Spade Has the Pen. Now It’s Time to Put the Full Picture Together by NWO Sparrow (Review)

Rapid Review of Spade "Once Upon A Song"

Beats - 10/10

Lyrics - 9/10

Concepts-5/10

Roll-out- 6/10

Vibe Check - 8/10

Official Music Video - 7/10

The minute-long verse highlights his pen, his ear for production and why there may be a bigger project brewing. by NWO Sparrow

Spade’s team sent me this record last week, and when I looked at the date it was originally released, I realized two things. One, Spade’s music has been out for more than a year. Two, he is still reinvesting in his catalog and finding new ways to introduce people to records he already believes in.

That matters to me.

In an era where artists can treat a record like old news the moment it does not immediately take off, Spade is showing that time is nothing but a stamp, not a sentence. He still wants to promote his older work using new tools, new visuals, and new opportunities to reach listeners. To me, that says this is someone who genuinely believes in himself and the music he creates.

He needs to align himself with other artists and creative people who think the same way.

That mentality alone separates him from a lot of the average pack of artists. Everybody wants something new, but not everybody understands the value of maximizing what they already have. Sometimes the right record just needs the right moment, the right visual, or the right audience to finally connect. Spade seems to understand that.

And “Once Upon A Song” is the type of record that reminds me why some artists do not necessarily need three minutes to make their presence felt.

This minute-long verse is basically a playback score for anybody who wants to hear bars, schemes, and delivery. Think about an artist walking into Hot 97 late at night during the 2000s and getting handed the microphone with one job , rap.

That is the vibe Spade gives me here.

There is something very direct about “Once Upon A Song.” It does not waste time trying to build some complicated structure around the verse. Spade gets to the point and lets his pen do the work. This feels like the type of record you play when somebody asks, “Can he actually rap?”

The answer is pretty clear.

The beat, produced by Bossman Tuck Beats, was a great pick and fit for Spade. And when I say that, I mean the beat is good on its own, but it feels even better because Spade was the right rapper to put on it. Beat selection is a skill that does not always get enough credit. You can give a great beat to the wrong artist and suddenly it becomes just another instrumental with somebody rapping over it.

Spade sounds comfortable here.

The production gives him enough space to attack the record without fighting against the beat, and the energy of the instrumental matches the aggression and storytelling in his delivery. It does not feel like he was chasing a trendy sound. It feels like he heard the beat and immediately understood what type of performance belonged on it.

Spade’s first scheme is built around the phrase “seeing sht” and plays its way through sounds connected to “sea” and “sht.” On paper, it might look simple.

But check out the video and you will understand why the scheme works the way it does.

That is one of the things I appreciate about lyricism. Sometimes people get so caught up in counting syllables and looking for the most complicated rhyme imaginable that they forget a scheme can be effective because of how the artist delivers it, frames it, and makes the listener visualize what is happening. Spade knows how to use that opening to immediately pull you into the verse.

His flow here is a bit, and I mean just a bit, off pocket.

But I actually think it is supposed to be.

That slight looseness in his flow makes the delivery feel more passionate and aggressive. It gives the verse a level of authenticity because it does not sound overly polished or mechanically perfect. You can feel what he is saying. There are moments where the emotion seems more important than landing perfectly inside every pocket of the beat, and for this particular song, that works.

Especially because Spade is talking about things he went through at a young age.

According to Spade, “Once Upon A Song” is a verse speaking about an incident that took place during his youthful years, and you can feel that personal connection throughout the record. This does not come across like somebody borrowing pain for the sake of writing a serious rap. There is a difference between talking about struggle because it sounds good on a record and speaking from experiences that clearly left something behind.

Spade sounds like he is revisiting something.

My favorite line is, “With this hardship that I'm dealing with, came from wildin on the island, with no Giligan.”

That line stood out to me because, honestly, it was funny in the middle of a serious verse.

And that balance is important.

The best lyricists know that real life is not one-dimensional. Pain can exist next to humor. A difficult memory can still contain something ironic. Spade throwing that “no Giligan” reference into the verse gives the song personality without taking away from what he is talking about. It is the type of line that can make you rewind the record because you caught the seriousness of the verse but still had to acknowledge the punch.

That is good writing.

Visually, the video shot by Haitian Picasso is clean and does not overpower the music. Unlike Spade’s official music video for “MLB,” this is not trying to be some big cinematic piece. And honestly, it does not need to be.

“Once Upon A Song” works because of its simplicity.

The visual is an outside, clean piece shot in a deserted city area, and that setting fits the record. The emptiness around Spade gives the verse room to breathe. There are no unnecessary distractions fighting for attention. You are still focused on the rapper and what he is saying.

