much you reach.

I just get bored with his stuff though. With Blake I feel like there is a mystery, something secret or hidden. Good for this guy though, he's got years in the game left to get more into his own lane.
posted by cashman at 7:52 AM on August 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


I think people just like reverb and delay. That said, it's a hell of a lot better than any music I made at 15, but then again, there was no internet. I will say the man's fashion sense is outstanding though.
posted by mike_bling at 8:15 AM on August 7, 2014


I think people just like reverb and delay

I listen to a lot of dub. you might just as well dismiss rock by saying I think people just like guitar.
posted by Hoopo at 8:20 AM on August 7, 2014 [3 favorites]


I'm not dismissing it, but pretty much everything sounds great with a bunch of delay and reverb. Doesn't mean you have 'voice of an angel'
posted by mike_bling at 8:23 AM on August 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


Mildly interesting music, but I do wish I could hear him sing without the processing. I'm fine with studio effects for music but if you're trying to feature the singer's voice, masking it with reverb is just watering it down. Then again at least it's not autotune.
posted by Nelson at 8:50 AM on August 7, 2014


delay + reverb > autotune
posted by flabdablet at 8:51 AM on August 7, 2014


Who is Spooky Black?

A founding member of Klaatu? (Disregard this joke unless you are very, very old.)
posted by yoink at 8:56 AM on August 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


I love Metafilter because I'd never listen to stuff like this otherwise. I don't get it. It all sounds like an introduction, and I keep waiting for the music to actually start. Yes, your favorite band sucks™ , but I'm still glad for all the posts here. I don't need to relate to, understand, or even enjoy all the music I'm exposed to. I just need to experience it. Thanks.
posted by cccorlew at 9:52 AM on August 7, 2014 [4 favorites]


Serious question:
In the age of almost universal access to high'ish quality video filming and editing gear is this incongruous throwback style video just a brilliant marketing ploy?
Would we be having this discussion if all the correct hipster/NYC/London signifiers where there?

Dope beats though. I'll definitely jam this track out today.
posted by Jazz.bot at 10:11 AM on August 7, 2014


maybe he's slenderman
posted by entropone at 10:44 AM on August 7, 2014 [2 favorites]


Is this where I get to plug the painfully caucasian* yet amazingly funky, obscurish** internet musician McFabulous?

*yes, those are photos of him on the albums
**occasionally heard on the High Maintenance soundtrack
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 11:04 AM on August 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


At a minimum, dressing that like that and using a racial slur in combination with 'black' as a caucasian midwesterner is an incredibly naive and oblivious statement of identity and contributes to ignoring the serious segregation found in the Twin Cities.
posted by Theiform at 12:07 PM on August 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


In the age of almost universal access to high'ish quality video filming and editing gear is this incongruous throwback style video just a brilliant marketing ploy?

it's part of the preexisting 'sadboys' aesthetic as pioneered by yung lean, which basically just cops a lot of late 90s iconography and kind of throws it together in some weird public access tv style. imo it's building off a cross between other -wave/-punk internet aesthetics and stuff by musicians like spaceghostpurrp and lil ugly mane's early stuff -- basically forging cultural artifacts from a time when the musicians were small children. another good example that i've been listening to a lot lately is dj smokey, who's some 20 year old canadian kid that cops mid-90s memphis style beats uncannily
posted by p3on at 12:40 PM on August 7, 2014 [6 favorites]


Back when Witch House was a thing -- '08 or '09 maybe? -- I saw Salem play with (among like five other bands) Lil Ugly Mane and Shams who you may remember from his Judge Judy appearance.

It was one of the weirdest shows I've ever been to and it really only just occurs to me how Spooky Black (and a lot of the sadboys stuff) might be what Witch House evolved into once the (literal) kids got their hands on it instead of 20somethings.
posted by griphus at 1:21 PM on August 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


I find myself really wanting to know exactly where in St Paul he's from... it makes a pretty big difference if he's repping Highland Park, or Payne Ave. The Twin Cities are segregated, yeah, and there's a lot of neighborhood-based class-consciousness., So if I saw a kid from the Eastside looking like that I wouldn't bat an eye, figuring he's a for-real hoodrat, who grew up in or near the projects. (same for the Westside, which as we all know is just north of West St Paul, due south of the Eastside, NEVER MIND WHY.)

Whereas if he's from say between Selby and Ford Parkway or so, or over by Como Park, it might seem kinda weird. (I don't really care about the music, I'm just relishing the incredibly rare occasion where my ex-cab-driver's knowledge of all the 'bad' neighborhoods in St Paul is at all relevant.).
posted by hap_hazard at 3:39 PM on August 7, 2014


I listen to Spooky Black whenever I'm sad.
posted by azarbayejani at 4:14 PM on August 7, 2014


Yeah, this reminds me a lot of Witch House. I don't know if I like this as much, though, just like I always felt like Witch House was kind of inferior takes on what Burial did, this seems like an inferior take on Witch House. But I might need to listen to it more. Definitely without watching the videos.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 11:58 PM on August 7, 2014


Yes my thought was that it is kind of like pretty, simplified Burial. Or Burial unwound if you will.
posted by lastobelus at 9:50 AM on August 8, 2014


My goth sense is not tingling.
posted by Mezentian at 9:58 AM on August 8, 2014


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