theintg

Spice 1
interview by Scott Bejda

What made you want to do an album with MC Eiht?

It was the history that we got behind us. Every time me and Eiht did a song together, most of the time a video came out of it. I figure let’s do an album together and let muthafuckaz know that we ain’t went nowhere.

It seems like the industry ain’t giving you props. Do you think this album will change that at all?

I would hope that it would. Muthafuckaz gotta respect niggaz that’s been in the game like that. It’s hella cool that me and Eiht hooked up and did this album. Certain muthafuckaz just ain’t giving us our props. Niggaz gotta do what they gotta do.

Aren’t you on the road right now?

I’m on tour with Lil Flip , and Knockturn’l. We are doing a little Spring Bling thing. I’m out here in Louisiana right now. Niggaz is trying to stay in the game. Just cause muthafuckaz ain’t playin on video or listening to us on radio, that shit don’t phase us at all. We know we started this shit. Any muthafucka who says something different is a damn liar.

What’s the name of the group?

It’s not a group. Me and Eiht just did an album together. The album is called The Pioneers. We was gonna call it the Blast From The Past, cause that’s what we are. We are dropping the album out on Real Talk Entertainment.

Do you feel the Rap game has shifted?

It did shift. When they took Cali out of the game was after when Biggie and Pac died. The niggaz in the street used to have a voice, and we don’t have a voice no more.

They kinda just blamed the West Coast for Biggie and Pac's death?

Exactly, that’s what they did. We was the only ones who was really giving New York competition. Ain’t nobody else was doing that. Muthafuckaz might blackball us because they scared of the competition. They know niggaz out here in Cali got some crazy-ass flows. I guess muthafuckaz don’t want to put they talent up to us.

That’s fucked up because you use to work with a lot of artists on the East Coast like Method Man

I haven’t seen no cats for a long time. It’s like the respect for the West is gone. They couldn’t of made rap that fuckin big without the West Coast anyway. We had a big part to play in this whole industry. It’s fucked up how they doing every rapper from the West Coast right now.

What was the first thing that you ever put out?

The first thing I ever put out was when I was still in high school. It was called the Dangerous Crew. It was with me, Too Short and Rappin 4Tay. It was a little group that we had. It was some shit that Short was doing to give some cats around the area a chance to see what the industry was about. It was a chance to show us how it was to have a record out. I was still in high school, so that was the cool part about it. I would walk back to high school with my record and shit. That was like 1989.

Are those tapes still floating around?

It’s probably somewhere. Maybe or maybe not. It has been a long time. That shit came out before I even graduated out of high school.

Was Ant Banks in the group at that time?

No, I don’t even know if Banks was around Short back then. That was along time ago. That’s when I use to open up for NWA.

You opened up for NWA?

Yeah, when they would come to do a show in Oakland. That was when they was all one group. I would open up the show. That’s how I got my recognition. I didn’t have to spend a dime out of my pocket to get into the rap game. Nowadays muthafuckaz is comin out the pocket to get into the game. It’s not even about talent no more. That’s what we have to deal with. When that part goes away from the game, they can let any muthafucka up in here and say he a rapper.

You seem to be one of the only ones who calls out the fakes in the game?

I got a song on my album called "Whack Ass Rapper" talkin about how this whack ass niggaz be selling all these albums out here and can’t even rap they way out of a muthafuckin plastic bag. I got one called "Fake ass Gangstas". It’s about when I wake up and see these fake ass gangstaz on TV. We know these niggaz is too young to even be OG's. Nigga you ain’t never sold no crack out your drawz. You ain’t never shot at nobody out the hood. They perpetratin they shit. If you did that shit, cool. But it’s some muthafuckaz out here who have blown up, and there’s niggaz out here that can rap circles around them. These other ones ain’t gettin no action. It’s like they got all the bench players on the court, and they got all the all-stars on the muthafuckin bench.

I haven’t heard much about your last few albums, why do you think that is?

That’s some muthafuckin West Coast shut down shit. It’s like anything that’s coming from the West they say "we can’t use that, it’s too gangster." It’s hard for us right now. These are some bitch ass niggaz because they are pointing the finger at us saying "those are the bad guys, we will kiss your ass and suck your dick and do whatever else you want us to do." It’s niggaz like on the sidelines saying "fuck yall, we will say what we wanna say and do what we wanna do, we don’t give a fuck how much money you muthafuckaz got." The rap business is all fucked up. All you have to do is dress a muthafucka up like a gangsta, and he a rap star. They some hater ass muthafuckaz.