Sometimes artists overthink visuals.

Not every song needs a movie budget, a complicated storyline, or ten different locations. Sometimes the strongest thing you can do is put the artist in the right environment, shoot it clean, and let the record carry the rest. Haitian Picasso understood the assignment here.

I can also hear this record working extremely well on platforms built around raw performances and mic-drop moments. “Once Upon A Song” feels like the type of verse that could immediately capture attention on outlets like On The Radar, Hang The Line, Blockwork, and similar performance-based platforms.

It has that instant-capture feel to it.

You do not need a long introduction to understand what you are getting. Drop the beat, put Spade in front of the camera, and let him rap. That is the type of energy this record carries.

With “Once Upon A Song,” “MLB” in rotation, and another record like “Set It Off” featuring Took Cross and Freake Don, I think the music scene needs to start diving deeper into Spade’s creative process. At this point, I am interested in knowing the temperature of where he is at musically.

What direction is he building toward?

Because the more I hear, the more it feels like there is something bigger developing underneath these individual releases. The records are showing different sides of his creative ability, and that is where things start becoming interesting.

That kind of diversity makes me want to hear what happens when all those pieces are finally placed together.

The X Files

Play by Play Analysis

Beats: 10/10

Great choice by Spade. This score is not just about Bossman Tuck Beats producing a good instrumental. The reason I gave this a perfect score is because of how perfectly the beat fits Spade as an artist.

Lyrics: 9/10

Spade is rapping and talking real-life facts here. The verse feels personal, and the opening scheme immediately wins the track over for me. His writing is sharp enough to make you listen for the next line, but he also knows how to throw humor into serious subject matter, like the “no Giligan” line. I gave him a 9 because this is strong lyricism packed into a very short amount of time. He gets his point across, gives you schemes, personality, and pain without dragging the record out.

Concepts: 5/10

Pain is not a new concept in hip-hop. Artists have been telling stories about their struggles and difficult childhood experiences forever. So I could not give the concept a high score based on originality alone. But I gave it credit because Spade executed the idea well.

Roll-Out: 6/10

The rollout needs more work because I think this record deserves to be more accessible. The music video is available now, which is a positive, but I would like to see “Once Upon A Song” available and positioned more aggressively on streaming platforms.

Replay Value: 10/10

This record has strong aura and replay value. The fact that it is only around a minute long actually helps it in this category because it makes it easy to run back. The beat catches you, Spade gets straight to the bars, and before you know it, you are pressing replay.

Vibe Check: 8/10

It really is a good verse, but you have to be in the mood for pain. This is not necessarily the record I am putting on when I want something carefree and celebratory. It carries weight.

Official Music Video: 7/10

The video fits the concept of the song. It is not overdone, but it is also not underwhelming. Haitian Picasso keeps the visual clean and allows the music to remain the main focus. The deserted city setting works with the tone of the verse, and the simplicity feels intentional. This was not supposed to be “MLB.” It is a different type of presentation for a different type of record.

Total Music Score: 7.8/10

What stands out to me most about Spade right now is that he is clearly a sharp lyricist, but that is only one part of the equation. “Once Upon A Song” reminds me that he knows how to write, structure a scheme, and deliver a verse with emotion behind it. But his ear for production is becoming just as interesting to me. A lot of artists can rap, and a lot of producers can make beats. Knowing which beat belongs to you is a completely different skill. From “Once Upon A Song” to “MLB,” I am starting to see a pattern in how Spade chooses production, and that tells me he is thinking beyond simply making songs.

Honestly, his approach to releasing music also gives me the sense that he has an A&R mind. He appears to understand release diversity. Not every record needs to sound the same, serve the same audience, or be promoted the same way. “Once Upon A Song” gives listeners the bars. “MLB” brings another energy. Even going back into his catalog and finding new ways to promote older material shows me that Spade is thinking about the life of a record instead of treating music like it expires after release day. That is important because the artists who understand their own catalog often have more opportunities to build something lasting.

Now I want to see the pieces put in order. Spade needs to sharpen at least seven songs and really sit down with the material that best represents where he is as an artist right now. Not just seven random records, but seven records that work together while still showing his diversity. That could become a strong EP, or the foundation for a bigger album. The lyricism is there. The beat selection is there. The ability to approach different styles of releases is there. What I am waiting for now is the project that puts all of those strengths into one complete picture. Because “Once Upon A Song” feels like another piece of evidence that Spade has something to say. The next step is making sure the full story is finally arranged in the right order.