Before we start this post, I’d be remiss if I didn’t send a rest in peace to Lichelle Marie Laws, better known to the world as Boss. Rest easy, Queen.

It seems like just yesterday, we were discussing Spice 1 and his sophomore effort, 187 He Wrote. It was three months ago, but boy, time flies when you’re having fun. Like Spice 1’s self-titled debut, 187 He Wrote was a very entertaining listen that also made the Bay Area rapper a critical and commercial success as both albums would earn him street cred and gold plaques. As much as I enjoyed his first two albums, for one reason or another, I stopped following Spice 1 after 187 He Wrote. I guess with my limited teenage budget and so much new music coming out every week back then, something had to give, and some artist’s music had to be the sacrificial lamb. I’ve never listened to his third album, AmeriKKKa’s Nightmare, though I’m sure I’ll come across a copy in the used bins at one of my frequents in the next few months. I recently stumbled on a used copy of his fourth release, 1990-Sick, which is also the subject of today’s post.

1990-Sick would feature guest appearances from MC Eiht and E-40, production from familiar names like Ant Banks, and even more production from names you’ve probably never heard of (unless you nerd out and read album liner notes like me) like Blackjack, Chase, and BOSKO. 1990-Sick would mark the end of Spice 1’s three consecutive gold-selling album run, even though it would climb to number three on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Charts and thirty on the Billboard Top 200.

Even without ever listening to 1990-Sick, I’m pretty sure what Spice 1 will be seasoning his content with: Plenty of blood and bullets.

1990-Sick (Kill ‘Em All) – Spice kicks off the album with the title track (which was also the lead single) that finds him boasting about his studio mental illness, making reference to a few notorious nineties pop-culture figures (i.e., Mark Fuhrman, Marsha Clark, O.J. Simpson, and the “high technology white boys who blew up the fuckin’ Fed building” (punctuated with a faint and inappropriate “bloah” adlib), aka Timothy McVeigh, and Terry Nichols), and killing everybody in sight. My dark and slightly twisted mind found the hook deviously amusing when Spice hypes himself up to “Kill ‘em all!” and emphatically proclaims, “Cause everybody died on this muthafuckin’ album!” MC Eiht reunites with Spice as he issues out a plethora of violent threats on the final verse, leaving me wondering why they didn’t just call this “The Murda Show Part 2” (Eiht’s mention of he, Spice, and Pac “tearing of your spot” made me wonder if this was originally supposed to be a three-man murder show, which would have been interesting to hear). Stan “The Guitar” Man’s subdued funky guitar licks, Blackjack’s hard-hitting drums, and sinister synth chords give life to the duo’s brutal bars that ironically take the lives of others. Nice opening tune.

Dirty Bay – Over a decent dark backdrop, Spice continues his killing spree, puts on his drug dealer hat, and incorporates pieces of Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” into the hook, including the legendary whistle. During my first few listens, I found this record incredibly corny, but it’s become tolerable over time.

Mind Of A Sick Nigga – The song title would lead you to believe that the East Bay Gangsta is going to take you on an intricate trip inside his mind and dissect the workings of his bloodthirsty, demented brain, but it’s really just more of our host spewing random “murder on wax.” The whiny, repetitive synth chord embedded in the instrumental quickly becomes annoying as shit.

Drama – Spice shares the details of a drive-by shooting that leaves his car looking like Swiss cheese and one of his homeboys dead, and of course, he recaps (no pun intended) his retaliation. I actually enjoy Spice most when he’s in storytelling mode. It gives his normally random violent verses (that can start to get redundant) direction. Kokane stops by for hook duties, laying his vocals over the funky backdrop (credited to Clint “Payback” Sands) and giving the track some George Clinton mixed with Prince vibes that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Mobbin’ – Spice uses this one to give a synopsis of a day in the Bay Area spent mobbin’. And if you’re curious, mobbin’ consist of driving recklessly, flossin’, kickin’ it with the homies, smokin’, and gettin’ drunk. All of his hood antics are spat over Blackjack’s happy, feel-good backdrop that even inspires Spice to harmonize a little on the hook. It’s a decent record, but I was more impressed that nobody died on it.

Survival – The pleasant, feel-good vibes from the previous track quickly go up in smoke when the callous backdrop for this record comes in. The East Bay Gangsta uses the frigid music to focus on surviving the dangerous lifestyle of a street hustler. I wasn’t crazy about this one, but I found the gunshot sample implanted in the instrumental very intriguing.

Tales Of The Niggas Who Got Crept On – This one begins with the same devilishly distorted voice from the hook of the title track telling a terrible joke about Mark Fuhrman (that wasn’t meant to be funny, but it’s so absurd it’s hi-larious) before Spice jumps back into his violent storytelling bag. His tales are mildly entertaining, but the dull and cheesy backdrop sabotages what he lyrically tries to build.

Sucka Ass Niggas – Our host pays homage to Run DMC as he puts a gangsta twist on their classic record, “Sucka M.C.’s.” Ant Banks gets his first of two production credits on the night, adding a couple bells and whistles to the original backdrop, which gives it a nice upgrade without abandoning its stripped-down rawness. Mr. Sex, Pistol, Indo, Cash, Entertainment modifies Run’s verses, putting his Bay area slang and swag on them, while his long-time partner G-Nut plays DMC and does a hustler edit of his rhymes. It’s not easy to successfully remake a classic record (*cough* Shaq), but Spice 1, G-Nut, and Ant Banks pull it off. This was hard.