What was the first solo project that you put out?

The first thing was 187 the Let It Be Known EP. A couple years later I dropped the one with "187 Proof" on it. Back then it was all about skills , and what you was rappin about. It wasn’t about how much jewelry you had or money you got. It wasn’t even about all that. It was about who can flow the tightest on the microphone period! Now a muthafucka ain’t even gotta know how to rap , and can still get a fat ass record deal.

I remember the video for "187 Proof", it was a claymation with gangsta ass liquor bottles shootin each other and shit. Did you come up with that concept?

I came up with that concept , but I wanted it to be cartoons instead of clay. But you know they wanted to spend my money and shit. I think Im gonna put out a Spice 1 original flow hit’s album. I will put out all of the songs that I did like that. I would have "187 Proof" , "187 Pure". I got a gun song called "21 Gun Salute" I got one about candy and I got one about cartoons. They all like 187 Proof. The shit that I’m saying in them songs is so clever. It ain’t like a nigga just sat there and made up that shit.

No one does shit like that anymore!

It’s a shame that an artist like me will paint a picture like I’m Picasso. I can rap and paint a picture and have you looking at that shit. It’s a shame that that type of talent gets wasted because of so much politics and money in the game right there.

Has this album with you and MC Eiht been in the works for a while?

We wasn’t really even trippin on it until I talked to Eiht. We was like fuck it, we got to do our thing. Hopefully all of his fans and all of my fans will pick that shit up. It was Sac from Real Talk Entertainment that really brought this to our attention. Sac is my partner and we started talking about this shit. I’m like let’s do it. Call that nigga and tell him to fly his ass to Sacramento. Then we got together and put that shit down.

What can we expect on this album?

Tell people to be prepared to be surprised because that shit is bangin like a muthafucka. It’s just fucked up that we don’t get our props. You got muthafuckaz out here that can’t even rap and shit. It’s fucked up! My biggest argument with this rap music, when Michelangelo painted that painting on that ceiling in that church, they didn’t tell him not to paint dicks, and not to paint titties , and not to paint pussies and not to paint asses . He painted it like that because it was real. People have asses, people have titties, and people have dicks. He painted real shit on the top of the ceiling. So why are they standing behind us telling us not to say this or that. They owe us the freedom of expression. They owe us that. That is slowly drifting away, my nigga.

You invented the stuttering rap, now other people are doing it. How does that make you feel?

You can listen to Lil Jon and them and they are doing that shit. Like "P-pop yo thang like this." That’s my shit. It ain’t like niggaz don’t know that niggaz are out there doing that shit . Muthafuckaz better let me in the door. I’m not gonna stop. Muthafuckaz can either roll with me or get rolled over.

Do you think if 2pac was still here that shit would be different?

I think it would be totally different. Niggaz is not gonna just sit here and not get they props. I know that Pac would not just sit here. There’s a lot of shit that wouldn’t have went down. Like that song that me and Tupac did called "One Day At A Time" that they took me off of. That shit would not have went down if Pac was here. They took me off that song and put Eminem on there. That was on the Resurrection album. It’s on the radio right now with Eminem. That song was originally with me and Tupac.

That’s fucked up. Eminem can’t even hold one of your nutts dog!

That’s what I am saying. That’s how fucked up these muthafuckaz is doing us. It really needs to be put out there. Muthafuckaz really need to respect niggaz. If they don’t believe no more, then come to my shows, buy my albums! I’m still snapping on these muthafuckaz. We want to see our niggaz on the TV now. We want to see West Coast niggaz on the TV again. We want to see West Coast niggaz on the radio again. It’s like they holding back because they know that once they let us in the game it’s over for them.

That’s like Dre signing mostly East Coast rappers to his label!

I got love and respect for Dre, but that type of shit right there makes me think like "Damn, he ain’t never had love for the West Coast any way or the Bay Area." There’s only three platinum artists in the Bay area anyway and I’m one of them. I’m wondering why Dr. Dre ain’t never did no song with me. Why didn’t that nigga ever put a beat together and gave it to me just out of respect for the game, period! Snoop and E-40 and all of the rest of the muthafuckaz that’s on top right now are in a position to make something happen. If niggaz really have love for the West Coast then there shouldn’t be a movie or a video that Snoop do where he don’t put niggaz in. That’s why niggaz ain’t gonna come back, and the West Coast is gonna stay dead until muthafuckaz get together. Instead of riding for someone else’s city. Shit, I love the East Coast. I said it on the song . I love the East Coast and I love Down South, but when I’m on the West this is my muthafuckin house.

