Mavericks of the musical landscape, Brooklyn’s finest genre-defying duo Dave + Sam release their anticipated debut album ‘No Shade’ on Classic Music Company this spring, a thirteen-track narration of the 21st century experience, told through the eyes of vocalist Dave Giles II and production maestro Sam O.B. With the aim to package love, empowerment and socio-political commentary into a collection of tracks that never compromise on groove or soul, this enchanting album never loses sight of its message as it journeys from deep Chicago house and otherworldly melodies to funk-laden jams and adventurous studio experimentation.

Hinged tightly by the soulful nuances of Moodymann, Mos Def and Gil Scott Heron, Dave’s captivating spoken word delivery is purposeful and considered, as Sam weaves rhythms and grooves so deep you can get lost in them – the two musical narratives working in perfect harmony. Impassioned cuts like ‘Facts’, ‘Worth It’ and ‘Sauce’ leverage hip-hop’s tradition of battle rap against white supremacist rhetoric, a message that remains ever more relevant in today’s political climate. Title track ‘No Shade’, ‘Day One (Oh Baby)’ and ‘Can’t Get Enough’ allow stories of love and loss to unfold to the listener, while the stripped-back grooves of ‘Round The Way’ and ‘You Da Shit Girl’ add another dimension to the album. Featuring a number of collaborators such as Chicago legend Mike Dunn, powerhouse vocalist Ramona Renea and fellow Brooklyn natives Cor.Ece and LATASHÁ, ‘No Shade’ is an evocative, powerful and joyful experience when played in its entirety.

Recorded in Brooklyn’s Bedford Stuyvesant, a neighbourhood bearing the scars of over-policing and encroaching gentrification, the vibrancy of the community and its unyielding history of creative expression shines through on the album’s entirety. As products of such environments, Dave + Sam’s music is resilient, revolutionary and organic in equal parts. An homage to their mutual reverence for early Chicago house and the golden era of underground parties in New York, ‘No Shade’ is a riveting body of work ready for you to lose yourself in.

Dave + Sam ‘No Shade’

1. Dave + Sam featuring LATASHÁ ‘Grind’
Written by Dave Giles II & Latasha Alcindor
Composed & Produced by Sam Obey
Vocals by Dave Giles II & LATASHÁ
Mixed by Lance Desardi for Builders Of Paradise
Mastered by Sam Wills at Wired Masters
Executive Producers: Dave + Sam & Luke Solomon
Published by Defected Music

2. Dave + Sam featuring Mike Dunn ‘Til The World Blow Up’
Written by Dave Giles II & Mike Dunn
Composed & Produced by Sam Obey
Vocals by Dave Giles II & Mike Dunn
Mixed by Lance Desardi for Builders Of Paradise#
Mastered by Sam Wills at Wired Masters
Executive Producers: Dave + Sam & Luke Solomon
Published by Defected Music & Westbury Music

3. Dave + Sam ‘Sauce’
Written by Dave Giles II
Composed & Produced by Sam Obey
Vocals by Dave Giles II
Mixed by Lance Desardi for Builders Of Paradise
Mastered by Sam Wills at Wired Masters
Executive Producers: Dave + Sam & Luke Solomon
Published by Defected Music

4. Dave + Sam ‘Facts’
Written by Dave Giles II
Composed & Produced by Sam Obey
Vocals by Dave Giles II
Mixed by Lance Desardi for Builders Of Paradise
Mastered by Sam Wills at Wired Masters
Executive Producers: Dave + Sam & Luke Solomon
Published by Defected Music

5. Dave + Sam featuring LATASHÁ ‘You Da Shit Girl’
Written by Dave Giles II & Latasha Alcindor
Composed & Produced by Sam Obey
Vocals by Dave Giles II & LATASHÁ
Mixed by Lance Desardi for Builders Of Paradise
Mastered by Sam Wills at Wired Masters
Executive Producers: Dave + Sam & Luke Solomon
Published by Defected Music

