Dj Spen is an American house DJ and record producer from Baltimore, United States. He is associated with soulful and inspirational house music, and his work spans DJing, songwriting, production, and remixes.

Career

Spen starts producing mix shows for WEBB AM in Baltimore at the age of 13. He also founds one of the area’s early hip hop production groups, the Numarx, while still very young. In 1986, the group writes and records “Girl You Know It’s True”, later covered and made famous by Milli Vanilli. His radio work continues on several FM stations in the Baltimore and Washington areas, and in 1992 he develops the “Flashback Saturday Night Dance Party” mixshow on 95.9 FM in Baltimore.

His production work leads him to Basement Boys Records in 1989. After the formation of The Basement Boys label in 1994, he forms Jasper Street Company and releases his first full production, “A Feelin”. Through Basement Boys and Jasper Street, he builds a reputation for commercial and dancefloor success and becomes a sought-after remix producer. He remixes artists including Diana Ross, Everything but the Girl, Ann Nesby, and Shaun Escoffery.

Groups and collaborations

He works with Teddy Douglas, Thommy Davis, and Karizma on productions that are regarded as house anthems. He also forms the MuthaFunkaz, whose first release is “The Best I Can”. Later work includes collaborations with former partners Thommy Davis and Karizma on “Voodoo Ray” and “4 the Love”.

Labels and projects

After leaving Basement Boys, Spen partners with Gary Deane at Code Red Recordings in January 2004. He also launches the Spiritually Sound label, which focuses on gospel and inspirational house music. He is linked with Quantize Recordings, Code Red Recordings, and unquantize.

Other associations

He is connected with Jasper Street Co., Spensane, Spen-N-Jo's Southern House-Po-Tality, D'Shadeaux Men, DJ Spen & Karizma, The Muthafunkaz, Deepah Ones, Numarx, The Basement Boys, and DJ Spen & Thommy Davis. He performs regularly in the UK, as well as in France, Italy, Japan, and Australia.