Do you feel that with this new album you and Eiht did, it might open up some eyes?

Hopefully that’s what will happen. The world is changin and times is changin. The album that me and Eiht did together is some new age shit. It’s not some shit like what we did in 1995 or 1993. It’s not like that but it’s still us. We addressing different issues right now. It’s cool to have bitches and making money in your raps, but there’s still issues out here that muthafuckaz need to attack with this rap music. It’s not just here so we can make money. The reason it’s here is to give us a chance to express ourselves and let muthafuckaz know how we feel and shit.

How many tracks is on the Pioneers album?

There’s about fourteen tracks. I did two by myself and he did two by himself and the rest is just me and him on there.

When is it due to come out?

It’s due to come out sometime in June. Right now we’re just trying to get all the marketing that we need. We’re just letting people know that niggaz is still out there.

How upset are you with the way the game has been treating you?

Dude, this shit got me so muthafuckin mad. Right now I got so much shit in my heart and my mind right now that not one muthafucka wants to see me on this microphone right now. I got so much real ass shit to spit about. I can pull niggaz ho cards so muthafuckin quick. All these muthafuckaz out here acting like they knew Tupac and shit.

What was your relationship with Pac like?

That was my nigga. Pac was like another side of me. Me and him would see eye to eye on a lot of shit. If anybody was to fuck with my nigga they would have to fuck with me. I’m 6 foot 1 and 215 pounds. I’m a big nigga and I ain’t got no body fat on this muthafucka. Everytime anybody said anything funny to Pac , I was standing right behind him like "Yeah he short and everything, but if you touch him I’m gonna beat your muthafuckin ass." I would ride for that nigga and it was vice versa. That nigga would ride for me without me even asking him. I didn’t know him before he was with Digital Underground but we all kind of met up before we all got famous. We all knew each other before we got famous.

I interviewed Mopreme, and he even said that ain’t no one even representin for all of Pac's closest peoples in the game, how the hell can that be?

That shit is some cold shit. That shit is some politics. There’s money involved.

Even Outlawz, and they on the East, said it’s like there is something against Pac!

It was that lady, Dolores Tucker who did a lot of that shit. Now there’s a lot more people doing bad shit in the streets because she took that away from them. She took the rap game from niggaz. The only reason I can survive is because I’m Spice-1. She took the rap from up under a lot of niggaz who was trying to use the rap game to get up out of the street. And now they can’t because they are black balled out here in Cali because of her muthafuckin ass.

What did she do?

She dropped the bomb on the West Coast. That’s what she did. She would be like "These guys over here are bad, but these guys are good". Nowadays I look at hip hop like these muthafuckaz might as well be Britany Spears.

Out of all the sides, what would you say is the closest connection to the West Coast?

I would say a lot of the Down South, but the Midwest is really connected to the West. I’m originally from Texas. I was born in Bryan, Texas. That’s where Scarface is from. My mother use to braid Scarface's mama's hair.

Did you know Scarface back then?

I didn’t even know Scarface. My mother just walked up to me and said You know somebody named Scarface? I use to braid his momma’s hair." So the West and the South and the Midwest are connected deeper than a lot of muthafuckaz know.

When did you move to the Bay?

I moved to the bay before I was a year old. I was just born in Texas. I go back and forth from Texas to california. I knew the flavor in Texas way before a lot of muthafuckaz knew. I’m from Texas. I used to go to family reunions and see my grandmothers down in Texas. This was way before any of this shit was really going down. There’s a nigga called Dj Jimi that made up all that shit like "Shake that ass like a salt shaker". He made up all that shit. That’s D J Jimi's shit that they are saying. I say I’m an O.G. I can pull ho cards. I been in this shit. They can pull the wool over muthafuckaz who ain’t been in the game, but not me. I know that shit.

Are you gonna do an album exposing all this shit?

