Terry Blade is an American singer-songwriter and music video director based in the Chicago metropolitan area.[2][3] He has released multiple studio albums, including American Descendant of Slavery, the Album (2021),[4]Neo Queer (2022),[5]Ethos: Son of a Sharecropper (2023),[6] and Chicago Kinfolk: The Juke Joint Blues (2025).[7]
His work frequently incorporates archival audio, explores themes of race, sexuality, and inter-generational memory,[8][6] and has been highlighted by reviewers for its minimalist production and baritone vocal delivery.[9][10]
Blade was born and raised in Washington, DC.[9] His family heritage is rooted in the American South; his grandparents were from the region, and his grandfather specifically hailed from Colerain, North Carolina.[8][5] His great-grandfather was a sharecropper, and his grandfather was taken out of school at a young age to work.[8]
By age 12, Blade had regularly experienced homophobia.[8] He has stated that growing up Black, gay, and gender non-conforming was "rough" and "one of the most painful experiences" he "didn't think [he] would survive".[8]
Blade relocated to Chicago, Illinois.[9] He later began keeping a private journal, and in 2020, began turning his journal entries into songs.[14]
Career
Blade debuted his acoustic demo “The Unloveable” on April 3, 2020; the track received a nomination at the 11th Hollywood Music in Media Awards[15] and later appeared as the opening song on his EP Misery, released on May 8, 2020.[16] That same year, he released the a cappella single “The 'Karen' Blues,” which was described by musician Adeem the Artist as “witty and biting.”[17]
His debut studio album, American Descendant of Slavery, the Album, was released on February 5, 2021.[4] The album incorporated public domain audio of formerly enslaved Black Americans and won a Summit Creative Award for audio.[9][18] It was listed among the Archives of African American Music and Culture’s “Black Music Releases of Note,” and its cover design later won a Graphis Design Award.[19] Adeem the Artist highlighted the album track “MTF” for drawing parallels to real-world cases involving violence against transgender women.[20]
On January 14, 2022, Blade released his second studio album, Neo Queer.[5] Days later, he was featured on Frankie Francis’sAmazing Afternoons broadcast on Amazing Radio.[21]
His third studio album, Ethos: Son of a Sharecropper, was released on February 3, 2023.[30] The album received a nomination for Album of the Year: Folk/Americana at the Josie Music Awards.[31] Critics noted the work’s blending of blues, gospel, and country to explore themes of family history and Southern Black identity.[6]
On January 3, 2025, Blade released the blues single “Tell ’Em.”[33] The track was distributed by Paris-based companies Groover and IDOL,[34] and later added to the digital collection of the Médiathèque départementale de l'Ain in France.[35] In The Big Takeover, reviewer Dave Franklin described “Tell ’Em” as balancing blues tradition with contemporary innovation.[33]
On May 21, 2025, Blade was featured on the Download FestivalFestival Pass broadcast on Amazing Radio.[42] Two months later, the album received a nomination for Historical or Vintage Recording at the 2025 Blues Blast Music Awards.[43]The album went on to win a Shorty Impact Award for Arts & Culture,[12] an Anthem Award for Education, Art & Culture: Special Projects,[44] and a Cresta Award for Innovative Use of Sound/Audio.[45]
On November 21, 2025, Blade was included in Music Connection's "Top 25 New Music Critiques of 2025."[46]
Musical style and influences
Blade’s recordings draw from blues, soul, gospel, country, and folk traditions,[6][7] often arranged with sparse instrumentation and minimal production to emphasize his vocal delivery and narrative focus.[9][16] Critics have described his work as rooted in Black American musical forms while incorporating contemporary singer-songwriter elements,[6][9] and several reviews note his use of documentary-style audio, including archival interviews and spoken-word recordings.[4][47]
Blade's projects frequently reference the historical experiences of Black Americans in both the rural South and urban Chicago, drawing thematic continuity from generational memory and regional identity.[8][6] Reviewers have highlighted his baritone vocal timbre and introspective writing as defining characteristics of his artistic style,[33][48] citing Tracy Chapman, Ben Harper, and Isaac Hayes as influences of his work.[49]
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