Born in North Philadelphia, rising artist MeatSpady has mastered the art of longevity.
Since watching iconic Long Beach elder statesman Snoop Dogg’s performance at the Soul Train Awards in 1994 via TV, this eureka moment put a battery in the back of a young man with a dream from revered Hip Hop city, Philadelphia.
Before long, in 2008 Spady (named after the infamous shape of cards), earned his name through peers calling him that in his locale, and it was the 1/3 compilation mixtapes hosted by DJ Smallz and Meek Mill that would create a buzz for Spady in his hometown.
After rubbing shoulders with the aforementioned bigwigs, thereafter, the lyricist inspired by storytelling, lyricism, and outright vulnerability through song – he even goes further to champion of the likes of J. Cole, Nas, Joe Budden, Lupe Fiasco as being instrumental to his style – was now making inroads into the allure of the rap music industry brazenly.
After a series of mixtapes between 2008 and 2011, he took a music sabbatical as he embarked on his religious obligations as per the Islam doctrines.
However in 2018, he resurfaced and went on an onslaught of releases with a new-found fire.
The album ‘The Beautiful Letdown’, followed by the audacious Sthguoht Live, which was an entire album recorded as a live rendition of the actual opus, to his freshest body of work in his catalog and perhaps the rap purveyors’ most extolled to date, 2021’s PERCEPTION, have been significant bodies of work. He sits down to discuss his album, his place in rap, what he hopes his music can fuel in his fans, and upcoming projects.
Check it out:
What city are you from/ Where are you based now?
I am from North Philadelphia based in Philadelphia but seriously considering a move west. Maybe LA.
What is your artist name? What is your real name? How did you get your artist name?
MeatSpady is my artist name. My real name is Demetrius Spady-McBride. My artist name is derived from my real name, it’s just shortened. But everyone calls me Spady though.
How would you describe your sound to readers who may not be familiar with you?
I would say it’s more of a reality rap feel. My music gets very deep, very vulnerable and authentic. Similar to J. Cole with some Nas like story telling. I like to show versatility as well so that I don’t confine myself to a box.
What’s one reason you are passionate about music and what inspires you?
I honestly wouldn’t even say music is a passion. For me it’s an outlet to express the things that I feel in my heart and things that I think about in my head. I am inspired by my actual life events. Things I’ve been blessed to live through or witness front and center. Even other people lives and stories and inspire my music. I may hear a story or event and turn it into a verbal visual.
Who are some of your main musical influences?
Eminem, J. Cole, Nas, Lupe Fiasco, Joe Budden (who I always get slack for lol) All
lyricist and all great story tellers though. I have a super big love for Sadé as well.
She really influences me with her singing style.
Tell us the name of the project you are currently promoting? What inspired this project?
PERCEPTION is my latest project. It is available everywhere and I also have a Proud2Pay campaign going on at my website. You can stream it for free on all platforms of course but I am also selling the album for 9.99 with the intention of selling 5,000 copies independent.
Date that this project dropped or is set to drop?
11/12/21 the project was released. I am currently at about 80,000 streams and counting. I was featured on the Spotify editorial ESPN: Fifty/50 playlist.
What is this project about in your own words?
Perception is about a plethora of real life situations but it gives you the opportunity to see things how you choose to. You get to make a judgment from both sides of the coin if you will. Ultimately I feel like the album is all about the person who chooses to listen because what you get from. It is based on how you perceive things in your own life. For me it was informing people that there are so many different parts of ourselves that make us who we are. More importantly there is nothing wrong with that and we should all learn to accept ourselves regardless of how we are perceived by others.
What’s next for you? Are you working on any upcoming projects we should be on the
lookout for? Include some dates if you have them.
I will be releasing a new single new video from Perception for the song SelfishFavors ft. Bankwitdank at the end of July or beginning of August.
What message do you hope fans take away from your music and from this project?
To accept themselves wholeheartedly and love themselves unconditionally. Life is a pursuit of happiness. In this pursuit you will experience so many different things. Some good and some not so good. But if you have acceptance of yourself and the fact that all things that happen are meant to happen, those experiences will mean that much more for yourself.
Where can we follow you on social media? Include links.
https://www.instagram.com/meatspady/
https://twitter.com/meatspady
https://www.facebook.com/imeatspady
https://www.youtube.com/c/MeatSpady
https://www.tiktok.com/@meatspady