Once I get on my feet. Right now all the nigaz like Lil Jon who are my fans are in the position to say, "Why are all yall hatin on Spice-1, I’m gonna put him in my video fuck yall" That’s what it’s gonna take. It’s gonna take some one to not be selfish and want to see the next man come up instead of being selfish and not even bring niggaz like me back.

I always wondered what happened with Jive?

My daddy was a Black Panther so I ain’t never scared to say nothin. I think Jive used all the Black talent to blow themselves up until they got to where they wanted to be. Then they said fuck yall we gonna put out Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys , and N-Sync. Fuck the rap game. We got our money off that. And fuck you Spice-1 and E-40. We got Britney and the Backstreet Boys now. That’s what I think happened with Jive. They was like fuck us.

How did it end?

I went up there and at the time Pac was dead, the East Coast/West Coast war was on and half the muthafuckaz that worked for Jive is from the East Coast. So that automatically shut me the fuck down as soon as I got to the record label. They pulled the plug on me. They was like fuck it, we ain’t blowing up nobody from the West. That’s how I felt when I went up there. Jive got fucked up when they dropped my greatest hit’s album and it started to sell like it was a new record. I think it was a whole conspiracy my nigga. I might be trippin or what ever but there is a conspiracy against West Coast rappers right now. We are a target for political figures.

What was your high point in your career?

To work with and meet legends. Not just meeting them but actually knowing them. Like Roger Troutman, Tupac, Jam Master Jay. Actually being around them people and them having love for me. Really knowing it and kickin it with them. Smokin a few blunts and chillin out with them. That right there is what gets you. When you see niggaz ride the game all the way to the end, you can’t do nothing but respect that shit. I was really happy to be amongst them types of people and be a part of that. I was a part of something real. The shit that they are doing today ain’t fuckin real. I’m a real gangsta rapper. we wasn’t tryin to keep it gangsta, we was gangsta. We were gangsta that could rap our asses off.

A lot of people were trippin that West Coast gangstas can fuck up emcees on the East Coast

I went out there looking for people to rap against. I was walking around saying "I know none of yall can rap against me, none of yall." Then I get up there and spit that shit. I can feel the niggaz hating or the love. All of the OG's in the East Coast respect the West. That’s the cold part about it. I get so much respect from them that it’s ridiculous. I respect them niggaz to the fullest. Red Alert told me out of his mouth, "Nigga, you came in even before Tupac. If it wasn’t for you there would be a Tupac." I ain’t gonna say that was true because Pac was gonna do his thing regardless, but I’m one of the only rappers that can say he had an influence on Tupac. That was another high point in my career too when Tupac did "I Wonder if Heaven Got a Ghetto". Those was my words and shit.

What was your feeling when you heard he went to New York and got shot in the studio in '94?

I wanted to go and smoke me some niggaz. I wanted to go and shoot some niggaz. It’s fucked up that they let a nigga get way out there and they try to do him like that. Don’t think you can try to do something to one of ours and then come here and think you can kick it on the West Coast. Don’t think you can come out to California and think you can walk around in this muthafucka. That’s how they had it fucked up. They thought they was gonna be able to do somethin to Pac and then come here. We got Crips and Bloods out here on the West and yall don’t think we gonna retaliate? Then when we retaliated they wanna shut the game down for it. They shut the game down on us.

Who do you think killed Pac?

I think that niggaz was just trippin that night. They ran into an enemy at the casino and smashed on him. Dude just went and got his pistol and retaliated. That’s all I think that really happened because no matter how much muthafuckaz blow shit up to me, everything ain’t really what it seems.

What about Biggie, what do you think happened to him?

I think Biggie was a victim of his own bullshit. I guess maybe he was a victim of his own bell shit because you don’t do shit like that to a nigga from the West Coast and then come back out to the West Coast and think you can kick it. We tried to tell niggaz that we was real. They wouldn’t listen. They wanna shoot Pac five times and damn near kill him and send him back home with bullet holes in him. He came back to me. It’s a trip when you see your partner and you know he didn’t leave with these bullet holes in him. Then he go to New York and come back with bullet holes in him.

Do you think Puffy is playing dirty?

I think it was fucked up what happened to Shyne. I think he might of been able to have Shyne’s back a little bit more.