Faces Of Death – Rasta Spice re-emerges, kicking off this track with a “187” chant, accompanied by his puny gun adlib (“Bloah!”) that I actually enjoyed for once. The chant and BOSKO’s spooky synth chords set the mood for our host’s dark content as he discusses, yep, you guessed it, murder and death. The pace and the eerie elements laced in the instrumental, made this sound like the perfect setting for a Spice 1/RBX duet, but Spice does a solid job holding it down dolo. He’s actually not solo on the track, as Kokane shows up to add his Prince Clinton psychedelic vocals to the end of this morbid musical that I thoroughly enjoyed, even as the goosebumps took form on my arms.

1-800 (Straight From The Pen) – Spice uses this one to share the details of a few collect calls from some of his incarcerated homies. He never condemns or condones his friends’ actions but instead gives a neutral account of their experiences, and if some of the exchange doesn’t touch your heart a little, you might be soulless: “My little partner been in jail so long that he ain’t even thinkin’ bout comin’ home/he got the only family that he know besides his momma in the pen wit ‘em/and all the old school comrades is in wit ‘em/I didn’t have to ask him what he pulled them licks fo’/you get them pictures that I sent you of my ‘64?/Yeah, you know the one we always used to ride in/the one them suckas tried to run up on and slide in/we strapped quick as soon as he tried to get in/never forget the dirty work you put in/collect from the pen.” The emotional keys and well-placed slick guitar riffs sound great underneath Spice’s penitentiary commentary. I’m sure the concept was borrowed from Nas’ “One Love,” but it’s still easily my favorite record on the album.

Ain’t No Love – This was the album’s second single. Even though Spice spends most of the album indulging in drug deals and an overabundance of murder, he washes his hands of all white and red residue for this record. Over a smooth melodic groove with sorrowful undertones, our host shares some of the harsh realities of street life from an o.g.’s perspective in hopes of deterring the next young buck from walking the same destructive path. Joya sprinkles her lovely vocals on the hook that helps drive Spice 1’s message home and serves as a nice cherry on top of this cautionary audible treat.

Funky Chicken – And just like that, things go from cautionary to downright ratchet. No, Mr. 1 isn’t trying to revive the dance that Rufus Thomas sang about back in the sixties. The only chicken moving during this song is the cocaine our host boasts about selling to his clientele. I didn’t care much for this one. The content is generic, the hook is corny, and the jazzy horn sample clashes badly with the circus-like synth sounds that dominate the instrumental.

Snitch Killas – Ant Banks gets his final production credit of the night, hooking up a smooth, discretely funky groove, complete with wah-wah guitars, which is one of my weaknesses. Our host uses the sleek backdrop to go on a snitch-killing spree: “See, only real niggas slide with us/you gon’ be snitchin’, muthafucka, you can’t ride with us/because we sure to do some heavily incriminatin’ shit/like pullin’ licks and pushin’ chickens for the fuck of it/ and ain’t no telling in my crew, ’cause everybody guilty of somethin’/that’s why when one dump, we all dumpin’/and the nigga who don’t blast, he get socked and swollen/ threw up out the hooptie while it’s still rollin’/he ain’t dead yet, but if he tattle on a nigga/he gotta tangle with this muthafuckin’ snitch killa.” Gruve borrows Curtis Mayfield’s signature tenor tone and the “Super Fly” melody to sing the hook, while Ant plays the snitch in-between verses. Solid record, and shoutout to Bobby Shmurda.

Can U Feel It – Spice 1 invites Young Kyoz (who sounds very similar to CMG from The Conscious Daughters) and the slippery-tongued E-40 to join him on this Bay Area cipher session. Kyoz gives a decent performance; I’ve never been a fan of E-40, and his verse on the joint didn’t change my opinion, and Spice easily out-rhymes them both. Rick Cousins and Audra Cunningham take on the hook and sing their hearts out over Kent “Payback” Sands’ bangin’ instrumental, but it’s Stan “The Guitar” Man whose rock-tinged chords put the soul in this track and shine the brightest.

1990-Sick (Kill ‘Em All) – The o.g. version sounds identical to the opening track, minus MC Eiht’s verse, which is replaced by a third verse from Spice. I like Eiht, but this record sounds much better as a Spice 1 solo effort.

In my older age, I don’t listen to gangsta rap often. But when I do, there aren’t many rappers that have entertained me more doing it than Spice 1. As I mentioned during the opening, I thoroughly enjoyed his self-titled debut and its follow-up, 187 He Wrote. The East Bay Gangsta filled both albums with mostly intriguing short hood murder novels paired with high-quality West Coast production. So, based on Spice’s track record, I had high hopes going into 1990-Sick. Maybe my hopes were set too high.

1990-Sick is a bit of a roller coaster ride. Assisted by a banger of an instrumental and MC Eiht by his side, Spice 1 quickly sets the mass murdering tone with the adrenaline-pumping title track. Then the next handful of records takes the album on a bumpy stretch with production ranging from lackluster to decent, while Spice’s murderous bars sound compelling on some songs and like generic gangster fluff on other tracks. Things warm up at the midway point as Spice and the backing music find their respective zones for an impressive four-song stretch (“Sucka Ass Niggas,” “Faces Of Death,” “1-800,” and “Ain’t No Love”). From there, things take a quick decline (“Funky Chicken”) before ending on an upward spiral, and suddenly, you look up, it’s all over, and you’re left to gather your thoughts on what you just experienced.

1990-Sick doesn’t live up to Spice 1’s previous works, but it’s still a moderately solid album. It did leave me a little apprehensive about his fifth release, The Black Bossalini, which I recently found a copy of, and it will be working its way down the TimeIsIllmatic pipeline very soon. Would Spice be able to recapture the murderous magic from his first two albums, or would he continue his downward slide from gangsta rap supremacy? Stay tuned.

-Deedub

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