6. Dave + Sam ‘Can’t Get Enough’
Written by Dave Giles II
Composed & Produced by Sam Obey
Vocals by Dave Giles II
Mixed by Lance Desardi for Builders Of Paradise
Mastered by Sam Wills at Wired Masters
Executive Producers: Dave + Sam & Luke Solomon
Published by Defected Music

7. Dave + Sam ‘On Everything’
Written by Dave Giles II
Composed & Produced by Sam Obey
Vocals by Dave Giles II
Mixed by Lance Desardi for Builders Of Paradise
Mastered by Sam Wills at Wired Masters
Executive Producers: Dave + Sam & Luke Solomon
Published by Defected Music

8. Dave + Sam featuring Cor.Ece ‘Worth It’
Written by Dave Giles II & Corece Smith
Composed & Produced by Sam Obey
Vocals by Dave Giles II & Cor.Ece
Mixed by Lance Desardi for Builders Of Paradise
Mastered by Sam Wills at Wired Masters
Executive Producers: Dave + Sam & Luke Solomon
Published by Defected Music

9. Dave + Sam featuring Ramona Renea ‘No Shade’
Written by Dave Giles II & Ramona R Dunlap
Composed & Produced by Sam Obey
Vocals by Dave Giles II & Ramona Renea
Mixed by Lance Desardi for Builders Of Paradise
Mastered by Sam Wills at Wired Masters
Executive Producers: Dave + Sam & Luke Solomon
Published by Defected Music

10. Dave + Sam featuring Moruf ‘Look @ U’
Written by Dave Giles II & Moruf Adedayo Adewunmi
Composed & Produced by Sam Obey
Vocals by Dave Giles II & Moruf
Mixed by Lance Desardi for Builders Of Paradise
Mastered by Sam Wills at Wired Masters
Executive Producers: Dave + Sam & Luke Solomon
Published by Defected Music

11. Dave + Sam featuring C. Rich ‘Round The Way’
Written by Dave Giles II
Composed & Produced by Sam Obey
Vocals by Dave Giles II & C. Rich
Mixed by Lance Desardi for Builders Of Paradise
Mastered by Sam Wills at Wired Masters
Executive Producers: Dave + Sam & Luke Solomon
Published by Defected Music

12. Dave + Sam ‘Day One (Oh Baby)’
Written & Composed by Jason Sylvain, Ronald Jackson, Sammy Crumbley, Tony Hightower, Alexander Richbourg & McKinley Horton
Written by Dave Giles II
Composed & Produced by Sam Obey
Vocals by Dave Giles II
Mixed by Lance Desardi for Builders Of Paradise
Mastered by Sam Wills at Wired Masters
Executive Producers: Dave + Sam & Luke Solomon
Published by Defected Music, EMI Blackwood Music Inc., Who Knows Music/EMI Music Publishing Ltd, Sony/ATV Songs LLC, Lo Mo Publishing/Sony/ATV Music Publishing (UK) Ltd, Four O Four Tunes/Sony/ATV Music Publishing (UK) Ltd & Copyright Control
This composition contains elements from ‘Oh Baby’ by 4.0, Written & Composed by Jason Sylvain, Ronald Jackson, Sammy Crumbley, Tony Hightower, Alexander Richbourg & McKinley Horton. Published by EMI Blackwood Music Inc., Who Knows Music/EMI Music Publishing Ltd, Sony/ATV Songs LLC, Lo Mo Publishing/Sony/ATV Music Publishing (UK) Ltd, Four O Four Tunes/Sony/ATV Music Publishing (UK) Ltd & Copyright Control. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

13. Dave + Sam featuring CEEverything ‘Home’
Written by Dave Giles II
Composed & Produced by Sam Obey
Vocals by Dave Giles II & CEEverything
Mixed by Lance Desardi for Builders Of Paradise
Mastered by Sam Wills at Wired Masters
Executive Producers: Dave + Sam & Luke Solomon
Published by Defected Music

All Tracks P&C 2019 Classic Music Company except
Track 12 P&C 2020 Classic Music Company

Creative & Art Direction by Dave Giles II
Photography by Guarionex Rodriguez, Jr.
Additional Artwork by Desmond Owusu & Casper Strietman