Depending on who you ask, or what side of the United States you live in, it's a great chance that you will hear the late Tupac Shakur was the greatest rapper of all-time. There are few artists in music period that hold the immortal status of 2pac, and his music sales reflect it. Not only has his posthumous music reached astronomic sales, but a 2pac feature has propelled the careers of anyone that has worked with him. That ideal comes with one exception, Bay Area artist Spice 1.
The 1990s are considered by many to be one of the greatest decades in American history, a nostalgic haven for hipsters. Especially in rap, anything 90s related has been reevaluated and newly appreciated, from forgotten albums to clothes. One of the most successful artists of the 1990s was Spice 1, the epitome of Gangster Rap straight out of the East Bay. Discovered by legendary Oakland rapper Too Short, Spice 1 combined vivid street tales with a variety of hard-hitting flows and a emotion in his delivery that forced you to cling to every word.
At the time of Spice 1's explosion onto the scene in 1992, the West Coast had a stranglehold on the rap industry, thanks to Los Angeles and Bay Area rappers. N.W.A's reign was ending, and Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg were now captivating the world thanks to 1992's The Chronic. The world was fascinated with the L.A. gang culture, and they were getting an in-depth look from reputable gang-bangers like MC-Eiht and DJ Quik. In the Bay, the aforementioned Too Short was one of the reasons the Parental Advisory sticker was placed on albums, shocking the world with his abrasive lyrics. Oakland group Digital Underground was hot on the scene, and fellow bay artists Mac Dre and E-40 were preparing to make splashes of their own.
When Spice 1 released his self-titled debut "Spice 1" in 1992, the world wasn't ready for his story-telling and uncut lyrics. The lead single "Welcome To The Ghetto" propelled the album to an RIAA Gold status, and the song was sampled multiple times by 2pac, more on him later. The album is now considered one of the greatest albums of all-time, from hip-hop entities like The Source and Complex.
The summer of 1993 saw Spice 1 featured on the soundtrack of iconic film
"Menace II Society" with his single "Trigga Gots No Heart". He followed that with 1993's 187 He Wrote, which reached No.1 on the Billboard charts. The album's title track is considered one of the greatest gangster rap songs of all-time, and "The Murda Show" featuring MC Eiht would be the beginning of a lifelong friendship that produced years of music.
Around the time, Spice 1's close friend 2pac was beginning to get national notoriety after appearing in the movies "Juice" and "Poetic Justice" and the success of his 1993 album "Strictly 4 my N.I.G.G.A.Z." The two were inseparable, and began to collaborate on multiple tracks.
1994 saw Spice 1 gain the notoriety he deserved, when he was featured with gangster rap titans Scarface and MC Eiht on the cover of The Source magazine, where the trio defended "reality rap". Spice 1 made the most of the attention, releasing another classic album in 1994's "AmeriKKKa's Nightmare," selling more than 500,000 copies. The album featured "Jealous Got Me Strapped", a exceptional collaboration between Spice 1 and 2Pac that has remained one of his most popular songs. It also featured New York legend Method Man, proving that Spice could hold his own with the best lyricists in the game.
And then Spice 1 started to fade away from the national spotlight, yet remaining a forced to be reckoned with in the Bay. After 2pac's death in 1996, Spice 1 seemed incomplete without his counterpart. Album sales suffered, and riffs with label Jive led to the two parting ways in 1999. Throughout the 2000s, Spice 1 continued to release quality projects on various independent labels, but the success of his earlier albums was never duplicated.
Spice 1 has become an oft-forgotten memory of the '90s, despite producing music with some of the greatest artists in hip-hop. Outside of the Bay area and hip-hop enthusiasts, he is hardly mentioned, despite his contributions to gangster rap as a whole. There are plenty of underrated artists, but Spice 1 is by far the most unappreciated artist considering the amount of mainstream success he has garnered.
If you are feeling nostalgic, or just looking for quality gangster rap, login to YouTube or you music streaming site and listen to the East Bay G.