It’s funny how Puffy walks around smelling like roses, but Suge gets all the blame

I think people are afraid of Suge. Anything that he touches right now people are scared of it. The West Coast have always pumped fear in the hearts of muthafuckaz. I got record labels that owe me money right now. I wish Suge was out of jail right now so I can send him and some muthafuckaz to slap some muthafuckaz around who don’t want to pay me. It’s fucked up. You got these independent record labels and distributors that don’t want to pay the artists. The whole West Coast game is fucked because they hating on us.

It’s like all the West Coast game fell into the fuckin ocean

As soon as Pac died, they was like let’s shut the West Coast down. They tried to cut off the head and watch the body fall to the ground. But they don’t know how strong the body is.

Have you ever settled the beef between you and Pooh Man?

Me and Pooh squashed the shit. He got out the pen and I ran into him. We started choppin it up and smoked a few blunts and shit. Two weeks later this nigga comes smashin passed my house with hella cop cars chasing him and a helicopter.

What the hell did he do?

That nigga robbed a bank. He's probably gonna be in there for a minute. That was my nigga. We had a few disagreements and guns was pulled. Tempers flared but we squashed all that shit.

So he wasn’t no studio gangster?

Pooh ain’t no studio gangsta. I knew from the beginning that he wasn’t no studio gangsta. I was prepared to get down with the nigga. We was gonna shoot it out and everything my nigga.

Did you and him ever get into any shoot outs with each other?

No, I had drove up and approached him one time and I had like three or four niggaz in the car with uzi's and I had a glock and shit. He had some of his boys posted up in the house with some pistols and uzi's. Me and dude had a few words but no triggers was pulled.

What about Ant Banks, do you still work with him?

I would if I could run into the nigga somewhere. The game got all the West Coast rappers so far spread out from each other right now. We need to move with the fist instead of the open hand. That’s the only way that we are gonna make that shit happen. I wish I could find Banks and do songs with him. Niggaz need to stick together. That’s what the East Coast and Down South is doing. They are setting an example. Maybe it’s been so long that somebody has did somethin for us out here on the West that we forgot how to do shit for each other.

Can you start some kind of movement, being that you are one of the OG's on the West?

I’m trying to set an example. I’m just tryin to blow up again to let muthafuckaz know that we not going nowhere. You still got a chance lil homie. The West Coast ain’t all the way dead. I’m Spice-1 and I’ve been in the game for years. We need to give these young rappers out here today some hope. Shit, we out-rap half the niggaz in the industry and ain’t nobody showing us no love.

What else do you have in the works, Spice?

I got a group came the Game Bangaz. That’s me, Michelob, and 40 Glock. We ain’t got no release date on it right now. We are doing some paper work with some record labels, but I can’t really talk about it right now because it’s not a sure thing. We got deals on the table because the music is bangin. It’s a self-titled album.

What about any Spice-1 solo shit?

The album I’m working on right now is called Dyin To Ball . That will come out on Thick Skin Entertainment. I’m droppin two albums this year. The other album is called The Ridah . The album cover looks like the Raiders, but with my face in there. That album is coming out on my record label Thug World . That album and the one I did with MC Eiht should be comin out back to back.

I heard you might have distribution with Universal, is that true?

We was talking to WEA. We were talking to Universal, but they were taking to long and WEA jumped in and we was like "Fuck it, we’ll take the shit ." We might go through Universal with some more projects cause a nigga is always working. The business part of it was takin too long and we didn’t have time to wait.

Did you ever think of signing to Death Row?

I was up there fuckin with Suge a couple of times. They have Suge so fucked up that there ain’t too much he can even do.

I would say go to Aftermath, but that’s not really a West Coast label anyway.

That ain’t even a West Coast label. That’s what I’m talking about. Dre really needs to do somethin. Niggaz really need to do some soul searchin and really know what’s going on out here. All we have is E-40 and Snoop Dogg. That shit ain’t cool, because there are niggaz that rap circles around muthafuckaz. There’s niggaz out here that can probably rap circles around me but you'll never hear it because we ain’t getting no love. There’s probably another Spice 1 runnin around this muthafucka. It’s a shame that talent like that gets wasted. Plus everybody is on that ego shit. My CD is better than yours. If we stay like that then ain’t nobody going nowhere. My heart is in the right place. I wanna see other muthafuckaz blow up not just me. I want to see my partnaz blow up. That’s part of the problem right now, niggaz is too selfish. They keepin to themselves. They ain’t spreadin the money around.

Homicidal Thots

1st propz man

gemma

i like that person